Acquiring a Film Company

November 29, 1995.

Today was undoubtedly a glorious day for Pixar Animation Studios, because it went public.

Inside NASDAQ's trading hall.

"Toy Story is the greatest leap forward in animation since Disney produced the world's first feature-length animated film, Snow White, sixty years ago. And Pixar did all of it—Disney was merely the distributor."

Pixar's boss, Jobs, spared no effort in verbally sparring with the many reporters in order to establish and promote Pixar's image as a new-generation animated film company.

"Mr. Jobs, are you saying that the success of Toy Story was entirely due to you and your team?" a reporter asked.

Jobs gave the reporter a disdainful look, as if to say that was exactly right.

"Of course."

Jobs answered firmly.

Well, that was simply the kind of person he was. Anyone else would never have spoken so bluntly; they would at least have considered Disney's dignity.

But Jobs was not like that.

What was Disney's dignity worth? He needed to step on it to rise to the top—otherwise, how could the stock price soar to its peak?

Overbearing, domineering, paranoid, sharp-tongued, and never admitting mistakes—those were many people's answers.

Of course, that was not entirely accurate.

Behind Jobs's toughness and arrogance—his refusal to admit fault or bow his head—there was also his ability to recognize the times and endure humiliation. When Pixar had fallen on hard times, for example, he signed a series of unequal agreements with Disney, buying time for Pixar's survival. His dealings with Bill Gates had also involved compromises, cooperation, and, naturally, conflict.

Such advances, retreats, attacks, and defenses were hardly isolated cases in Jobs's business career.

"Jobs still has that familiar flavor!"

"Arrogant bastard!"

"It's true that he's domineering, but who can blame him when he's succeeded again?"

"Damn rich guy. I hope he falls on hard times again someday!"

Faced with Jobs's grandstanding, everyone around him—whether Hollywood insiders or stock investors—felt somewhat displeased.

"He's got some nerve, saying that right to their faces. Disney's people must be having a hard time keeping their expressions straight."

Although Zucker said that, he still admired Jobs inwardly. He hoped that one day, he too would have the confidence to show such strength.

The truth was exactly as Zucker had expected.

When Disney chairman Michael Eisner learned the news, he nearly flipped his office desk!

Soon, the market opened.

Thanks to the explosive popularity of Toy Story, Pixar Animation Studios was eagerly sought after by numerous investment firms and individual investors, even if they were somewhat annoyed by Jobs.

Who would ever turn against money?

Zucker certainly would not. He had contacted an investment company in advance and quietly poured in six million dollars—nearly his entire fortune.

"Pixar Animation, Jobs, give me something here! This is all my money!" Zucker prayed wildly.

This time, Zucker did not use tenfold leverage.

Because he had no idea whether Pixar's stock would rise or fall on its opening day. Even if he knew it would rise, using leverage might still get him harvested like a chump by Wall Street's market makers. All Zucker knew was that within a month, Pixar's market value would soar to one billion dollars.

That night.

Zucker was slightly irritated, gritting his teeth.

"Damn trash system! Couldn't you provide detailed explanations and information about Pixar after its IPO? Do you know how much money you made me lose?"

That was right—Zucker had still made money today, but he was still unhappy.

Pixar Animation had issued at twenty-two dollars. Within half an hour of opening, its stock price had climbed past forty-five dollars, then continued rising to forty-nine dollars before closing at thirty-nine dollars that day.

Zucker's six-million-dollar investment had grown by 1.7 times, bringing his principal and profits to over ten million dollars.

Yes, Zucker had made quite a lot. But if he had cashed out at the day's high of forty-nine dollars, his profits would have been even greater. That was why he was unhappy.

The true Zucker Wald: greedy, greedy, and even greedier!

"Cough, cough..."

At that moment, Candy, the former ace negotiator, entered Zucker's home. Seeing Zucker gritting his teeth, he could not help feeling a little sour.

"Enough, you vampire. You've already made more than enough. Don't be ungrateful," Candy said slowly.

Candy had not come over tonight without reason.

"Buddy, the investigation materials you wanted are all in here. Take a look yourself."

After saying that, Candy did not wait for Zucker to respond before getting up and leaving. Sometimes he was just that impulsive, because he had a date with a beautiful girl tonight.

Zucker stared dumbly as Candy left, then pursed his lips. "He really does have personality. It'd be even better if he charged a little less."

Zucker had been fairly busy lately, so he had asked Candy to contact an investigative firm to look into several matters for him.

There were two sets of documents on the table.

[Hughes Pictures]

[Stephen Hillenburg's Personal Profile]

Zucker opened the Hughes Pictures file first.

Hughes Pictures was a small Hollywood company located in Burbank, Los Angeles. It handled both production and distribution, had been founded in 1985, and employed forty-nine people.

After a full month of investigation and screening, it was the Hollywood company that best met Zucker's requirements among those researched by the firm Candy had contacted.

Although Hughes Pictures mainly produced direct-to-video films and had released only two movies theatrically, with combined box office revenue of less than six hundred thousand dollars, it possessed complete distribution channels throughout Los Angeles and even all of California.

Company valuation: 2 million dollars.

Estimated acquisition price: 2.5 million to 3 million dollars.

"Heh... not bad. If Hughes Pictures' owner hadn't suffered investment losses recently and needed to recover funds, he probably wouldn't be selling."

Zucker was half an entertainment industry insider and knew quite a bit about Hollywood's inner workings and development trends.

Although companies like Hughes Pictures were at the bottom rung of Hollywood and had little presence, companies with their own distribution networks were not common. At the very least, as time passed, such companies would only become more valuable.

Just look at how Wang's Wanda Group spent more than three billion dollars in 2016 to buy Legendary Pictures, a second-tier Hollywood film company.

"If I buy Hughes Pictures, even if it loses money every year, I can still sell it for at least two hundred million dollars in twenty years." Zucker made up his mind to acquire it.

The second investigation file was Stephen Hillenburg's personal profile.

Many people might not recognize the name Stephen Hillenburg, but SpongeBob SquarePants was likely influential across the globe.

That was right. In the future, Stephen Hillenburg would be known as the "father of SpongeBob SquarePants."

At first, he was not part of the entertainment industry, but a scientist studying marine life and a marine biology teacher at the Ocean Institute. His original purpose in creating the little sponge was merely to fulfill the institute's request: drawing a comic book introducing marine biology knowledge for visiting children.

But who could have imagined that SpongeBob SquarePants would become such a success?

Since it began airing on Nickelodeon's children's channel in the United States in 1999, it had been beloved by children around the world. The series had won two Emmy Awards and twelve Kids' Choice Awards, and had also spawned two films. By January 2020, its merchandise had generated over thirteen billion dollars in revenue for Nickelodeon.

Thirteen billion dollars in merchandise revenue?

"Even after deducting costs, distribution fees, and everything else, SpongeBob SquarePants' profits must be extremely impressive!" Zucker could not help sighing.

Clearly, with the information provided by the system, Zucker had undoubtedly uncovered a gold mine!

<>A new week has begun. Please vote with your recommendation tickets—the Minister needs everyone's support. Many thanks!