American History 1988
Chapter 353 - 342: Acquisition

Chapter 353: Chapter 342: Acquisition

"Mr. Kruger, long time no see~" Eric Pryszka said with a beaming smile as he walked in.

"Eric, I didn’t expect to see you here." Kruger’s gaze shifted back and forth between Dean and Pryszka.

Indeed, the man was none other than one of the founders of Orion, as well as its former President and CEO, Eric Pryszka.

He had known Dean since the 90s, and had even invested 500,000 US Dollars in the last round of financing before Bit Company went public.

That investment had brought him a return of more than tenfold, so their relationship had always been very close.

This time, if Dean wanted to acquire Orion, he needed someone familiar with the industry’s unwritten rules.

Who could be more suitable than the founder of Orion Pictures? He knew all the history and potential risks of the film company.

Kruger set down his glass of wine and sat up straight.

"It’s quite surprising that you two are friends," he thought to himself, lowering his expectations for today’s deal once again.

"As I’ve said, I’m very interested in Hollywood," Dean said, not noticing Kruger’s seriousness.

He maintained a relaxed demeanor, "So, I make friends here in Hollywood and seek their help when I get involved in business here."

"Quite reasonable~" Kruger said humorously, shrugging his shoulders.

Although the appearance of Eric Pryszka had disrupted his plans, he was not going to show any panic or give up on the deal.

Because the shareholders of Metropolitan Media were already very dissatisfied with Orion as a burden.

In the last restructuring, Metropolitan Media settled many of Orion’s bad assets, including a portion of its massive debt.

They hoped that after restructuring, Orion would improve, or at the very least, turn a profit and then be sold for a good price.

But judging from the recent two years of development, the current reality was somewhat disappointing to them.

Orion had indeed reduced its losses, but its revenue had also significantly decreased.

Even Kruger himself had lost interest in Orion by then and was ready to get out.

"Let’s be direct, Dean," Kruger nodded to his assistant.

The latter immediately took out a document from his briefcase, which contained the current asset status of Orion.

"Orion is currently producing five films and has ten projects planned for next year.

The film library has roughly 2000 titles, which includes films that were part of distribution deals as well as unreleased video movies."

Dean briefly looked over the document before handing it to his legal team and Eric Pryszka.

"Orion currently still retains its film production department, distribution department, videotape department, and television department.

If you’re interested, Dean, all these departments combined are bundled together for 700 million US Dollars.

What do you think? It’s a perfect deal, and I’m open to any form of transaction including cash, stock, or bonds."

Dean didn’t reply immediately, instead, he first turned his gaze to Eric Pryszka.

The latter read through the document even faster, for he was intimately familiar with Orion’s internal affairs.

After merely skimming the first few pages, Eric Pryszka returned them to the legal team.

"Mr. Kruger, as far as I know, Orion’s television department has already been sold to Fox.

The remaining TV business is only responsible for licensing the old library.

I just had a look, and most of the executives have left, and the current TV department has less than ten employees."

The television department was actually one of Orion’s most profitable divisions, which had produced several hit variety shows and talk shows.

This included some well-known TV dramas like "The Adams Family" and "Merrill’s Detectives."

But pressured by bankruptcy in ’91, to recapitalize quickly and alleviate the growing debt problem,

Kruger began to slice Orion’s divisions for sale, including the television department.

The core framework of the current Fox Television comes from the former Orion TV division.

To Eric Pryszka, without Orion TV, Orion’s value had significantly diminished.

This was a hidden trap, a detail completely unknown to outsiders.

Kruger took out a handkerchief and wiped his glasses, "Although we sold off the television department’s operations, we still have some of the library left.

They can continue to create value for the videotape market, and rebuilding a TV station wouldn’t be difficult, Orion has the experience."

"That would involve too high an investment cost because it has lost the channels it used to have.

Additionally, the information from the financial reports shows that although the restructured Orion reduced its losses significantly,

from the previous 48.07 million US Dollars down to the current 11.43 million US Dollars,

it’s still losing money, and the operating revenue has also decreased dramatically.

This number is..." Eric Pryszka flipped through the document again, "from last year’s 130 million US Dollars, down to today’s 35.1 million US Dollars."

"But we also reduced our management expenses to 14 million US Dollars, last year those costs were 80 million US Dollars.

Isn’t that a major improvement? Besides, Orion has over fifty projects in hand, some of which have great potential."

Thanks to the previous mass sell-offs and layoffs, Orion’s labor costs had indeed been cut by 80%.

