"Have you figured out the specifics yet?"
"Did Ti Warner really surrender?"
Evening of August 23, 2005.
New York.
The lights were blazing in the chairman's office of News Corporation.
A rapid knock at the door made Rupert Murdoch shout "Co in."
When he saw that it was his secretary, the 74-year-old man instantly burst with a vitality usually reserved for the young. He had been leaning back on the sofa, but suddenly straightened up and asked loudly, "Is Ti Warner really preparing to accept Carl Icahn's proposal?"
"Is the statent Ti Warner released serious?"
"They're willing to push up the stock price through share buybacks?"
"Even if they don't have enough cash, they're willing to raise everything by selling company assets?"
The barrage of questions ca like raindrops in a storm, pounding the secretary so hard his face felt sore.
Jogging in, chest heaving, he nodded forcefully while gasping for air. "Mr. Murdoch, I've confird it with multiple parties. These ssages were released by Ti Warner themselves."
"And according to soone who used to work for us and then jumped to Ti Warner, their managent team imdiately held a conference call after receiving Carl Icahn's 'Save Ti Warner' proposal."
"Because the eting was confidential, I couldn't find out exactly what they discussed. But one thing is certain: many Ti Warner executives are very dissatisfied with the current stock price."
"Or rather—"
"Those executives also seem dissatisfied with Ti Warner's current business structure and market segnts."
"So they want to actively embrace Carl Icahn."
"?????"
"What the hell?????"
Rupert Murdoch was completely stunned!!!
Because the way things were developing was far beyond his expectations!!!
In his prior judgnt, his thinking was actually the sa as Roy E. Disney's—
Carl Icahn was a suspicious, cautious person by nature. Soone like that wouldn't rashly attack Ti Warner!
Especially when Ti Warner's chairman was still a mber of the Rockefeller family!
So in Murdoch's eyes, Icahn's move against Ti Warner had to be driven by external factors. And once Icahn drew his sword and pointed the attack directly at Ti Warner's managent, the external forces pushing him were very likely Ted Turner and Steve Case!
And if Ted Turner and Steve Case were colluding with Carl Icahn to carve up Ti Warner, then it would be perfectly normal for Ti Warner's managent to fight back fiercely and refuse!
Uh—
This logic should be easy to understand, right?
It's like a five-branch family where the eldest and second eldest want to fight over the inheritance, but the third, fourth, and fifth refuse their distribution plan. So the eldest two directly bring in local gang forces to back them up.
In that situation, the eldest and second only get the maximum benefit if they kill off the third, fourth, and fifth.
Because gang backing costs money.
If the eldest two only hired outside help to reclaim what was rightfully theirs, that would be a losing deal.
They have to kill one person.
Take over one extra branch of the inheritance.
Only then can they avoid a loss and even profit.
And since they've already killed soone, why not kill everyone?
Moreover, if they kill only one, no matter whether it's the third, fourth, or fifth, it would feel unfair. Only by killing all of them can they achieve the greatest "fairness" for themselves!
And once the third, fourth, and fifth know that the eldest two want to kill them, shouldn't their best move be to fight back?
At that point, it's either stand and live or stand and die.
There's no third option!
But what about Ti Warner right now?
They surren—surrendered?
Oh my God.
Seriously.
At this mont,
Rupert Murdoch truly could not understand Ti Warner's way of thinking.
In his eyes, Ti Warner had chosen to kneel and die instead of standing to live or standing to die!
What kind of freakish choice is that?!
Like Rupert Murdoch, another person shocked by Ti Warner was Edgar Bronfman Jr. At this mont, he was leaning back in the chairman's office at EMI's headquarters, scratching his head in confusion.
Yes, he had already bought EMI.
He was currently pondering how to turn EMI into the world's largest music group.
But after seeing Ti Warner's public statent, he threw all those dreams aside.
The reason was simple:
First, he had previously gone head-to-head with Barry yer and others.
Earlier, when he wanted to buy Warner Music from Barry yer and his people, they had been desperately unwilling. But now, when Carl Icahn said he wanted to dismantle them, they agreed imdiately?
What the hell is this?
Is Carl Icahn more vicious than him?
Or does he just have a face that's easy to bully?
Second, within the Bronfman family, he wasn't the only one of the new generation.
He had many brothers and sisters.
Back then, when fighting over the inheritance of the family business, they had battled extrely fiercely. Thirty years ago, the kidnapping case that shocked all of Arica was even one of those ugly incidents caused by the siblings fighting over wealth.
However wealthy he was today, his siblings were just as miserable.
So when Edgar Bronfman Jr. knew that one person's rise ant the deaths of countless others, and Ti Warner directly voted yes in the face of Carl Icahn's attack—
"How is that any different from sticking their necks out for Ted Turner and Steve Case to chop off?"
"Mother—!"
