February 25.
Raimon could only whistle at Billy's latest move. Not only had he hired the former manager and provided new perspectives for the future, but he also brought in six high-profile individuals who resigned from Warner to join Lux Animation.
–So you dragged me here while you're in the middle of filming? You know my time is limited. My boss is a bastard who always piles on extra work, – Raimon commented. In a short time, he'd sharpened his skill in spotting accounting issues and analyzing company structures. He knew exactly what a business needed to keep making money, and he knew how to do it cleanly.
–Turns out I've got some good ideas I can't just ignore. The kind that would piss Anne off, – said Billy. Recently, in a desperate attempt to double his pace, double his income, and keep the money flowing, he'd bought a series of documentary systems—ones about the Asian financial crises, the dot-com bubble, and the housing crash. They sparked ideas he hadn't even considered before.
–You're betting on basketball again? We've got that Michael Jordan and Bulls wager—it's like seven million dollars if we win, maybe ten if we include bonuses. That sounds like way too much for a simple bet, – said Raimon. But now that he knew more about Billy's investments, that kind of money seemed like pocket change.
–I want to do the same thing we did in Russia, and we've got all the ingredients to make the necessary purchases: better capital, higher standards, and more borrowing power, – said Billy.
–How much money are we talking about? – asked Raimon.
–All the money we have. If everything goes according to plan, we'll at least double it to inhuman amounts. And all we have to do is something that may or may not be considered unethical. Ethics and morals will be put aside. My company comes first, – Billy replied.
–The Greatest Asian Crisis in History–
–Inside Job (2010)–
–Startup.com (2001)–
–The Greatest Asian Crisis in History–
–Damn, that sounds intense... But if we mortgage all your shares and secure some loans for Lux Animation, we could have maybe 350 or 450 million clean dollars to play with, – said Raimon.
–We'll get more. I want to clean at least double that amount by May, – Billy responded.
–That would be...–
–It's simple, Raimon. I want you to go to Asia, or reach out to your contacts, and use our year-end reserve funds. We'll use this money for one goal... no, I'll go with you. Our cover is the acquisition of Lotus, currently under Proton, and Lamborghini, owned by MegaTech, a company in Indonesia. First, we'll request a $200 million loan in Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Find someone who can execute those transactions. We'll use our film stock investment fund—no movies other than The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix, – Billy explained.
–200 million or...? – asked Raimon.
–As much as you can get, – Billy smiled. – We'll borrow from those banks, convert the money to dollars. The key is in the clauses—because we'll repay in the local currency, but after a devaluation, meaning we'll pay back at half or less than half the amount. –
–Wait, but where is all this coming from? – asked Raimon.
–Just make sure the deals are in place before May. I want us to be sitting on piles of money by then, – Billy repeated.
–Got it, got it... I still don't fully understand the goal. –
–The goal is to execute the next phase. We wait until... I'd say June 4—no, June 8. When the crisis swings in our favor, we'll short several key banks and institutional stocks in those four countries, – said Billy, noticing Raimon looking at him like he was crazy. – What are you doing? Write everything down. But be careful with this information. If you pull this off, I'll give you 1% of the profits just for you, plus bonuses. Or I'll pressure Lucas to get you on screen. I just need you to take this seriously. –
–Damn, there's even dialogue... – Raimon muttered.
–I don't care. I'm doing it, – said Billy.
Raimon took a deep breath and grabbed a pencil, scribbling down notes. They were on the balcony of the mansion he shared with Monica for some time now.
–Alright, so you want me to ask for ridiculous sums of money... with what justification? Can I at least tell them something? – Raimon asked.
–Yes and no. You can say something, but I want silence and presence. The excuse is entering the industry, – said Billy. – In the meantime, scout and recruit major players from any sector. I want to plant roots in the automotive industry and chip manufacturing in America. We won't just take the money—we'll take the talent, too. –
–I've got it all written down... but damn, what exactly are you trying to do? This is starting to scare me, – Raimon laughed out loud, though he was sweating. It looked like they were plotting the greatest scheme in the world. Good thing he had contacts like Crazy Lomas and other funds with confidentiality contracts that would come in handy.
