The deal between Daenerys Entertainment and Metropolis ABC moved quickly. On the afternoon of Saturday, June 17, Simon and Warren Buffett finalized the purchase price. By the following Sunday, both companies held board meetings lasting several hours, during which the merger was smoothly approved.
This swift approval was primarily due to the concentrated control within both companies.
At Daenerys Entertainment, Simon held absolute control over the company. On the Metropolis ABC side, Warren Buffett and Tom Murphy, while not having Simon's level of control, were still dominant. As a result, the board meetings were more of a formality.
The next day was June 19.
A Monday.
Given the high-profile nature of this deal, which was sure to spark widespread public interest, the two companies, under the suggestion of Metropolis ABC, decided to announce the acquisition via ABC's morning news program Good Morning America. The show aired from 7 to 9 a.m., and starting at 8 a.m., ABC devoted a full 30-minute special segment to the news.
The live broadcast announced the general details of the Daenerys Entertainment acquisition of Metropolis ABC.
Daenerys Entertainment would merge with Metropolis ABC through a cash-and-stock deal. The agreed price was $172 per share, valuing Metropolis ABC at $20.9 billion. Additionally, Daenerys would assume $3 billion of Metropolis ABC's debt, making the total acquisition cost approximately $24 billion.
Not only that, based on Daenerys Entertainment's closing price of $73.75 per share the previous Friday, Metropolis ABC shareholders could exchange each of their shares for one share of Daenerys plus $98.25 in cash, or they could opt for more cash or stock.
The exact exchange ratio would be finalized once the deal cleared federal regulatory review, at which point shareholders could register and settle.
After introducing the general terms of the deal, Daenerys CEO Amy Pascal, Daenerys President Robert Iger (who oversaw television operations), Metropolis ABC Chairman and CEO Tom Murphy, and major shareholder Warren Buffett all appeared on Good Morning America to explain in more detail the merger's impact on both companies and the media industry at large. They also took calls from Wall Street analysts to answer their questions.
Before the 30-minute special had even concluded, the news of this sudden industry upheaval had spread across the United States.
For months, with the media consolidation ban lifted, industry insiders had speculated that Daenerys Entertainment would likely acquire a major television network. However, most believed NBC or CBS would be the target, based on circulating rumors.
In Greenwich, Connecticut, at a suburban estate:
Just ten minutes into the ABC broadcast, Simon had already received three phone calls—two congratulatory calls from Time Warner's Terry Semel and MGM's Sherry Lansing, and a third from CBS Chairman Larry Tisch, who was irate.
Eileen Landé, who had taken her time getting dressed, entered the living room where Simon was sitting. She overheard him calmly but firmly responding to Tisch on the phone.
"Larry, if we're talking about sincerity, I've never seen that from you from the start. Don't tell me that the leaks about Daenerys and CBS talks were an accident. We all know what happened."
Eileen, who hadn't yet discussed work with Simon after spending the night with him, only now realized that Daenerys had finalized the ABC acquisition when she saw the Good Morning America special on the television.
Another multi-billion-dollar deal.
At this rate, perhaps the media was right in suggesting that Simon Westeros was on his way to dominating America.
But because this man was hers, the thought only stirred more admiration and reverence within her. It was natural for women to want their men to be stronger and more powerful.
After exchanging a few more words with Larry Tisch, Simon hung up.
Eileen leaned in closer to Simon, her eyes shining. "I'm surprised. When did you lock down ABC?"
"Just closed the deal with Buffett the day before yesterday."
Simon, noticing Eileen's intoxicating scent, reached for her face—not conventionally beautiful but undeniably charming the more he looked at her. Just as he was about to kiss her, his phone rang again. He answered it.
This time it was Michael Eisner calling to offer his congratulations as well.
Without letting go of Eileen's face, Simon spoke with Eisner while gently caressing her soft skin. A few moments later, he pulled her into his arms. After finishing the call, just as he leaned down to kiss her lips, the phone rang yet again.
Eileen couldn't help but be charmed by Simon's occasional playfulness. It was part of what made her fall for him. She enjoyed it, too.
But her mood soured as they were interrupted again. She glared at him and opened her mouth to bite, but Simon quickly dodged with a smile, slipping a finger between her teeth instead. Eileen bit down in frustration but then let him go.
After wrapping up another call with Jonathan Friedman, Simon stood and pulled Eileen to her feet, who still seemed a little displeased. "Come on, it's time for work."
Eileen, though feeling slightly weak in her legs, pouted playfully, "I suddenly don't want to go to work."
Simon, ever accommodating, smiled and said, "That's fine. You can stay here and rest for the day."
Eileen grabbed his hand. "Only if you stay with me."
"That's not possible. I'm very busy today. But maybe I can come over tonight."
Knowing that staying without him wouldn't be as much fun, Eileen reluctantly took his arm, and they began walking out together.
As they talked, Simon's phone rang yet again.
On the phone, they left the villa, where a helicopter was already waiting on the estate's lawn.
Simon personally helped Eileen onto the helicopter. Once seated in the cabin and seeing Simon's assistants and security detail joining them, she no longer felt the guilt she used to. Just last month, after much consideration, she had broken off her engagement with her fiancé.
Now she was single.
At 25, she saw no reason to stay in a relationship that didn't feel right.
As for Simon's complicated situation, well, it wasn't her place to worry about that. She had no illusions about stealing him away from Janet Westeros. Perhaps this relationship would last a few years, and then she'd find someone else, someone right for her, and forget about him.
