Chapter 563: Murdoch's Acquisition Plan

This was no time for detailed discussions. Duke and James Cameron hadn't talked for long before the party officially kicked off. They didn't need to hash out the specifics themselves anyway; as long as they reached a preliminary agreement, professionals would naturally step in to handle the in-depth negotiations later.

Perhaps their collaboration on Titanic had left James Cameron with a favorable impression, or perhaps the budget the "king of the world" expected was simply too high. Whatever the reason, Cameron showed a clear interest in having Duke invest.

Once the party began, Duke found a quiet corner and called over his bodyguards. He had them make a note of the matter and instructed them to promptly notify Tina Fey and Nancy Josephson.

Although the party wasn't held as a formal banquet, the guests were divided among many tables. And wherever there were people, there were circles. At a heavily commercialized gathering like this, fame and net worth were the metrics that defined them.

Without a doubt, given Duke's current status, he was naturally a member of the party's most exclusive circle.

After enjoying the dinner carefully prepared by the hotel, Duke hadn't intended to stay much longer. After all, he still had preparation work for Iron Man waiting for him tomorrow. However, Rupert Murdoch actively sought him out, seemingly with something to discuss.

Led by Mrs. Murdoch, Duke and Rupert Murdoch walked into a reception room on the top floor. After a waiter served them coffee, they took seats on the sofas on opposite sides of the room.

"You know, Duke, I have a few complaints about you as a major shareholder of Marvel Comics."

Leaning back against the sofa, Murdoch said in a half-serious, half-joking tone, "It's one thing for Marvel to refuse to cooperate with the promotion of Fantastic Four, but they had to go and cause all sorts of trouble on top of that."

Understanding the gist of what Murdoch meant, Duke offered a helpless smile. "You should know this, Rupert. I don't have any authority over the day-to-day operations of Marvel Comics."

It was the truth. Aside from setting the general direction and having people supervise the necessary financial matters, Duke, as a shareholder of Marvel Comics, didn't participate in operational work at all. He wasn't exactly skilled in that area, anyway.

However, Duke was very well aware of the Fantastic Four issue that Rupert Murdoch had brought up.

Just like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America, the Fantastic Four were flagship characters for Marvel Comics. Because of past financial crises and bankruptcy issues, Marvel Comics had sold the film rights for Fantastic Four to Twentieth Century Fox.

After receiving Duke's capital injection, Marvel's financial situation had vastly improved, and as the harsh winter of the comic industry faded into the past, their operations steadily turned around. In particular, the success of the X-Men and Spider-Man films had allowed Marvel's upper management to truly witness the power their superheroes wielded on the big screen.

Consequently, Marvel inevitably wanted to bring their wandering children back home. After Ang Lee's version of Hulk failed, they reclaimed the film rights for Hulk and then set their sights on Fantastic Four.

But Twentieth Century Fox weren't fools either. Even when Marvel Comics offered a remarkably high price to buy back the rights, they chose to refuse. They even meticulously produced Fantastic Four and officially released it in July.

The film rights contract signed between Marvel and Twentieth Century Fox contained a clause that would automatically trigger under certain conditions—if the box office for Fantastic Four was too low, Marvel had the right to reclaim the film rights at the original sale price. Therefore, just as Twentieth Century Fox's Fantastic Four was about to hit theaters, Marvel employed some petty tricks.

In an alternate universe Fantastic Four comic released in July, not only did they rewrite the four members as irredeemable villains, but they also had each of them die in extremely gruesome ways at the end.

Perhaps the comic had some effect, or perhaps it was due to the absence of the eye candy that was Jessica Alba, who had disappeared to parts unknown. Either way, the box office for Fantastic Four fell short of Twentieth Century Fox's expectations. However, it had still grossed $100 million in North America so far, meaning Marvel Comics' buyback clause remained untriggered.

Duke knew about this, but he had no intention of interfering. To him, these were just trivial matters.

Rupert Murdoch had only brought it up in passing, quickly tossing it aside. After all, compared to what he actually wanted to discuss, Fantastic Four was completely insignificant.

"Duke, I heard the three-way negotiations between Duke Studio, Pixar Studio, and Time Warner have reached their final stages?"

Shifting the topic away from Fantastic Four, Rupert Murdoch pivoted directly to Time Warner. "If these negotiations go through, Time Warner's strength will grow even more formidable."

Knowing the other man had more to say, Duke simply looked at Rupert Murdoch.

The media mogul didn't make him wait. He quickly followed up, "Regarding Time Warner, I have an idea."

Duke slightly raised an eyebrow. He thought for a moment before saying, "I'm just a director..."

