Chapter 249: The Best Timing

Xiao Ran was determined to help Lei Shidong—he needed an ally, and Lei Shidong was a good choice. This had been his decision from the start, and for that reason, he even had the headquarters raise ten billion dollars through loans and other means.

Amidst all these complications caused by the emergence of Shadow, Wei Dongling called in anger over this fundraising effort. Shadow was almost facing a funding crisis. If it weren’t for BOC helping to provide forty billion dollars in loans at lightning speed, Shadow, which was already short on funds due to frequent acquisitions, would likely not have been able to come up with such a large sum.

Xiao Ran swore repeatedly that there would be no problems, and only then did Wei Dongling let him go. Xiao Ran asked Huang Ling to give a call to Pa Locke and Han Long, then picked up the phone in his room to call home. It was his mother who answered. As soon as she heard Xiao Ran’s voice, she showed joy: “Son, how are you in the U.S.? Don’t do anything to disappoint Qingxia!”

Xiao Ran smiled bitterly. Given the current situation in Hollywood, he couldn’t do anything he wanted. After assuring her a few times, his mother went to call Lin Qingxia: “Honey, what’s wrong? The kids are about to go to bed!”

“Nothing, I’m just a bit nervous,” Xiao Ran said. He took a deep breath. This acquisition had pushed Shadow, which had expanded too rapidly, to its limits. If it failed, they would have to sell off Hassaway Company’s shares quickly. After all, those shares had already earned Shadow hundreds of millions of dollars. Selling them could yield more than ten times the investment.

Among the stocks under Shadow’s control, Xiao Ran valued this company’s shares the least. After all, Buffett was into financial investing, which was different from Xiao Ran’s goals. Financial investing was too uncertain—one might lose everything overnight. That’s why Xiao Ran had always been very cautious about it.

“What’s wrong? What happened? Why are you nervous?” Lin Qingxia immediately forgot everything else and focused solely on her concern for her husband.

“Nothing much. I’m launching an acquisition that will greatly help Shadow’s development,” Xiao Ran sighed. Sometimes he really didn’t want to expand through frequent acquisitions or mergers, but he didn’t have enough time to manage the company properly, so he had no choice. “It’s just that this acquisition has caused Shadow to run short of funds. I’m afraid if it fails, we’ll suffer heavy losses. There could even be a chain reaction.”

After thinking carefully, Lin Qingxia immediately smiled. “Don’t lie to me. Tianxia Fund has grown into a huge fund of three hundred billion dollars. What’s there to fear? We can have them finance us. Besides, Kineng controls two Russian oil companies—those are very valuable!”

Xiao Ran was stunned. He scratched his head awkwardly, not expecting Lin Qingxia to come up with all this so quickly. “That’s all. I’m just nervous. It’s hard to explain right now. In any case, if this acquisition succeeds, it will mean we’ve taken our first step in Hollywood!”

“I can’t help you. I’ll just cheer for you from Hong Kong. If it fails, we can always retreat. Phantom is still Asia’s largest entertainment media company!” Lin Qingxia wasn’t sure whether to be angry or amused. Her husband had gone through so much already, yet now he was still stressed over an acquisition deal.
Retreat? Would that make any sense? Xiao Ran shook his head slightly. It wasn’t that he couldn’t tolerate failure, but he couldn’t afford to fail at this perfect moment. If he could complete the acquisition successfully now, he could save billions that would otherwise be lost, just like Sony had done.
But at that moment, for some reason, he thought of his two children and smiled gently. “The kids haven’t gone to bed yet, have they? I want to talk to them.”
“Xiao Qing played wildly during the day and has already gone to bed. Only Xiao Ling’er hasn’t,” Lin Qingxia signaled the nanny to bring Xiao Ling’er over, then held the child and said to Xiao Ran, “Here she is. What do you want to say?”
“Xiao Ling’er, are you doing well? Do you miss your dad?” In that instant, Xiao Ran was filled with tenderness. It was as if he could see Xiao Ling’er with his own eyes. Hearing the muffled sounds coming through the phone, Xiao Ran laughed softly. “Take her to bed now. You should rest early too!”
After hanging up, he washed his face in the bathroom. Looking at his still-dark skin in the mirror, his usual mustache, and his sharp eyes, he stood there in silence for a while before sitting down on the sofa, waiting for the two of them to arrive.
This acquisition wasn’t about being unwilling to lose—it was about the opportunity to expand Phantom rapidly in North America. There might be another chance in the future, but it would require even more effort than now. The acquisition wasn’t the ultimate goal; it was a process. The real goal was to form an alliance with Leishi Dong. As for Colombia, Xiao Ran didn’t even want to deal with it. With those two fools around, they probably wouldn’t achieve much. It was enough to arrange for Universal to give those fools a little reward.
Pai Luoke and Han Long arrived almost simultaneously. Once both were there, Xiao Ran stood up, walked around a bit, and explained why he had asked them to come over so late: “I want to acquire Blockbuster!”
Both were shocked, especially Han Long. He was well aware that the company had just gone through numerous acquisitions, and acquiring Blockbuster now would definitely be a risk. Although he had only been in the U.S. for three days, he was already quite familiar with the market and knew that Blockbuster was the world’s largest video rental chain. Completing the acquisition wouldn’t be easy, and it was even uncertain whether they could overcome the obstacles posed by U.S. authorities.
Pai Luoke was even more alarmed. After learning that Phantom had acquired Universal, he immediately researched Phantom’s background. The results shocked him—Phantom controlled Power Group, and several subsidiaries of Power Group controlled Nokia, a company renowned for its achievements in mobile phones, as well as two Russian oil companies and several electronics and telecommunications companies acquired in the U.S.

