Super Spender - Chapter 327
Chapter 327: Chapter 321: Forced Acquisition – Part 2
Translator: 549690339
“I’m wondering if Mr. Kodiak Kennedy would consider selling his shares in Activision Blizzard,” Finn Lewis was accustomed to getting straight to the point. His time was limited, so he didn’t bother with any formalities and spoke directly.
“Huh?” Upon hearing Finn’s words, Kodiak was taken aback, never in his wildest dreams did he expected that Finn would come for this reason.
“Mr. Lewis, are you implying that you want to acquire Activision?” A shocked Kodiak asked, he just realized that Finn was not here to negotiate for cooperation with Activision, or for the right to represent the company.
“Indeed, I want to acquire Activision,” Finn curtly nodded in agreement.
“Regrettably, I may not consent to this proposition,” Kodiak spoke after hesitating for a while. Despite having his own private investment company, Kodiak has been in the game industry for most of his life, and he wasn’t sure what more to do.
“Mr. Kodiak Kennedy holds approximately 23% of Activision Blizzard’s shares. At present, the market value of Activision Blizzard is around 158 billion Federal coins. Thus, the value of shares that you hold is probably around 36.5 billion Federal coins. Am I right?” Finn started without beating around the bush.
“You’re correct.” Kodiak nodded.
“40 billion Federal coins.” Finn blurted out the first price.
Kodiak shook his head slightly, Finn’s proposed price is only an appropriate price with 11% negotiation margin. Participant Highgarden chuckled; his bidding was simply setting the ground. He was not at all concerned about completing the finance-related task in the system, as for the Northern Europe Federation, it was just a matter of right pricing and everyone would be willing to sell their shares.
The major shareholders of those companies in the Northern Europe Federation are predominantly investment firms. Hence, once they see appropriate profits, they will not stick to any company, not even a company like Apple.
“50 billion,” Finn stated another figure. If the previous figure allowed Kodiak to slightly shake his head, this number made Kodiak open his mouth in surprise.
50 billion Federal coins…this was an overestimation of nearly 40%! “Mr. Lewis, why is this so?” Kodiak asked in disbelief, his tone was not as assertive as before.
“Does Mr. Kodiak Kennedy know why I bought NW?” Instead of answering, Finn asked with a smile.
“I have some familiarity with this, it seems that Mr. Lewis is a player of the YVY game?” Kodiak naturally wouldn’t have missed such news given that WY is as valuable as Activision Blizzard and worth being followed.
“Therefore, similarly, I am a player of Blizzard games, too. I have played important games such as Throne of Agony, Creature War, Dark Destruction, and Star War. I won’t say that I grew up with these games, but I have played all of them,” Finn replied with a smile.
Kodiak was astounded, his stupefying expression was quite apparent, after a while he asked, looking perplexed, “Just like that?”
“Just like that, or what else could it be?” Finn shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, while smiling at Kodiak.
Kodiak, after a while, was still shocked. Looking at Finn Lewis with his eyes wide open, he could not believe what he was hearing. For someone like Kodiak who puts interest above everything else, Finn’s thought process was beyond his comprehension.
How could there be a person who would want to buy a game developing company just because they loved the game so much? What bizarre logic was this? But Finn sat right in front of him, mentioning an irresistible amount of price.
“Mr. Lewis, you are just playing with me, right?” Kodiak asked Finn, looking somewhat speechless.
“You think I have flown thousands of kilometers just to mess with you? 50 billion Federal coins, 23% of Activision Blizzard’s shares. How about it?” Finn asked with a smile.
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“I am curious, Mr. Lewis, are you planning to be the majority shareholder of Activision Blizzard?” After pondering, Kodiak voiced out his concern, Activision Blizzard was just a subsidiary of French Vivendi Group not long ago.
It had just gained independence, and now it was targeted again. Of course, Kodiak didn’t really care, making several billion Federal coins by selling it off in such a short time, why not?
For Kodiak, capital operation is what really matters, regardless of which company he controls. Moreover, he wasn’t worried about his position. Even if Finn bought his shares, could Finn really dismiss all the high-ranking officials in the company?
“Of course,” Finn naturally nodded. Currently, Finn had 19.6% of the shares on the stock market. He could continue to purchase more shares, but the cost-effectiveness would not be high, the premium per share would have to be close to or over 50%.
Acquiring additional shares from these large shareholders was definitely something that Finn would consider.
“I don’t have any issues selling my shares to you, Mr. Lewis. However, it might be a bit difficult for you to acquire the 24% shares held by Kelly Damian Bryan.” After pondering, Kodiak regretfully shook his head. Kelly Damian Bryan holds 6% out of the 8% owned by Kodiak’s investment firm. The remaining shares, less than 13%, were available in the stock market, but would be quite hard to secure.
Owing to the actions taken by Olivia Thatcher, the stock price of Activision Blizzard was starting to rise. This rise had no benefit for Finn’s continued acquisition of shares from other shareholders. If Kodiak’s 23% shares were acquired, Finn would end up holding only 42% shares. He would need at least 9% more to ensure absolute control.
He would need to acquire at least 10% from Vivendi to achieve it. But, getting the 10% shares from Vivendi would not be easy. Even though Vivendi had sold Activision Blizzard, Vivendi still held shares in other entertainment companies. In that sense, holding onto that 10% gave them a chance.
“Why so?” Finn queried, raising an eyebrow.
Finn had never been in contact with Kelly Damian Bryan, so he didn’t understand him well. But Kodiak has surely not made the comment without reason. “For Damian Bryan, Activision is like his child. He would definitely not forsake his child just for some money. Therefore, it would be quite difficult for you to purchase his shares,” Kodiak concluded with a shake of his head..