[Chapter 138: Winnie's Initiative, A Rare Treasure]
Shortly after, Universal Music settled the revenues with Linton and the film company for the Step Up soundtrack album and the two singles, I Swear and Taste the Feeling.
The first part was the Step Up soundtrack album's share for Linton's film company. The album sold a total of 10.45 million copies. After deducting the amount already settled in August, this time 4.97 million copies were settled at an average price of $13.80 each.
According to the agreement, the film company's share was 4.97 million x $13.80 x 0.2 = $13.7172 million.
Linton's personal share was 4.97 million x $13.80 x 0.19059 = $13.0718 million.
The second part was the single I Swear, which sold 26.8 million copies with an average price of $5.30. Linton's personal share was 26.8 million x $5.30 x 0.22 = $31.2488 million.
The third part was the single Taste the Feeling. By the end of February, the single sold 17.6 million copies with an average price of $5.70. Linton's personal share was 17.6 million x $5.70 x 0.22 = $22.0704 million.
The fourth part was the licensing fees for the Step Up soundtrack songs. All songs combined reached $5.3 million in licensing fees. The film company's share was $1.06 million, and Linton's share was $935,000.
The fifth part was the I Swear music video's sales share, with total sales of $12 million and Linton's share of $2.64 million.
The sixth part was the licensing fees for I Swear and Taste the Feeling, totaling $8.64 million. Linton's share was $1.9008 million.
The film company's total share was $14.7772 million.
Linton's personal total share was $71.8668 million. After deducting 6% for his management company and 1% for Henry, he received $66.836 million.
...
The film company's account suddenly increased by $43.4364 million, inclulding the video revenue, fortunately, this income was from 1993 and would be taxed in 1994.
But with such a large sum, plus the company already having over $6 million in liquid assets, Robert didn't know how to use it. He felt a bit anxious; he couldn't just leave it in the bank earning interest. He found Linton in the editing room and asked what to do.
In fact, Linton wanted to upgrade the post-production equipment but the current office space was full, so he gave up.
Linton had already planned in his mind. He wanted to arrange it after finishing the post-production of Speed. Now that Robert proactively asked, he shared his considerations about expanding into distribution.
Linton had no intention of building a distribution network from scratch. With sufficient funds available, he suggested Robert look for a distribution company with capabilities in North America as an acquisition target.
...
Regarding the personal account, with an extra $66.836 million, he planned to use it carefully.
Winnie really had impressive abilities. The last time Linton transferred $20 million to the charitable fund account, she did some research and actually found a small shareholder in Nokia owning 2.1% of the shares.
[T/N: I think it was Nokia. Original text was 洛基亞, Lugia from Pokémon. It could be typo. But Nokia's valuation at that time was €1.1 billion. I will update this later if there is an issue.]
Due to their family crisis, and banks making things worse, stock pledges only offered 60% loan ratios, which couldn't solve the family crisis, so the shares had to be cashed out. Winnie had already negotiated a price, offering a 2% premium over the current stock price.
The average closing price of Nokia's stock for the first half of the month was $2.8 billion; with a 2% premium it equaled $2.856 billion. The 2.1% shares were worth $59.976 million.
This was an excellent deal. Linton remembered that after the 21st century, Nokia's market value consistently stayed above 200 billion euros, peaking over 250 billion euros, which converted to over $300 billion, with potential for hundreds of times appreciation.
...
To thank and encourage her, Linton hosted Winnie for a dinner. Originally planned at the Hilton Hotel, Winnie proactively requested to hold it at Linton Estate instead.
In the evening, when Linton saw Winnie at the estate, he couldn't help but be impressed. Even though he had recently had stunning beauties like Jennifer, Catherine, Nicole, and Cristiana, Winnie still amazed him.
Winnie wore a sky-blue gown, her rounded shoulders connecting to creamy arms, feet in white crystal heels. At 5'9", her tall figure highlighted an alluring, sexy curve.
Golden hair flowed over her shoulders, revealing a fair, slender neck. Her deep sapphire eyes matched seductive red lips, presenting a breathtaking beauty.
Winnie was pleased with Linton's reaction and boldly hugged him, showering him with a delightful fragrance.
...
During dinner, Winnie expressed her hopes that Linton's charitable fund would grow rapidly under her management and one day become a billion-dollar financial empire.
Linton joked, "Why are you putting your heart into managing my fund? With your talents, you can achieve your dreams anywhere!"
"Because I like you," Winnie said, gazing intensely at Linton.
Linton was momentarily speechless. As he pondered how to gently refuse without hurting her pride, Winnie downed her glass of red wine, walked over, boldly sat on his lap, hugged him, and kissed him.
"Linton, I don't know what's happening, but I dream about you every night. I've never been in love before. Does this mean I'm falling for you?"
"Have you never been in a relationship before?"
"My family is from the South, and there, dating is conservative. High school romances are discouraged, and premarital relations are frowned upon. In college, I focused entirely on studies and didn't meet anyone special until now."
"Does that mean you're still a virgin?" Linton asked, a bit incredulously.
"Yes, and I feel a little embarrassed. You won't mind, right?" Winnie shyly asked.
"No, no, others might mind, but to me, you're a rare treasure." Linton then kissed her passionately.
Winnie responded affectionately and soon melted in Linton's embrace. "Darling, carry me to the room?"
"Sure." Linton lifted her and headed to the third floor.
Soon, sweet and joyful music filled the air...
Linton was extremely gentle...
This was the first virgin he encountered since he transmigrated. It truly felt like winning a rare treasure, especially one so beautiful and talented.
Before, he had intended not to bother her, but at this moment, all those thoughts vanished. He planned to cherish her well and gave her a lot of his essence.
...
After resting from their intimacy, Linton openly told her about his complex romantic situation, confessing he had multiple girlfriends.
"I actually knew you were a playboy with many women, but this still exceeded my expectations. You really have that many women?" Winnie was a bit overwhelmed.
"So you can still back out now. I don't want to see you unhappy later."
"No, I don't regret it. Love me well now; as for the others, we'll talk later."
"You just lost your virginity. Can you still go on?"
"No problem. The feeling of being with you is wonderful; let's continue."
Their passionate moments resumed amid sweet melodies...
...
The next morning, after breakfast, Linton asked her if she wanted to choose a room on the second floor, but Winnie didn't choose a room but chose a female bodyguard.
Unlike other women, Linton provided resources to help them become stars, naturally elevating their market value and becoming profit magnets.
But Winnie was helping Linton make money and big money at that, greatly appreciating his capital.
Most importantly, she was the first virgin Linton met, making her special.
Although Winnie had no popularity and didn't help with his abilities, Linton now had plenty of high-quality supporters, so those concerns didn't matter.
Naturally, Linton treated her differently. Besides arranging a special vehicle under the charitable fund's name, valued under $300,000, and assigning two female bodyguards as drivers, he recommended she buy a villa in an upscale Beverly Hills community, under $3 million, fully sponsored by him.
This combo made Winnie even more infatuated and she no longer complained about the many women surrounding him.
She even took the initiative to say she wanted to stay at the estate with Linton again tonight, which he gladly accepted.
Finally, Linton instructed that after completing the Nokia investment, all other investments should be paused.
He asked her to first go to Montana to find a ranch for sale with a minimum area of 200,000 acres, sufficient water sources, and preferably near an airport.
*****
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