America's Road to Wealth

Come to the Ovitz.

Abel's purpose was not for X day and X banquet.

Although he was quite curious about this kind of thing.

His main purpose is to come here for CAA shares.

According to Ovitz, these guests on the ship today.

If they are willing to sell all the CAA shares they hold to Abel.

Then Abel will immediately become the largest shareholder of CAA, which is still much more than the second one.

Absolute control is unrealistic, as CAA's current shares are too dispersed.

After experiencing internal strife, CAA now seems to be on the verge of decline.

But the foundation is still there, and the development trend of the entertainment industry looks so good now.

Investors are still relatively optimistic about CAA.

So in this case, unless you buy it at a big premium.

Otherwise, there is little hope of absolute control.

Moreover, a company like CAA has the advantage of having many shareholders.

The more shareholders it has, the stronger its connections.

Personal connections and various resources are sometimes more important to a company like CAA than profits.

In addition, the guests who came to the yacht today were all screened by Ovitz.

As everyone knows, today we are mainly talking about share transfer.

The second is communication and enjoyment.

What to enjoy?

Just look at these Hollywood beauties around you.

It's just that other customers may be more reserved, or they may be selling at a price.

They were all waiting for Abel to go find them.

Bloomberg didn’t know what was going on, so he went to find it himself.

Seeing this, Ovitz took the opportunity to tell this important matter in advance.

Bloomberg didn't seem to mind Ovitz's directness.

The Bloomberg founder smiled and said: I understand, and that's why I'm here. I'm here for Mr. Smith.

Yeah. Abel said with a smile, So, what do you mean?

What I mean? Of course I want to sell it. As long as Mr. Smith wants it. Bloomberg said casually.

Bloomberg currently holds about 3.1% of CAA's shares.

This is a share he purchased earlier.

I have always held it, neither sold nor increased my holdings.

When he bought these shares, CAA's market value was only about $500 million.

It cost $15 million at the time.

Nearly ten years have passed.

CAA's market cap... well, it hasn't increased much.

Don't look at it. CAA has great power and influence in Hollywood.

But in fact, the profits of companies like CAA, even if they are giants, are actually just that.

In the mid-1990s, CAA had 550 employees and signed approximately 1,400 of Hollywood's top talents.

But the company's annual revenue is just over $150 million.

Today, in 2000, CAA is even stronger.

The number of employees has exceeded 600.

But last year’s annual reported revenue was just over US$300 million.

This is still income, not profit

In terms of profit, it is estimated to be less than US$100 million.

So now, the valuation of CAA by many investment banks is probably around US$1.2-1.5 billion.

The 11% shares that Abel previously acquired at a premium, including the premium, amounted to about US$190 million.

Not to mention compared with financial companies, even compared with medium and large companies in other industries.

CAA's annual report and market value are not very good.

But in this era, CAA is already a giant in the entertainment agency industry.

Because of this,

CAA is seeking transformation.

It’s just that CAA is too timid to develop into other fields.

For the time being, I am only thinking about transitioning to other commercial brokerage fields.

Not daring to invest randomly, they are currently focusing on the commercial sports field.

For example, commercial sports leagues such as NBA, NFL, and NHL.

At the same time, we are still preparing to go global and start to build overseas branches.

But that’s it.

Even after its listing in the future, when CAA's market value is at its highest, it will not exceed 10 billion US dollars.

The market value has been hovering around US$4-6 billion for a long time.

So from an investment perspective, CAA's rate of return is really not that good.

If Abel's goal was not for the media industry, CAA would be a very suitable springboard.

If he didn't consider this, he would never be so serious about a company the size of CAA.

No matter how you say it, no matter how nice it sounds.

Companies like UTA, WME, and CAA are, to put it bluntly, the agency industry.

The intermediary industry can only make money through commissions.

The commission also needs to be divided heavily among the employees, and what is left over in the end is the profit.

This model is just like that no matter how large it is.

Probably because of this.

That's why Bloomberg seemed so casual when selling CAA shares.

The difficulty in controlling CAA does not lie in funds.

The reason is that its shares are too dispersed, and such dispersion of shares is beneficial to its own operations to a certain extent.

Even Abel doesn't actually want to privatize CAA.

If it is really privatized, its operations will inevitably be affected.

His idea is that a relative holding is enough, about 51%.

If we can get control of the board of directors, about 33% is acceptable.

No matter how much the share is, privatization is not a good option.

This is the nature of the industry.

Unless he himself can provide sufficient resources.

For example, the Texas consortium, which later gained absolute control, was able to provide support in a systematic manner.

The current Abel is not yet able to do this.

Seeing that Bloomberg was so talkative, Abel immediately smiled and said: You will definitely be satisfied with the price.

Bloomberg is not short of money, and Abel is not short of money either.

He was so easy to talk to, but Abel owed him a favor.

Therefore, Abel would rather buy more expensive and spend more money.

It's better than owing a favor.

But Bloomberg smiled and shook his head, Just follow the market price. Bloomberg values ​​CAA at US$1.3 billion. Just go with this.

Abel raised his eyebrows, so generous?

This is not like a capitalist.

He is not familiar with Bloomberg, so there is no reason for him to be so generous.

These capitalists are not even willing to pay tens of thousands more in taxes.

This opportunity to make millions more is given up so easily.

It can only be that he wants more.

But it’s clear that Bloomberg doesn’t want to talk anymore.

For him, CAA is just an investment.

After nearly ten years of investment, I have earned two or three times.

That may seem like a lot, but that's about it for Bloomberg.

But obviously, discussions related to CAA.

There were several Hollywood actresses nearby who were obviously very interested.

It's just that their interests are not considered by Bloomberg and others.

Bloomberg looked at several Hollywood female stars around him, and then at Ovitz.

Mr. Ovitz. I have something to say to Mr. Smith. Can you provide us with a private place?

Ovitz was startled and immediately responded: No problem.

What about the back of the yacht? There's a little deck over there with a great view of the Atlantic Ocean. And no one can hear what you're saying.

Okay, Bloomberg said.

Abel shrugged, and he had no objection.

Now he is even more curious about what Bloomberg wants to say to him.