The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 214



Only Krnovel

214. Unilateral benefit (3)

Navigation technology was required for the autonomous driving system.

Taewoo Motors also had its own navigation technology, but it was insufficient.

At times like this, there was something my grandfather used to say.

‘You can buy technology and use it!’

Here I tweaked it a bit.

‘Just buy a company with technology!.’

How good would it be to acquire a company with navigation technology to save initial technology development time?

“Director, we need to acquire a navigation company. I want to acquire the No. 1 company in Korea.”

“iNavi is currently the No. 1 navigation brand, and Thinkwin owns the iNavi brand.”

“Then we can acquire Thinkwin. Or we can just acquire the navigation division from Thinkwin.”

“We will enter into acquisition negotiations. However, one of Thinkwin’s major shareholders is Hyunjae Motors. There is a high possibility that Hyunjae Motors will interfere with the acquisition.”

It got a little annoying.

Well, it was natural that the main customers of navigation companies were automobile companies, and it was not at all strange that Hyunjae Motors and Thinkwin were close.

“It’s been a while since I got to meet Chairman Jang Kyung-jun.”

“Currently, Automobile is creating its own navigation brand, so there seems to be room for conversation.”

“Please make an appointment. I’d like to see you as soon as possible.”

Chairman Jang Kyung-jun and I had a comradely relationship at one time.

Now that both parties have achieved what they wanted, it has become a competition.

Because it was Taewoo Motors and Hyunjae Motors competing for first and second place in the domestic market.

“Vice President, we have scheduled an appointment. You would like to have dinner at the Cheongdam-dong restaurant where you met earlier.”

“Your reply came quickly, as if you were waiting for my call.”

I think Chairman Jang Kyung-jun also wanted to meet me.

It was clear that the response came so quickly because Hyunjae Motors also had something they wanted from us.

What can we do with today’s cars?

With curiosity in mind, I went to the meeting place on time and entered the restaurant almost at the same time as Chairman Jang Kyung-jun.

“Chairman Jang, it’s been a while. You seem to have gotten younger. You can even say you’re around my age.”

“Hehe, it feels great to hear such words from someone who is as old as my son. Come on inside. Let’s clear out the thoughts that have piled up for a long time.”

Chairman Jang Kyung-jun’s son was similar in age to me.

If I remember correctly, he would have been serving as the head of the affiliated company by now.

Could it be that he asked to see me because of his son’s problem?

Since we didn’t know anything at the moment, we continued to have meaningless ice-breaker conversations and enjoyed dinner.

“Hmm, I think the meal is over now, so can we get to the point? I would like to know why Vice Chairman Kim asked to see me.”

“I’m contacting you because I have something to discuss with you regarding the navigation business.”

“The automobile industry and navigation are inseparable.”

Chairman Jang Kyung-jun spoke first.

I openly revealed what I wanted from the beginning.

The basics of negotiation were to hide one’s hand as much as possible, but one could also confirm the other party’s hand by showing one’s hand.

“But it looks like Chairman Jang also wants something from me. May I ask what it is?”

“Hmm, I don’t know where to start and how to talk about this. But since I am from the same industry, I will tell you honestly. There is nothing else to discuss about capital.”

Capital?

Capital was a company that provided leases and installments, similar to credit cards.

In particular, since capital is often used when purchasing a car, automobile manufacturers have capital as an affiliate.

Hyunjae Motors also had Hyunjae Capital.

Our Taewoo Motors also owned Taewoo Capital.

“Isn’t Current Capital No. 1 in the industry? But is there any problem?”

“This time, Samjin Group is joining hands with GM of the U.S. to create a capital-related joint venture.”

I knew this story too.

Before returning, Taewoo Motors was acquired by GM, and GM entered the capital industry by joining hands with Samjin Group to sell Taewoo Motors.

But the same thing happened again in this life.

Even though Taewoo Motors was not taken over by GM.

“I don’t know why GM is entering the capital market. Are they even going to enter Korea in earnest? To do that, they need to form a joint venture with a Korean automobile company, but I don’t know if there is a company that can do that.”

“I doubt that Samjin and GM will join hands and enter the automobile industry again. And if Samjin Group’s capital power and GM’s capital power are combined, won’t the weight of the capital market fluctuate significantly?”

Is Samjin Group back in the automobile industry?

That probably won’t happen.

Even before its return, Samjin Group dabbled in the automobile industry several times, but had to quit due to opposition from the government and public opinion.

Actually, I wasn’t that curious.

No matter what GM had in store, it was bound to fail anyway.

Just three years later, a huge economic crisis occurred, and GM was on the verge of bankruptcy.

However, since this was something that only I knew, I pretended not to know and agreed with Chairman Jang Kyung-jun.

“Hmm, I’m a little worried. If Samjin Group dominates the capital market, automakers will only be doing good things to others.”

“Hmm, so we at Hyunjae Motors have decided to join hands with GE, an American company.”

“Hehe, everyone is joining hands with American companies.”

Now I understand why Chairman Jang Kyung-jun asked to meet me.

Competition for leadership in the capital market.

Samjin Group and Hyunjae Automobile Group were preparing to fight over the capital market.

When I thought about it, I remembered receiving a report like this.

