American Peanuts

Chapter 1
"You're a damn robber!"

At the end of the famous Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, in a six-acre Gothic-style manor, an old man in a red velvet nightgown roared, his dark eyes were about to pop out.

His name is Hugh Hefner, he is 81 years old now, and his haggard face vaguely shows the handsomeness he once had.In addition to having a romantic affair such as playing poker with two thousand young beauties, he also has a famous name: the founder of Playboy magazine.

54 years ago, he handcrafted the first issue of the magazine in a week on his kitchen table using scissors and glue.After half a century of development, this men's magazine is as famous as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Disney and other famous brands, and has become a representative of American culture.

But just this past Christmas, the company's reputation suddenly took a turn for the worse.

"I'm just here to do business." The person sitting opposite was originally looking at the luxurious furnishings in the room with great interest. At this time, he turned his head slowly and said lightly.He was young enough that Hefner could have been his grandfather.

He has an Italian surname and the same first name as Chaplin, Charlie Rossi.

"If you refuse the acquisition, I can leave at any time, but the next person knocking on the door may be the Los Angeles police." His eyes swept over Hugh Hefner and his four children, and his tone was slightly teasing.

"Listen to the shouts of the demonstrators outside." Charlie deliberately listened.

"Get Hefner!"

At the same time, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the manor. Most of the crowd were women. They held signs with words such as "Punish the villains" and "Capture the Devil Hefner."Outside the crowd, a large number of OB vans of media organizations were parked.

Since the end of last year, magazine Playmates have been in the news, publicly accusing Hugh Hefner of crimes, describing the "helllike experiences" they suffered in this castle and the group building when they were young.Throughout the Christmas season, entertainment journalists across the United States were forced to work overtime. A series of scandals plunged the entertainment group into a huge public opinion storm. The stock price continued to fluctuate and fell to less than two dollars per share.

At the end of the Christmas holiday, people took to the streets and surrounded the Chicago Group Building and Hugh Hefner's private residence in Los Angeles, demanding that prosecutors arrest Hefner.

Charlie glanced at the lawyer next to him, and the other party immediately understood and read the acquisition details:
"Charlie Rossi commissioned an investment company located in the Cayman Islands to acquire approximately 2.5 million outstanding shares of the media group at a price of no more than US$470 per share, and to acquire all the shares held by the Hefner family for US$1.3 million. shares, with a total value of approximately US$[-] million.”

The faces of Hefner's four children changed drastically when they heard this.

"This is far from the original proposed acquisition price!" cried the eldest daughter Christie. She took over control of the company in the last century and has been the company's CEO since her father retired. She has successfully brought magazine subscribers from their peak to of 700 million fell to less than 300 million.

"The acquisition price is calculated based on the stock price, and I have already given a premium. The choice lies with you. You can terminate the acquisition at any time. But every day it is delayed, the final acquisition price will be one point lower." Charlie Rossi said with a smile .

"Although this is hard to accept... you are only worth this price now."

"You guy!" The eldest son clenched his fists.

This sentence was like a trigger, completely igniting the anger of the Hefner family.In the eyes of the Hefner family, this young man is a complete gangster and is using force and robbery to gain control of the company.

"I'm going to kill this bastard!" The second son, who used to be gentle and modest, also became hysterical.If the eldest sister hadn't stopped me, I would have rushed over.

"That's enough," growled the aging Hugh Hefner, stopping the farce in front of him.

"Young man, tell me who is behind you, Bob Gusney? Murdoch? Or the Cox family?" Hugh Hefner asked.His vocal cords are well maintained and still have his signature magnetism.

"I said, I'm just an ordinary person." Charlie fell into memories.

The original owner of this body left the orphanage when he was six years old and was adopted by a couple. His adoptive parents divorced when he was 13 years old. He has been living with his father in Utah.He once studied finance at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, he did not enter Wall Street like other students. Instead, he returned home to start a business and opened a financial institution called "Mercure" to provide loans for home buyers.

Relying on a series of leverage measures such as issuing CDOs in the secondary market, Mercure has made rapid progress. By last year, it had established a foothold in five central states, and its mortgage loan amount ranked among the top [-] in the United States.

It's a pity that this bold financial genius had a bad life. He suffered a heart attack within a few years of good life.Let a young soul from across the ocean take over the body.

Of course, he also wanted to live a leisurely life with wealth and freedom after traveling through time. However, he knew that in a few months, as New Century Financial filed for bankruptcy, the financial tsunami would spread to the world. His own Mercure Financial was doing the same thing as New Century Financial. Subprime loans account for [-]% of the company's business, which will lead to the company's complete bankruptcy on the eve of the financial crisis, and then it will have nothing.

If the tree is moved, it will die, but if the person is moved, it will live.In order to cope with the coming disaster.He chose Jin Chan to escape from his shell, sold his original company, and set his sights on a company called PLAYBOY.

This is an entertainment group that started as a magazine. It has made celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Crawford Cindy popular. It can be said that it has influenced generations after the baby boom and plays an important role in American culture. status.

After the turn of the millennium, with the development of the Internet, the company's business has been impacted across the board, and valuations are at historical lows.And except for a small number of outstanding shares, most of them are in the hands of the Hefner family, making them easy to acquire.

To ordinary people, Mercure may already be called a huge enterprise, but compared to PLAYBOY, a super brand that is well-known in the United States and enjoys a certain degree of popularity around the world, it can only be said to pale into insignificance.

In order to complete the acquisition, Charlie Rossi performed a series of operations that can be called "magic." He did not rush to negotiate with the Hefner family, but first collected evidence.

The revelations in the news now are all secretly manipulated by Rossi.

Behind the parade were several non-governmental organizations that protect women's rights, and Rossi provided them with large amounts of donations.

Several short-selling agencies have issued short-selling reports, which involve some very hidden business information, which is enough to prove that there are major problems in the financial reports disclosed by the group to the outside world.This information was naturally provided by Charlie.

The entire Wall Street is like a vulture smelling of corruption. Before FINRA, SEC, and CFTC announced a joint investigation, they established short positions, peddled Playboy shares, and then repurchased the positions at low prices to make profits.

A few days ago, a member of the blue camp even came to the rally to check in. This was something Charlie had not expected.

Seeing that the fields of journalism, finance, and politics were all coming to an end and entering this feast of carving up corpses, Charlie Rossi, the chef behind the scenes, slowly stepped onto the stage and extended an olive branch to the Hefner family.

The Hefner family also struggled and fought back.But with little success.Hugh Hefner was a smart man who was cautious throughout his life and had a backup plan.

However, he never dreamed that his opponent came from 15 years later, as if his eyes had been opened.

This battle of information asymmetry was doomed from the beginning.

Hugh Hefner didn't say much and signed the agreement silently. At that moment, part of his soul seemed to be pulled away, and he seemed to have aged ten years in just a few seconds.

"I'm tired, I'm going back to my room to rest." Hugh Hefner stood up, and the iconic red velvet pajamas he wore were no longer glamorous.

As he walked out of the mansion, the legal team behind Charlie started cheering.

"The new king has ascended the throne. Charlie Rossi, this name will appear on the headlines of all news media tomorrow." Lawyer Saul said with excitement.

Outside the gate, the spotlights flashed wildly, and well-informed reporters had received news of the negotiations.In Hollywood, on Wall Street, many people are waiting for the results.

Charlie straightened his clothes and walked towards the reporter.It's time to introduce yourself to the public.

He suddenly thought of a saying from the Bible:
"The ways of man are before him, and he makes all their paths smooth."

(End of this chapter)