But this was not enough to persuade Dean to take over as is. He glanced at his legal team,

After receiving a definite response, he turned back, "Mr. Kruger, please allow us to discuss this among ourselves for a moment."

"Of course~" Kruger relaxed and leaned back on the sofa, "We all hope this deal can be properly handled."

"Indeed," Dean smiled and then began to consult quietly with Eric Pryszka.

Eric Pryszka’s arrival was unexpected, and Kruger, leaning on the couch with squinted eyes, pondered in silence.

If it had just been that, it might have been okay, but it was clear that Pryszka was not "one of us."

His former boss had not shown any old affection; he had thrown his lot in with the new boss.

"Mr. Kruger," Dean had already made up his mind, "Considering the current situation of Orion Pictures.

$430 million, I’ll take it all, including the $120 million debt Orion Pictures is carrying."

"Dean, Orion has a complete production and distribution channel..."

"Cash!" Dean added.

Kruger was startled, the news rendering him momentarily stunned.

Even with his fortune, coming up with over $400 million in cash was not an easy feat.

But thinking about Forbes’ report on Dean’s wealth, he reassured himself.

"If Orion Pictures intends to go public again in the future, Metropolitan Media will have the right of first investment."

Dean thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement, "But Orion must be handed over in its entirety for now."

"You have Eric Pryszka~" Kruger shrugged, indicating that Eric was an authentic insider.

"A pleasure doing business," Dean toasted him from afar.

"I look forward to Orion’s revival under your stewardship." After finishing his drink, Kruger slowly rose and left the premises.

Watching his retreating figure, Dean was thoughtful.

Fortunately, everything had been resolved smoothly, and from today, he officially set foot in Hollywood.

In a good mood, Dean turned his head only to find Eric Pryszka looking at him with full expectation.

Dean smiled and then fulfilled his promise. "Eric, Orion will need your careful attention for the time being."

"It would be an honor!" Eric Pryszka bowed slightly.

Since stepping down as the president of Orion, he had moved to Warner Bros.

However, due to his previous experience, he wouldn’t manage to land a top-level executive position in any key department.

Therefore, when he received a call from Dean, he hesitated not a second to agree to the terms.

Working in a dead-end department was by no means more powerful than managing an entire film company.

Now with Orion Pictures back, Eric Pryszka was back as well.

With the strong support of Dean, he could boldly reform Orion.

"Our goal is to first smoothly transition the acquisition, then downsize the staff, keeping only the key positions in critical departments.

After the integration is complete, remember to send me a copy of all the project and script library inventories."

Although Dean was not versed in filmmaking, he could help review whether there were any well-known movies.

If he could identify a famous IP, it shouldn’t be hard to turn Orion’s losses into profits afterward.

"No problem," Eric Pryszka readily agreed, knowing who the boss was now.

"By the way, I’ll be contacting Spielberg’s team later.

There are some movies that Orion might not be able to lead in production and distribution, but they can still participate in investment."

"If that’s the case, I’m confident we can make Orion profitable within a year," Eric Pryszka brightened.

He hadn’t expected Dean to have such resources, which were no less than Spielberg, Hollywood’s hottest director.

To his surprise, Dean just laughed it off.

He had invested $100 million in DreamWorks, and they owed him that favor.

Dean never dived headfirst into business alone; he was accustomed to teamwork.

This was just like the internet business, from service providers to browsers to web pages, one linked to another.

As for Eric Pryszka...

He was getting old, and until the right person was found, it was fine to let him indulge.

...

Dean spent the entire Christmas holiday, including the week leading up to early January, in Los Angeles and Hawaii.

No, to be precise, he spent it on the Sapphire, and he had a great time.

This yacht was his sovereign domain; numerous women came and went, but he remained the master.

Without worry of prying reporters, he even held a no-holds-barred party on the top deck.

It must be said that these Hollywood women were up for anything, becoming even more obliging after a bit of alcohol.

Especially after The New York Times published news of his acquisition of Orion Pictures.

The women on the yacht became more proactive, for he had both resources and money.

While Dean was enjoying the allure of Hollywood, someone else decided to make a move.

In mid-January, Brad Silverberg from Skunkworks planned to personally lead a team to Illinois.

Although Gates had refused to invest in the browser, Silverberg hadn’t given up.

He was ready to talk licensing with spyglass; even if Microsoft wouldn’t develop it, buying the rights in advance was also a wise move.