The planning director said that we should also strengthen the capital market by attracting foreign capital.

At that time, I just overlooked it.

Why? Just by joining hands with SAVE Investment Company, you can immediately acquire overseas capital.

And the size of the capital market was at most around 5 trillion won, and even for large capital companies, their operating profit was less than 300 billion won.

This is why I can’t remember.

Because I didn’t have a lot of memory space in my head to devote it to a small market.

However, from the current car group’s perspective, it was a market that could not be ignored.

Because it was the only link that allowed me to enter the financial sector with my current car.

But it must be heartbreaking to hear that Samjin Group is trying to eat up the only link.

Should I try a little harder too?

What kind of reaction would there be if we gave a hint that we were joining hands with foreign capital?

“Taewoo Motors had no plans to join hands with foreign capital until now, but since everyone is doing so, we should join hands as well. If we attract a Wall Street investment company, we could easily raise about 10 trillion won.”

“Hmm, is there really a need for Taewoo Group to do that? Isn’t it true that the more competitors there are, the bigger the bleeding gets?”

“It’s a bit of a concern. If my grandfather finds out about this incident, he will definitely want to join the war. Chairman Jang, you know Chairman Kim Tae-joong’s personality well, don’t you? If you want to calm your grandfather down, shouldn’t you take something with you?”

Grandfather made an excuse.

It was a possible excuse because there was no one in the business world who did not know the grandfather’s greed, and it was also an excuse to make Chairman Jang Kyung-jun’s butt shake.

“You asked to see me about a navigation problem, right? Is it something to do with Thinkwin?”

“That’s right. I was preparing to acquire the Thinkwin company itself or the navigation division. But I heard that Thinkwin and Hyunjae Motors are close.”

“Thinkwin is a company that has a very long relationship with Hyundai Motor Company. I can help with the acquisition process.”

How could you refuse an offer of help?

Because I am a person who knows manners, I did not refuse Chairman Jang Kyung-jun’s offer.

“Can you build a bridge with Thinkwin?”

“If Vice Chairman Kim wants it, of course we should do it. But… hmm.”

“The capital side will just maintain the current situation. If we attract external funds, won’t we just have more things to worry about?”

“Hehe, can I trust you?”

“When have I ever told a lie to the Chairman? I don’t promise anything if I don’t, and I’m a person who always keeps my promises. If you want, I can put my grandfather’s honor on the line.”

What surer guarantee can there be than your grandfather’s honor?

At Taewo Group, my grandfather was a man in a higher position than God, and Chairman Jang Gyeong-jun knew that well, so he nodded.

“Then I will believe it. However, if the navigation division is acquired by Taewoo Motors, competition will become fierce. Hehe.”

“Isn’t navigation an essential device for automakers? As time goes by, won’t the day come when most automakers ship vehicles with their own branded navigation? So there’s no need to call it competition. That’s why the current automaker Aren’t you also developing your own navigation system?”

“To get one, you have to give up one. I will actively help Taewoo Motors acquire Thinkwin.”

Chairman Jang Kyung-jun was a bit greedy about monopolizing the navigation market.

However, I gave up my greed for the navigation market because of the money I could see in the capital market.

* * *

A few days later.

Chairman Kyung-Jun Jang arranged a meeting with Tae-Soo Park, Chairman of Thinkwin.

Chairman Tae-soo Park has been closely associated with Hyunjae Motors since the founding of the company, so he always showed up at the meeting place with a smile on his face.

“It is an honor to meet two people who are dominating the Korean automobile industry. This is Thinkwin’s Taesoo Park.”

“Chairman Park, it’s been a while. You know me well, so let’s stop here and say hello to Taewoo Group Vice Chairman Kim Min-jae.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Minjae Kim from Taewo Group.”

“Oh my! I once exchanged greetings with Chairman Kim Tae-joong. You really resemble the Chairman a lot.”

“Now! There shouldn’t be any interruptions when you’re having an important conversation, right? I’ll just leave. I hope you two can have an in-depth conversation.”

Chairman Jang Gyeong-jun took care of the situation.

Then the atmosphere froze in an instant, and Chairman Park Tae-soo focused on my mouth with an awkward smile.

“I’ll tell you straight away. I want to acquire Thinkwin. If that doesn’t work out, I want to at least acquire the navigation division.”

“This is a company that I raised as if it were my own child. How can a child be adopted somewhere else when the parents are still alive?”

“Why don’t you think of it as marrying her instead of adopting her? I’ll give you 50 billion won for a wedding.”

Thinkwin was a company that had not yet been listed on KOSDAQ.

Therefore, the amount of 50 billion won was by no means a small amount.

Of course, it was also a company whose value would increase at least three times after it was listed on the KOSDAQ in about 10 years.

“Even if you give me 100 billion won instead of 50 billion won, I will decline. This company is truly like my child. I ask for your understanding.”

It was Chairman Park Tae-soo who spoke sorrowfully.

Even if they asked for a larger amount, they seemed to have no intention of selling the company.

Well, when I thought about it, there was no need to acquire the company.

Because what I needed was Thinkwin’s technology.

Rather, there was a way to save money and get only what I wanted.

Of course, this is also a good direction for Thinkwin.