The words had barely left his mouth before Murdoch cut him off. "Duke, there's no need to be so modest. Who nowadays doesn't know your importance to Warner? Not only are you the largest individual shareholder of Warner Brothers, but the revenue generated by your film projects carries immense weight within all of Time Warner..."

He looked at Duke, his aged face appearing incredibly serious. "If these three-way negotiations are finalized, you will become one of the major shareholders of Time Warner. Although I don't know the exact details of the talks, I imagine that you and Steve Jobs will inevitably demand seats on Time Warner's board of directors."

"Furthermore..." He seemed intent on completely exposing the other side of Duke that hid beneath his director's guise. "You've already initially revived DC Comics, and you've brought Marvel Comics into Warner's system. If these two major systems achieve their expected success, your influence within the entire Warner system will become pivotal."

"On top of that, you can even influence that guy, Steve Jobs..."

Hearing this, Duke couldn't help but reveal a helpless smile, the true meaning of which only he understood. He could indeed sway Jobs using profit and other such levers, but to say he could actually influence the man was truly overestimating him.

"Holding equity and a board seat at Time Warner, while also being able to influence Warner's overall performance through commercial operations... Duke, you will become the linchpin of Time Warner."

His eyes, which by all rights should have been dim with age, were instead gleaming with piercing astuteness. Rupert Murdoch stared at Duke for a few seconds before suddenly sighing. "Originally, you should have become a partner of the News Group, but that idiot Thomas Rothman..."

Listening to Rupert Murdoch vent for a few more sentences, Duke picked up his coffee and took a sip. After setting the cup back down, he asked, "Rupert, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"I want to acquire Time Warner!"

Hearing Murdoch's words, Duke didn't feel shocked. Glancing at him, he said, "Why should I support you? The chances of you succeeding are very low."

Since this involved commercial negotiations, he had no intention of beating around the bush.

Duke hadn't been shocked, but Murdoch, conversely, was a bit surprised. In his eyes, Duke was being overly calm. He didn't let it show, however, and instead continued, "How can you succeed if you don't even try?"

"Today's Time Warner is no longer the Time Warner of the past."

As if to display his own resolve and confidence, Murdoch said mildly, "Time Warner isn't the News Group. Its shares are scattered in the hands of thousands of stockholders. Anyone holding five percent of the shares can be considered a major shareholder. As long as I can win the support of the major shareholders, this acquisition is entirely possible to pull off."

There was no doubt that if the three-way negotiations between Duke Studio, Pixar Studio, and Time Warner were completed, Duke and Steve Jobs would become the exact kind of major shareholders Rupert Murdoch was talking about.

"What about the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission?"

The reason Duke wasn't shocked was that he had once seen news about Murdoch wanting to acquire Time Warner.

"This is the media industry," he said. "How could they possibly sit back and watch such a behemoth emerge?"

"There's always a way." Murdoch simply smiled.

Duke could naturally hear the underlying meaning in that sentence. Having lived in North America for so many years, he was very well aware that many federal agencies were not actually as uncorrupted as people imagined.

Rupert Murdoch enticed him with bold ambition. "Duke, don't you think that joining forces to create a new landscape in the global media industry would be a monumental achievement that leaves our names in history?"

Duke, however, directly shook his head. He had no interest in this kind of title that came with no practical benefits.

This conversation had long since entered the realm of commercial negotiations. Rupert Murdoch wasn't stupid; he knew that mere words wouldn't be enough to move Duke. He continued, "If the acquisition is launched, I will buy out the Time Warner shares you're about to receive, as well as your current shares in Warner Brothers, at a premium. You can gain authority completely independent from all of the News Group's film companies. The company will give full support to all of your projects, and you will be able to take a thirty percent cut of all revenue from the films you produce!"

Hearing this, Duke suddenly thought of something else. "Rupert, this isn't all you want, is it? If Marvel's films succeed, are they in your plans as well?"

"Why wouldn't they be?" Murdoch's words were very direct. "Duke, you know that the News Group can't produce that much cash flow. The transaction between us will inevitably take the form of a stock swap. At that time, not only will you be a shareholder in the group, but I will also reserve an important seat for you on the board of directors."

Duke stayed silent for a full half-minute before slowly saying, "I will seriously consider it."

"I hope we can work together," Murdoch said with a smile.

"We have an opportunity to cooperate right in front of us." Duke suddenly changed the subject. "Rupert, although the rise of the internet has brought about certain changes, the media market is only so big. The rise of new companies will definitely damage the interests of the News Group and Time Warner. I think that compared to an acquisition plan that might not be realized until who knows when, sniping those newly rising media conglomerates is the more pressing matter—such as Walt Disney!"