–So we're shorting financial companies, then what? After June 8? – asked Raimon.
–Enter on the 8th, short on June 12, – Billy replied.
–We buy the other 50% in PUT options, two months out, targeting September. We have to scale this, increase our positions, and close everything in September or October as the dominoes fall in our favor, – said Billy.
He knew they had to stagger all the losses: first the baht, with $50 million in bank and finance stocks. With a 70% drop, they could turn that into $350 million, then replicate it in Malaysia before August. The Malaysian drop would happen in July. The n short in Thailand, sell everything and collect the gains, repeat in Malaysia, then in August target Indonesia. By September, they'd have enough PUTs and capital to increase profits tenfold and pay the loans back in devalued currencies. When the money came back, they'd hit South Korea hard in October, no mercy, continuing through early January. It was a ruthless strategy.
–So half in short stocks, and half in PUT options, – Billy said, taking a sip of water. – Once you recover your money, bet on July 7 in Malaysia, short the market, use the earnings from Thailand, repeat in Indonesia in August, then move to South Korea in October. –
Raimon sighed, noting the exact dates.
–Then we use the profits to buy Lamborghini and Lotus from those companies. We'll also buy positions in Panasonic and Toyota. We might acquire some of their subsidiaries or firms focused on OLED screen technology. At the same time, we'll invest heavily in a few other companies, buy some outright, and strengthen our position with Apple and Nvidia, which will require a lot of work. But that doesn't matter. What matters is using the crisis to our advantage, – Billy said.
–I still don't get why you want those car brands, – Raimon asked.
–I have a plan, and they'll be our cover for the loans. If not that, they'll at least cause some ripples in the business world. Maybe we'll join a major automotive group, – Billy replied, looking straight at Raimon, who was furiously writing down everything. One of his ideas was to buy an additional company.
–So you want to play with currencies, then with banking and institutional stocks that track the markets in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and South Korea? – Raimon asked.
–In a nutshell. –
–And once we make money—which isn't guaranteed—you'll play rich uncle and start buying companies all over the world, – Raimon added, still skeptical.
–Something like that. –
–And you want me to ask banks for huge loans, act like we're buying companies, and then—bam—we hit them low. But what companies are motivating you to do all this? Besides buying two luxury car brands? –
–I'd like to buy SanDisk and invest the rest in Nvidia, keep Apple as our premium asset. I want to capitalize Apple and strip Jobs of operational control while keeping him happy with cash, – Billy said. – I also want to buy some IP rights. I want to acquire American Cheesecake, Buffalo Wings, and maybe another fast-food brand… we're building a true fast-food empire. –
Billy's vision was to spin off and create a separate company, turning the fast-food business into an entertainment-level brand. Simultaneously, he planned to separate Apple and merge it with SanDisk and maybe a camera brand to integrate into the mobile phone market, which was becoming key in the race for high-tech, high-performance hardware, especially with touchscreens. He wanted to dominate that space.
–Okay, we'll need to hire a specialized team. Through private contracts, they'll handle the backdoor operations. We'll sign NDAs with 10% penalty clauses, binding for both the company and brokers, and we'll offer 3% bonuses and extra incentives. But if this works, you'll make a fortune, – Raimon said.
–I want you to run this company. For now, I'll leave the comics business under my name and with an accounting firm to audit everything over the next nine months, including the fast-food chain, – said Billy.
–It's good news that our books are clean, – Raimon said.
–And they'll stay that way. Move the money to a Swiss bank through the Bahamas to acquire companies outside America. The rest we'll use, with mortgage backing and corporate credit, to buy other shares and of course, cover the necessary payments, – Billy replied.
Which amounted to nearly 20% of the profits, but with high leverage, none of it seemed intimidating.
–I'll open accounts and wire formats to send money to New Zealand and Australia, where we produce most of our movies. And we'll schedule debt repayment with terms over two years, – Raimon murmured.
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