"What kind of operation is this?!"
When even a wastrel like Edgar Bronfman Jr. couldn't make sense of it, then others—Roy E. Disney, Sumner Redstone, Jeff Imlt, even Michael Eisner—were equally baffled. They truly had no idea what kind of bizarre tactic Ti Warner was playing.
Even more confused, in fact, were Ted Turner and Steve Case.
In their eyes, the situation looked like this:
Two armies facing off in a siege. Just as the attacking side finished shouting their challenge and hadn't even begun deploying troops, the city gates were already wide open. The lord of the city even climbed onto the walls personally to invite them in for a chat.
Anyone who has read books knows this could be a trap, a Hongn Banquet.
As for those who haven't read—
Well, at a mont like this, the uneducated don't even get a seat at the table.
Precisely because everyone understood the ga, Ti Warner's thumbs-up to Carl Icahn looked, to Ted Turner and Steve Case, like proof that Ti Warner was plotting sothing huge.
As for what that plot was—
"Do you have any ideas?"
August 24, 2005.
Ted Turner hosted a banquet at his Atlanta estate for the brothers who had once fought alongside him.
Many of them were senior executives from Turner Broadcasting.
They understood their boss's feud with Ti Warner, and they had no option to defect.
So at this mont, communication flowed smoothly.
"No," said an old man about the sa age as Ted Turner, shaking his head. "Ti Warner's behavior this ti is too bizarre. It doesn't follow normal logic at all, so we can't make an effective judgnt based on it."
"Exactly," said a slightly younger man beside him, nodding. "Not only that, after realizing how strange their actions were, we tried to find out their real motives. And—there's been absolutely no internal gossip within the group."
"That's very strange."
"Right," echoed an even younger man. "Although our people aren't inside their managent, let's put it this way: when we owned CNN, we didn't think there was anything in this world we couldn't find out."
"But this ti—"
"We really heard nothing at all."
dia moguls are basically among the best-inford people in the world.
To put it more bluntly—
No one in dia avoids wiretapping, surveillance, bribery, or turning insiders.
So when even the pros in the intelligence ga said they couldn't dig up anything, Ted Turner went numb on the spot.
As he put on a mask of pain, soone beside him said, "Ted, although we don't know why Ti Warner agreed to Carl Icahn's plan, I think one thing is clear: whatever the enemy wants to do, we absolutely must not do it."
"Now Ti Warner wants to et Carl Icahn?"
"Then we absolutely must not let them et!"
"I agree!"
Before the words even finished, soone at the table chid in. "Ted, I also think you should stop Carl Icahn from eting Ti Warner. Right now, the most favorable move for you is to urge Icahn to speed up the attack and force Ti Warner to convene an extraordinary shareholders' eting and replace everyone on the board!"
"No matter what Ti Warner wants to say, you can't let Carl Icahn hear it!"
"Otherwise—"
"Things could easily go wrong!"
Ted Turner understood what they ant.
Carl Icahn was just a businessman.
He attacked companies to make money.
So if Ti Warner knew the rules and satisfied his interests—
Sigh, hadn't many of his past attacks failed because the target companies chose to pay up to avoid disaster?
If every company he targeted didn't drop gold coins, where would that terrifying 30% annualized return co from?
Right?
Carl Icahn could choose to take the money and leave, but Ted Turner couldn't.
Because he had already officially swung his fist at the Ross family. If he couldn't completely drive them out of Ti Warner this ti, he'd be the one packing his bags and getting kicked out.
Thinking of that—
"Damn!"
An irritated Ted Turner clenched his teeth and slapped the armrest.
At the sa ti, Steve Case was thinking the sa thing.
After consulting with his think tank, even though he still couldn't figure out Ti Warner's intentions, he decided that no matter what sche Ti Warner was plotting, he had to stop Carl Icahn from eting them.
But unfortunately—
"What?"
"Why?"
"Why should I refuse to et Ti Warner?"
Evening of August 24, 2005.
In the conference call organized by Ted Turner and Steve Case, Carl Icahn exclaid in surprise, "Gentlen, forgive for being blunt, but is there sothing wrong with you?"
"If earlier you were anxious and suspected that I leaked the information about attacking Ti Warner, okay, I can understand that. For you, attacking Ti Warner is extrely important."
"There can't be the slightest mistake."
"But now?"
"We've launched the attack, and then you're stopping from confronting the other side?"
"Oh—please—I'm seriously starting to suspect that you two have persecution delusions."
"Because if you study my past attacks on other companies, you'll find that after I issue a challenge, there's a very high probability that the company's leadership will want to et with ."
"Because they want to protect their own positions."
"And I need to et with them as well."
"Because I need to feel out their bottom line, so I can maximize my gains."
"So! Tell !"
"Are you trying to stop from making more money?"
"Is that it?"
