New York, Manhattan, Charles walked out of the Merrill Lynch headquarters building, let out a deep breath, and another credit loan of US$100 million was secured.
First Boston Bank of Switzerland had just signed a US$200 million credit loan, and Capet Pictures obtained a total credit line of US$600 million.
"Annie, well done!" Charles was very satisfied with his financial officer.
Annie Depp shook her head and said, "Charles, it's mainly because your resume is too impressive, and they are also optimistic about the future of Capet Pictures!"
"I just heard that Marvel Company also obtained a sum of money through mortgage loans from Merrill Lynch," Charles asked with a frown.
"It seems so. David Mesel, the chief operating officer of Marvel Company, has been lobbying for this matter for the past six months. The specific situation is still unknown, and Marvel Company has not officially announced it," Annie Depp also shook her head, indicating she didn't know the specifics.
Charles nodded, then returned to the Greenwich headquarters with Annie Depp.
At this moment, in Miami, Florida, at the mansion of Ike Perlmutter, chairman of Marvel Company.
Ike Perlmutter was hosting David Mesel and Avi Arad.
Ike Perlmutter held an agreement stating that Merrill Lynch would invest US$525 million in Marvel Entertainment, with Marvel pledging the rights to over 30 superhero characters as collateral. This allowed Marvel Entertainment to produce PG-13 comic book adaptation films with a maximum budget of US$165 million per film.
Marvel Company could extract 5% of the profits from the film's copyright revenue, while Marvel Entertainment would also retain all consumer product rights and 100% of toy sales revenue.
Marvel Entertainment enjoyed creative control, could build its own film library, and could freely dispose of its superhero characters!
The most important clause was that Marvel Entertainment was required to bear one-third of the film production budget for each film.
"David, what I need is for Marvel to not have to invest capital or bear any risks. The Board of Directors will absolutely not risk Marvel Company's money to make movies!" Ike Perlmutter stated his opinion very seriously.
David Mesel shook his head and said, "Originally, I also hoped there wouldn't be the last clause, but Merrill Lynch found that the superheroes we currently have are all unknown characters and was unwilling to bear the risk independently."
"Actually, we can solve one-third of the production budget."
Avi Arad also said, "We can finance by pre-selling distribution rights, just like other Hollywood film companies!"
"Then have you decided which superhero movie to shoot? Can you successfully raise funds? How likely is the movie to succeed after successful financing?"
Ike Perlmutter's three consecutive questions left the two speechless again.
David Mesel thought for a moment and reminded, "Originally, we planned to shoot an iron man solo movie, but now the character rights are in the hands of Capet Pictures."
"If we cooperate with Capet Pictures, the film rights will definitely belong to Capet Pictures, and it will have little to do with our Marvel. We can only get very little film revenue, just like with Sony and 20th Century Fox!"
Avi Arad shook his head and said, "Charles doesn't seem to have any plans to develop superhero movies right now."
"The commercial failures of 20th Century Fox's Daredevil and Lionsgate Films' the punisher and Human Torch have made him a bit cautious."
"The failure of the DC heroine Catwoman also made Lionsgate Films abandon the development plan for a Black Widow solo movie!"
Starting this year, Lionsgate Films, apart from the already developed the punisher and Human Torch, automatically returned all other characters received from Artisan Entertainment to Marvel Company.
Of course, characters like Thor directly entered the contract between Marvel and Capet Pictures.
Ike Perlmutter shook his head and said, "Let's stick to our established strategy: assist other film companies in developing our characters. Marvel Company doesn't need to bear any risks; we just need to promote our comics and toys based on the film releases!"
Avi Arad's heart completely sank, and even David Mesel was at a loss. Would the result of so much effort be like this?
At the end of March, Charles met a 55-year-old Greek-American woman at the Grand Hotel in SoHo District, Lower Manhattan.
Arianna Huffington was trying to establish a political blog website, The Huffington Post, which required a lot of funding.
"As fellow liberals, Capet Pictures can support the establishment of The Huffington Post and can continue to provide funds for expansion in the future," Charles directly extended a hand.
"With US$5 million in start-up capital, Capet Pictures will invest US$4 million for a 70% stake, and you and your partners only need to invest US$1 million for a 30% stake. Although The Huffington Post belongs to Cape Entertainment, it will maintain an independent operating model, and I will not interfere."
"If further financing is needed in the future, external capital can also be introduced. If Capet Pictures wants to maintain its original shares, it must also continue to invest capital!"
Arianna Huffington had also participated in the recall proposal of the governor of california at the end of 2003 and had even competed with Arnold Schwarzenegger for the governor of california, but she withdrew directly due to too low a vote rate.
Arianna Huffington stared into Charles's eyes and asked, "You really won't interfere with the website's operations?"
Charles shook his head, "You are the person in charge, and I am a neutral liberal, without the dark intentions of politicians!"