Dunn's made up his mind—he's going to produce Warcraft. But there's a catch: it hinges on him successfully acquiring Blizzard.
A Warcraft TV series, paired with the Warcraft standalone games, the World of Warcraft online game, and tie-in novels, would be a perfect mix—a synergy that'd make everything shine brighter.
As for whether Vivendi would sell Blizzard… well, if the price is right, it's a done deal.
Vivendi's brutal handling of game studios is almost as infamous as EA's. Sierra Entertainment, the folks behind Half-Life, got shut down. Blizzard North, the team that made Diablo, was half-dismantled. The Blizzard crew has been at odds with the French execs for ages—they've been itching to switch bosses.
The video game industry's a wild ride. Over the past two decades, tons of big-name companies have crashed and burned—from handheld games to console titles, and now PC gaming.
The times change too fast.
Even Microsoft's been stumbling in the gaming world.
But Dunn? He's got a knack for seeing where things are headed. He's bold enough to invest and push game development forward.
After PC games come online games, then mobile games, and eventually cross-screen streaming video games…
Universal Pictures used to have its own gaming division, but after Vivendi swooped in, they restructured everything. The gaming wing got merged with Blizzard to form Vivendi Games, and even Universal Music got split off…
All Dunn wants is to take back what belongs to Universal Pictures—what belongs to Hollywood!
Two weeks later, Dunn Studios wrapped up its internal private placement. Employees snapped up 38.7 million shares, actresses close to Dunn grabbed 7.84 million, and Mel Gibson and Leonardo DiCaprio split the remaining 3.46 million.
That brought Dunn Studios' shareholder count to 1,635—over 90% of the staff now had a piece of the pie.
Especially for the loyal crew Dunn had pulled up from the bottom, becoming shareholders meant a shot at becoming millionaires down the line.
A leap from the working class to high society in one go!
Thanks to this 50-million-share private placement, Dunn Studios added nearly $500 million to its books.
But that doesn't mean the stock's worth just $10 a share!
These are original shares—Dunn's dipping into his own stash to hook his employees up with a perk.
According to Citibank, the underwriter, Dunn Studios' current valuation is no less than $13.5 billion!
STA Network tops the list at a whopping $2.2 billion valuation!
Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios, riding the superhero movie wave, clocked in at $2 billion.
But that still doesn't capture Dunn Studios' true worth!
CFO Brandy Norris came to update Dunn. "Boss, I think we should go public soon. We've got a string of equity acquisitions coming up, but buying at our current valuation isn't in our best interest."
Dunn shook his head. "The economy right now… let's wait a few years. Anyway, our next acquisitions will mostly be cash deals."
For Dolby Laboratories and Pixar, Dunn Studios already agreed to a "cash plus stock" setup.
But those two are small fries.
The real prize this year? Snagging Universal Pictures, Universal Music, and Blizzard Entertainment!
Vivendi's drowning in debt. Once they swap out their CEO, the first move will be selling assets to pay it off.
And when that happens, they'll want cash, not shares!
That plays right into Dunn Studios' hands.
Brandy Norris, who scooped up 2.1 million original shares, is the ninth-largest shareholder at Dunn Studios. For a "newbie" like him to get such a big slice, he's clearly grateful to Dunn.
He paused before saying slowly, "Initial talks with Dolby are done. They're asking $450 million, which fits our expectations."
Dunn's eyes lit up, pleased. "Good news! What's the catch—high stock demands?"
Brandy nodded. "Dr. Dolby wants $200 million in cash plus 20 million shares. With Citibank's $13.5 billion valuation, our stock's at $15.9 a share. But their terms would drag it down to $12.5."
Dunn Studios currently has 850 million shares, with Dunn holding 800 million.
Issuing 20 million more to snag Dolby Labs wouldn't dent his control one bit.
Dunn paced the room, hands behind his back, mulling it over. "We need to lock down Dolby fast—don't let it slip away. Their price… we can handle it!"
Dolby Labs has a bright future. When it went public in 2005, its market cap shot past $2 billion.
Buying it now? A steal!
Brandy frowned. "But a lower stock price could mess with our Pixar talks."
Dunn waved it off. "Disney's putting the squeeze on. Jobs can't wait—he sees Pixar as a headache. He's more eager to sell it than we are to buy it!"
Brandy caught on, nodding. "You mean… delay signing with Dolby until we've nailed down Pixar?"
Dunn grinned. "Exactly. Keep it hush-hush. Jobs has been having a rough time lately—piracy scandals have Apple under fire. He'll want Pixar off his plate fast. We need to move quick and wrap this up by the end of the month!"
…
On March 21, 2002, Dunn Studios and Pixar dropped a joint bombshell: Dunn Studios was acquiring Pixar Animation Studios for $1.98 billion!
Since Pixar's a public company, the details came out.
Dunn Studios shelled out $680 million in cash and issued 80 million new shares to Pixar's shareholders.
By that math, Dunn Studios' stock price topped $16.3 a share!
Post-deal, Dunn Studios' total shares hit 930 million, pushing its valuation past $15.1 billion! (That's without counting Dolby Labs.)
Pixar's chairman, Steve Jobs, walked away with $250 million and 48 million shares. Dunn, who already owned 15% of Pixar, nabbed 15 million of the new shares.
Add in the upcoming Dolby deal, and Dunn Studios' total shares swelled to 950 million. Dunn still held 815 million—85.7% of the pie—making him the undisputed top dog!
The second-largest shareholder? No longer Bill McNick—it's Steve Jobs now, with 48 million shares from the Pixar deal, a solid 5% of Dunn Studios.
Dunn was in high spirits. Swallowing Pixar and Dolby Labs in quick succession had the whole company buzzing!
But while some cheered, others groaned.
Dunn was thrilled—Disney, not so much.
Michael Eisner couldn't sit still anymore. He picked up the phone and called Dunn.
Dunn didn't hold back, chuckling. "Michael, I just wrapped up the Pixar buy, and my phone's been ringing off the hook with congrats. Didn't expect you'd be one of them!"
Eisner nearly choked, fuming.
Things had just started looking up for him at Disney, and now Dunn pulls this stunt.
Buying Pixar? That's cutting Disney off at the knees!
For years, Disney's animation wing has leaned hard on Pixar.
Everyone at Disney knew Pixar's value—and now Dunn swooped in and stole it.
With Dunn's rocky history with Disney, would Pixar still work with them?
Disney's board gave Eisner an ultimatum: no matter what, keep Pixar in the fold!
Renew the deal!
Extend the contract!
Disney's stock was already shaky—they couldn't take another hit.
Eisner had no choice but to call Dunn himself. Hearing Dunn's jab, he sighed. "Dunn, you win—I'm impressed!"
"Mr. Eisner, what's that supposed to mean? I'm lost," Dunn replied breezily, a sly smirk tugging at his lips.
There was a time Dunn wanted to team up with Eisner for real—but he got played.
Chances only come once!
Pleading or promises? Too late!
This time, Dunn's eyes are on the prize.
A result that works for him!
If they can't deliver, it's game over.
Dunn's done with the fake smiles and backstabbing.
Eisner knew Dunn had him cornered. He sighed again. "Dunn, I get it. This time, I'll push the board hard to make it happen. I just hope Pixar can stay Disney's partner…"
"No chance!"
Dunn cut him off cold before he could finish, his tone sharp and final.