Book Summary Preview : THE BIGGEST GAME OF ALL

The Big Idea
The aim of this book is to help readers understand and appreciate the larger impact of some of the most significant business deals of the past decade, particularly those made in the US media industry. It offers a valuable assortment of “deal-making” stories personally encountered by Leo Hindery, Jr., offering lessons that may be gleaned from his behind-the-scenes accounts of the risky but exciting world of deals and dealmakers.

Important Deals
Transforming deals tend to influence whole industries by their mere existence. The mere announcement of a transforming deal tends to set off a chain reaction in the marketplace that can, in itself, lead to dramatic changes. Another measure of a deal’s import is its impact. Size certainly counts. Daimler’s acquisition of Chrysler, for example, was huge by any measure. Same goes for AOL-Time Warner. The day the merger was announced, old rules of engagement flew out the window. Like it or hate it, the AOL-Time Warner deal was that transforming.

Dealmakers Who Make A Difference
Dealmakers are found at every level of business. Being at the cut-throat level of high-stakes deal-making isn’t for everyone – you have to be able to think fast, move fast, and bluff with impunity. At the peak of the dealmaking world are the ultimate “wheeler-dealers.” These are the deal-making pros whose mere presence at a negotiating table is a sure sign that a big deal is about to go down

Some of America’s Dealmaking Giants

Rupert Murdoch, Chairman, News Corp
Rupert has one of the most formidable creative minds on the planet. He is also one of the most long-reaching deal guys you’ll ever meet in your life. Rupert is building something for generations that haven’t been born yet. Because of that, he is willing to take huge risks and suffer tremendous downturns. Rupert is allowed to be the visionary that he is because of he controls News Corp. Otherwise, he could have been fired three or four times by now. Every time his stock price took a dive, he might have been whacked.

Sumner Redstone, Chairman, Viacom
In business, Sumner has demonstrated an enormous amount of courage. He had temerity to combine Viacom with CBS. The $37 billion merger recast the competitive landscape and pushed the boundaries of our thinking about the role of traditional broadcasters in the emerging world of New Media.

Mel Karmazin, Chief Operating Officer, Viacom
Mel merged himself right to the top of the media world. He engineered the merger of his former company, Infinity Broadcasting, into CBS, and then became CBS’s CEO. That would have been a career-capping transaction for many guys – but not Mel. Right after he did the CBS deal, Mel proceeded to up the ante by proposing to Sumner that they merge CBS into Viacom.

Gerald “Jerry” Levin, (former) Chairman, AOL Time Warner
Jerry engineered the $165 billion merger of his company, Time Warner, with American Online. The deal, breathtaking in its size and scope, radically redefined the competitive landscape. It also made Time Warner the biggest mountain in the landscape. . . . . . . . . . . .