millions of dollars in Tokyo real estate, an item somehow overlooked by CBS’s auditors. After this first exposure to corporate mergers, I made a list of M&A specialists—the right lawyer, the best accountant, a top public relations firm—and met with them to learn their craft. As I absorbed the nuts and bolts of making a deal, it struck me that it wasn’t that different from assembling a movie package: you had to put all the elements together first, get the buyer and seller in sync, then strike a price. With talent agencies barred, through