The cold, hard logic left Ted Turner and Steve Case speechless.
At this mont, they wanted to emphasize sothing.
They wanted to argue back.
But when the words reached their lips, nothing ca out.
In the end, still holding onto hope that the attack on Ti Warner could succeed, the two chose to back down.
Ted Turner said, "Carl, you should understand that we have no intention of obstructing you."
"Uh—"
"How about this."
"You set a ti, and then we all go together. Okay?"
"Okay." Carl Icahn curled the corner of his mouth.
He understood what Ted Turner ant and said, almost condescendingly, "Although you've repeatedly questioned , I'll still tell Ti Warner this: if they really want to et , then everyone on the board has to co."
"If even one person is missing, I won't et them."
"Mm-hmm? That works now, right?"
"Oh—thank you—"
On the other end of the line, Ted Turner and Steve Case let out a sigh of relief.
Because they were still mbers of Ti Warner's board, as long as Carl Icahn firmly demanded to et only with the full board, the two of them would definitely be able to attend.
And then—
They'd be able to hear every word exchanged between Carl Icahn and Ti Warner.
What they feared most right now was Carl Icahn privately talking with a small faction inside Ti Warner.
And they weren't the only ones.
On August 25, 2005, Carl Icahn publicly responded to Ti Warner's invitation—
"Ti Warner's developnt direction is a huge and complex issue. So if Ti Warner truly intends to talk with , I hope to see all of Ti Warner's directors at the eting."
In response—
On August 26, 2005, Ti Warner spoke again: "We thank Mr. Carl Icahn for his attention to our company."
"Our chairman is actively communicating with all directors. Once everyone's schedules are aligned, we will contact Mr. Carl Icahn imdiately. We ask for his patience."
After this news appeared—
On August 27, 2005, the foundation under the Icahn's na held an ergency press conference.
The spokesperson gave high praise to Ti Warner's behavior and attitude.
And stated that Carl Icahn was very much looking forward to good news.
Frankly speaking, once things reached this stage, anyone with even a bit of trading experience had no idea what Ti Warner was trying to do.
Because since the birth of financial raids, Ti Warner was the company that treated the raider with the most respect.
Those in the know understood that Carl Icahn was basically a bandit.
Those who didn't know, after seeing Ti Warner's behavior, would straight-up think this guy was so incredible professional manager.
So—
"What the hell is Ti Warner thinking?"
This was the most baffling question among Wall Street veterans in August 2005.
But their confusion didn't last long.
As soon as September arrived, Ti Warner reached an agreent with Carl Icahn and scheduled a formal eting for September 10, 2005.
The location: Ti Warner's New York headquarters.
When this news ca out, with a sharp "snap," people across dia, finance, entertainnt, and every other field all turned their eyes to that day.
Everyone wanted to know what kind of fart Ti Warner was holding in its belly.
And that—
September 10, 2005, was a Saturday.
That day, it was lightly raining in New York.
But that didn't matter, because Carl Icahn's personal company office was less than a ten-minute walk from Ti Warner's headquarters. So at 10 a.m., the 69-year-old appeared on ti before everyone.
He smiled and nodded at the reporters camping at the entrance.
Under the guidance of Ti Warner staff, he went straight to the top floor.
The mont he stepped into the conference room, he saw four figures who had already arrived:
Ti Warner's current chairman, Richard Parsons, a servant of the Rockefeller family;
His deputy, Ti Warner's current CEO Jeffrey Bewkes, forrly a subordinate of Barry yer;
Ted Turner and Steve Case.
As for the others?
They were all hanging on the wall.
Yes.
Ti Warner's directors were very busy.
Not everyone had ti to watch the Ross family and Ted Turner play out their boring internal power struggle.
Being able to spare ti for a video conference was already a gesture of respect.
Mm.
At this mont.
Anyone normal would know this wasn't normal, right?
But Carl Icahn didn't care.
Smiling, he shook hands with Richard Parsons and the others, greeted the ten familiar faces on the wall one by one, exchanged pleasantries, then leaned back in his chair and wasted no ti stating the purpose everyone already knew—
"I want to break you up."
"And then have you buy back shares."
"And I hear you have no objections, just so funding issues?"
"If that's the case, then I think we can discuss specific plans today."
"For example, which businesses I'd suggest you sell, and then use that money to buy back stock."
As soon as he said this, the large conference room fell into silence.
The ten directors on the wall said nothing, because they knew they were just there to watch.
Watch what, exactly?
"Yes, Carl, we do think your plan is quite good. Or rather, we also believe Ti Warner's stock is undervalued, so we want to find ways to push up the share price."
After a brief pause, seeing no one else speak, Richard Parsons took over.
Carl Icahn nodded slightly. "Then—do you want to present the plan, or should I?"
The mont those words fell, Ted Turner and Steve Case's hearts jumped.