Due to its effective control and ample funds for development, Phantom maintains strict control over the equity of its subsidiaries. Aside from the shares allocated to employees and senior management, almost all equity remains in Phantom’s hands—or rather, in Xiao Ran’s hands.

It’s truly great to have such a massive entertainment and media empire as a new employer. Yet, Pailuoke is aware that Phantom has made too many acquisitions recently. He never expected that right after completing the acquisition of Universal, Xiao Ran would still take the risk of launching another one.

Of course, both Pailuoke and Han Long understand that Phantom is fully capable of undertaking such acquisitions. Even if it results in losses, it won’t harm the Phantom Empire at all—most likely only causing a short-term funding shortage. But BOC is already preparing funds to help Phantom overcome its financial crisis, while Tianxia Fund is also making secret preparations to prevent Phantom from being targeted. Even Wei Dongling is planning to gradually sell Hassaway to secure cash to get through the tough times.

Still, they don’t quite understand why Xiao Ran is doing this. They all know how valuable Blockbuster would be if it fell under Phantom’s control. But they don’t understand why Xiao Ran is in such a hurry!

Why such urgency? Xiao Ran is well aware that Lei Shidong’s attempt to acquire Paramount is stuck due to attacks from his friend and rival. Historically, Lei Shidong broke the deadlock by buying Blockbuster, borrowing money to raise the bid for Paramount and thus completing the acquisition.

So, Xiao Ran has to take this risk. If he can buy Blockbuster first and then provide financing for Lei Shidong, he can gain control of Paramount’s shares—making it a powerful ally.

In fact, $10 billion poses no threat to the Phantom Empire. Since it allows him to kill two birds with one stone, why not do it? Moreover, Xiao Ran definitely doesn’t want to miss this turbulent period. During this time, except for Disney and Warner, the seven major studios are all facing changes in ownership or other issues—this is a rare opportunity.

“I’m investing $10 billion in Universal. You two will carry out this acquisition!” Xiao Ran finally stopped walking, staring intently at the two of them. “Submit a friendly offer to Blockbuster tomorrow—$

And this is exactly what Xiao Ran intends to take advantage of—he needs official U.S. approval for this acquisition. Over the past few years, most of Phantom’s acquisitions in the U.S. have been successful thanks to Ge Wenqiu’s efforts in lobbying. Could this time be an exception?
Heroes emerge in times of chaos. Whether Xiao Ran can achieve the results he expects in Hollywood’s current turmoil remains uncertain, but at least he is trying…
On the fourth day of his arrival in the U.S., Xiao Ran was in his room watching a program on Disney’s ABC network, a news channel. Finally, the news he had been waiting for arrived. On screen was a well-known journalist holding a microphone that resembled a wooden-handled grenade, with Han Long standing behind her.
The woman didn’t seem particularly attractive, and it was unclear how she had become famous. But at least what she said was what Xiao Ran wanted to hear: “The Phantom Group from the East has just completed its acquisition of Universal Pictures, and just a few days later, Universal submitted an offer to Blockbuster this morning for $8.8 billion…”
This pending deal clearly shocked many people. Many journalists tried to interview Xiao Ran. Even a fool could tell that Universal certainly couldn’t afford such a sum—so the real mastermind must be the Phantom Group, which had just taken control of Universal. And Xiao Ran was at the Beverly Hills Hotel. If journalists didn’t come to ask questions, that would be truly foolish.
However, Xiao Ran asked Huang Ling to turn down all interviews, believing it wasn’t the right time to be interviewed. The journalists soon dug into Phantom’s background and realized that the group had carried out numerous acquisitions and mergers over the past four years. They thought, “The Phantom Group is like a starving shark, constantly searching for targets to devour.”
On the third day after the announcement, Xiao Ran felt the time was right and accepted an invitation from CNN (I’m not familiar with how American talk shows work—please forgive any mistakes).
After greeting the audience, the famous female host Lai Wei introduced him loudly, “Look who we’ve invited this time—Mr. Xiao Ran, Chairman of the Phantom Group from the East. Let’s give him a warm welcome!”
Xiao Ran wasn’t used to this type of show, but he decided to go along with local customs. Since Americans liked it, he would choose something they preferred. So, he smiled at the large audience and camera and said, “Good evening, American viewers. I’m honored to be here!”
At that moment, Xiao Ran glanced around and saw several banners forming a message—“Chinese, get out of Hollywood! It belongs to Americans!”
After a pause, with countless thoughts racing through his mind, wondering whether it was arranged by Warner or just the venting of local dissatisfied people, Xiao Ran, still with a cold smile, said before Lai Wei could respond, “Miss Lai Wei, have you seen that? I think it’s quite ridiculous.”

Lai Wei certainly understood the logic, but she was so accustomed to such things that she could pretend not to see them. Seeing Xiao Ran ask this, she had no choice but to turn her gaze away and smile, saying, “Why does it seem so funny to you? I think everyone must be very curious!”
“Those familiar with American history know that this land originally did not belong to what are called Americans. By this logic… I think…” Xiao Ran smiled calmly, “I think the local natives could just as well tell the U.S. government and all outsiders to get out of this land. What do you think, Miss Lai Wei?”
Lai Wei forced a smile, thinking it was really difficult to deal with him. She immediately gave a subtle signal to the staff beside her, skillfully changing the topic, hoping that Xiao Ran would stop pressing her: “Mr. Xiao, you know sometimes I’m also told to get out of CNN. We have to try to get used to such things!”