The journey from Greenwich to Manhattan, a distance of about 40 kilometers, took less than 15 minutes in Simon's customized Black Hawk helicopter. They landed near the Hudson River at around 8:30 a.m., and the sheer size of the helicopter made the other choppers on the helipad look like children's toys.
Even though she came from a wealthy family, Eileen couldn't help but feel a bit of pride stepping off the Black Hawk. The night before, curious about the helicopter, she had learned that a custom-built Black Hawk like this cost $35 million, comparable to the price of a Gulfstream V private jet. The fact that Simon had ordered four of these choppers, for a total of $140 million, had left her astonished.
The Landé family couldn't afford such luxury.
Even if they bought one, they couldn't afford to maintain it.
At the end of April, when Estée Lauder went public, the Landé family cashed out $320 million—by far the largest sum they had ever seen. However, due to some tax-evasion maneuvers, they faced media backlash and scrutiny from both the IRS and Congress. If Eileen hadn't discreetly reached out to Simon for help, they would have likely faced a formal investigation.
The next day, Simon personally called her and assured her it was taken care of.
In the end, the issue was quietly resolved.
Back then, she hadn't yet broken off her engagement and hadn't mentioned this to her family. She kept it to herself, sometimes feeling indebted to Simon, but then comforting herself with the thought that it was his duty after all, given how much he tormented her.
Simon was headed to Daenerys Entertainment's East Coast headquarters in Greenwich Village, while Eileen's destination was Estée Lauder's offices in Midtown.
They rode together for part of the way, and then Simon was dropped off at Greenwich while the driver continued on to take Eileen to Midtown.
Upon entering the building Simon had purchased years earlier, many executives were already gathered in the conference room. Shortly after, Amy Pascal and Robert Iger, who had just participated in the morning broadcast, along with several top executives from Metropolis ABC, also arrived.
The morning was dedicated to discussing the timeline and arrangements for the merger.
The deal was far from finalized.
The biggest hurdle remained the federal Department of Justice's antitrust review. Even if things went smoothly, the process would take at least one to two months.
Before submitting the deal to the DOJ, Daenerys needed to conduct a deeper review of Metropolis ABC's assets, liabilities, and business operations. This review had already begun before the acquisition, but many internal documents remained inaccessible until the deal was officially agreed upon.
Additionally, both companies still needed to finalize details, such as post-merger personnel appointments. All in all, if the acquisition could be completed by September, in time for the fall TV season, that would be considered lucky. The full integration and structural adjustments required to achieve synergies would take another one to two years.
Simon began his workday in Greenwich. At 9:30 a.m., as the U.S. stock market opened, the financial markets responded immediately to the news of the acquisition.
Throughout the trading day, Metropolis ABC's stock price surged, closing at $163.25, up from $145.125
on Friday, a 12.5% gain in a single day.
Usually, in mergers, the acquiring company's stock tends to drop upon announcement.
But Daenerys Entertainment broke that trend.
While Metropolis ABC's stock soared, Daenerys Entertainment's stock also rose from $73.75 to $76.25, a 3.4% increase, pushing its market value to a new high of $161.1 billion. Although the stock's percentage gain seemed modest, in absolute terms, Daenerys' market value increased by $4.9 billion in one day—more than double the $2.1 billion gain in Metropolis ABC's market value.
This demonstrated the market's optimism about the merger.
But not everyone was celebrating.
The entire television sector, except for Metropolis ABC, suffered varying degrees of losses that day. CBS, which had been the most hopeful target for acquisition, was hit hardest.
Due to the leaked rumors of a possible acquisition, CBS's stock had risen more than 30% in recent weeks. By the previous Friday, CBS's market value had reached $8.7 billion.
However, following the morning announcement of the Daenerys-ABC deal, CBS's stock plummeted by 17%, wiping out $1.5 billion in market value in a single day.
This explained why CBS Chairman and major shareholder Larry Tisch was so furious when he called Simon earlier that morning.
Having undergone multiple divestitures in the 1980s, selling assets like Columbia Records and failing to develop its own cable television business, CBS had become the smallest of the three major networks, with its primary asset being the CBS broadcast network.
Now, with $1.5 billion wiped out in one day, the negative impact on CBS was far worse than Larry Tisch had anticipated.
Given the Tisch family's 18% stake in CBS, this translated to a $270 million loss in family wealth in just one day.
How could anyone not feel heartbroken?
But the damage didn't stop there. With CBS's stock price in freefall, previously suppressed CBS shareholders began publicly criticizing Larry Tisch for his mishandling of the negotiations with Daenerys, with some even calling for his resignation.
Under intense pressure, Larry Tisch announced that CBS would file a complaint with the Department of Justice, seeking to block the Daenerys-ABC merger on the grounds of industry monopoly concerns.
However, Daenerys immediately launched a countermeasure, threatening to pull key shows like ER, which were currently airing on CBS. After losing Beverly Hills, 90210 over a pricing dispute, which became a hit for Daenerys' USA cable network, CBS was already full of regret.
If they were to lose ER, which had just risen to the top of the ratings last year, CBS's slight advantage over ABC would vanish entirely.
Though CBS put up a brave front, they quickly backed down.
Simon wasn't overly concerned about CBS alone. His bigger worry was the collective backlash from the entire U.S. media industry.
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