They hadn't expected the eting to move this fast.
Just as they were hoping Richard Parsons would let Carl Icahn present the plan, because only that would prove Ti Warner was embracing Icahn rely so the Rockefeller family could cash out and exit—
"I'll speak."
Ti Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes suddenly opened his mouth.
Ted Turner and Steve Case instantly turned their heads, eyes wide.
Under their gaze, Jeffrey Bewkes smiled. "Back then, Warner opposed AOL's acquisition of Ti Warner. So now, Mr. Carl Icahn, your appearance makes very happy—"
"Oh? Is that so? Then go ahead and share your thoughts."
Despite Ted Turner and Steve Case's dramatic reactions, Carl Icahn ignored them, smiling warmly at Jeffrey Bewkes.
Jeffrey Bewkes nodded with a smile, and the next second—
"After I formally beca Ti Warner's CEO, I received quite a few acquisition offers related to AOL. And the vast majority of companies believe AOL is still worth $20 billion."
"Take Google's offer from a few days ago. Google wanted to buy 5% of AOL for $1 billion. If Google is willing to offer that price, I believe a $20 billion valuation for AOL is fair."
"In that case, my idea is to sell AOL. Even if the final transaction is a mix of stock and cash, assuming the usual 25% cash portion, we can still imdiately raise $5 billion in cash."
"Then, within a week of receiving that cash, we can start buying back Ti Warner shares. As for the remaining $15 billion buyback target, I plan to act after clearing the stock received in the transaction. Of course, I can also promise that if I'm running it, the buyback plan will be completed no later than 2007."
"Mr. Carl Icahn, what do you think of this plan?"
Boom—
Before Carl Icahn could even speak, Ted Turner and Steve Case felt like the sky had fallen.
Because this plan was perfect.
Because this plan was exactly what they had discussed before!
That's right.
Ted Turner and the others had also wanted to trade with Carl Icahn using the sa approach Jeffrey Bewkes just described.
So when Warner's people had the exact sa idea—
"I think this plan is great!" Carl Icahn burst out laughing. "So why don't you just do it directly?"
"Is it because the people who like AOL are hard to deal with?"
"If that's the case, I can help you!"
"Tell , who likes AOL? Yahoo? Microsoft? Or soone else?"
"Whether it's Jerry Yang or Bill Gates, I have ways to convince them to put up $20 billion!"
"Oh~~~ that really is wonderful~~~" Jeffrey Bewkes started clapping.
Like he'd found a kindred spirit, even the corners of the 53-year-old's eyes wrinkled with his smile.
"As you said, Yahoo and Microsoft are both potential buyers for AOL, and of course Google as well. But right now, the thing troubling most isn't that. It's the stock buyback."
"The buyback? Isn't that sothing you just do directly? What problem could there be?"
Seemingly thinking the deal was about to close, Carl Icahn's face was full of excitent.
His question made Ted Turner and Steve Case's pupils constrict sharply.
In that instant, both of them sensed sothing ominous.
And in fact—
They were right.
Facing Carl Icahn's question, Jeffrey Bewkes said bluntly, "Because I don't want to buy back shares on the open market. I want to do a targeted buyback of Ti Warner shares from Ted Turner and Steve Case—"
"JEFFREY BEWKES!!! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ???"
Before Jeffrey Bewkes could finish, Steve Case shot to his feet.
Eyes bulging, ears practically upright, he roared, "I know the Ross family behind you wants to kick us out of the company!"
"But with the shares you have, you're not qualified to talk about a targeted buyback—"
"I agree."
Although Steve Case was shouting, at that mont, the light, almost casual voice of agreent carried enormous weight.
Because—
Steve Case slowly turned his head.
Followed the sound.
The person agreeing was Ti Warner's chairman, Richard Parsons.
"The Rockefeller family is actually standing on the Ross family's side???"
Steve Case could hardly believe his ears.
But before he could even process the shock, another voice of agreent appeared—
"I think your idea is fine."
"Steve Case is originally the founder of AOL. If we're selling AOL, then why should soone with nothing to do with Ti Warner anymore stay at Ti Warner? As for Ted Turner—"
"He was the one who strongly supported AOL's acquisition of Ti Warner back then, wasn't he?"
"If his judgnt was that flawed, then it's only right for him to leave the company."
Boom.
At that mont, Steve Case felt like his head exploded.
Because he knew that voice all too well.
It was—
"Carl Icahn!"
"You really do have a problem!"
Steve Case spun around in fury, glaring at Carl Icahn.
As for Carl Icahn—
He shrugged, spread his hands, and smiled like a sly fox. "Steve Case, if I rember correctly, you were born in 1958?"
"That makes you 47 this year, right?"
"So maybe try being a little more mature."
"What do you an I really have a problem?"
"You can't just talk nonsense like that—"
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