The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 350



Only Krnovel

350. Two Track (4)

Beryl, co-manager of the Wagner Ranch.

He was very persistent.

He has expressed his intention to invest not only the $350 million he earned from the sale of the ranch, but also the $100 million held by his investment company.

I managed to calm down Beryl, who was about to follow me to the hotel.

President Han clicked his tongue at Beryl’s persistence and took a sip of his beer.

“Wall Street people are terrible, but I’ve never seen someone as persistent as Beryl for investment.”

“Have you looked into the investment company Beryl runs?”

“It’s called Cannon Investment Company, and it has recorded negative returns for three years. Most of the investment has been withdrawn, and it seems they are aiming for one last shot with the remaining $100 million and the $350 million they received this time.”

There was talk that half of Wall Street’s investment companies went bankrupt after the Lehman incident.

Of course, it was natural that the investment company run by Beryl would also be in a difficult situation.

“But he’s not completely without skills. Although he suffered losses, he survived the Lehman crisis.”

“Can someone who is brain dead and on a ventilator be considered alive? Beryl’s company is exactly like that.”

“Still, he doesn’t seem like a person who backs down on others. Judging from the fact that he clings so tenaciously to us, it seems like he’s a person who knows how to survive.”

I saw details in Beryl’s face.

It was confirmed that he possesses decent abilities.

“Are you planning to receive Beryl’s investment? There is no reason to receive the investment directly unless you sign up for the fund through Taewoo Securities.”

“I already had a business I wanted to carry out with the help of someone else, but Beryl approached me first and held out my hand, so it didn’t seem like a bad idea to hold it.”

A president showed interest in the story about a new business.

Shale gas, acquisition of Bumcat, insulin production rights, and even acquisition of shares in Robo Nordisk.

There was a CEO who looked a little concerned as he proceeded with one new business after another.

“Is this a large-scale business? If so, shouldn’t it be done with someone you can trust?”

“It is a business that does not require much investment. I am planning to start a shared office business.”

We were already starting a sharing business.

Shared bicycles and kickboards.

America, Korea and even Europe.

We distributed over tens of thousands of bicycles and kickboards, and Captain Kang and professional managers were working hard to maintain them.

“When you say shared office business, do you mean office split leasing or SoHo offices?”

“It’s similar, but in some ways it’s completely different. The office is used by an unspecified number of people to enable communication and collaboration.”

“These are words that investors like. Communication and collaboration.”

“If SNS allows communication online, shared office allows communication offline.”

“This is a very good idea! If you simply rent an office, it is considered a real estate business, but if communication and collaboration are included, it can be classified as an IT business. IT companies are the ones who like communication and collaboration the most!”

President Han raised his voice as if he liked the idea of ​​a shared office.

For a moment, he took out a calculator and began analyzing profitability on his own.

“How does this seem like a profitable business?”

“If we expand to the U.S., Europe, and Asia, we could become a very large company. Even if we don’t become a very large company like Amazon, the growth potential is endless.”

If even CEO Han reacted like this.

Investors on Wall Street and Silicon Valley were also likely to react positively.

No, I was sure. Even before the regression, many investors invested in the shared office business.

“If we provide about $500 million to Beryl’s $450 million, we will be able to lease a large number of offices in Silicon Valley, New York, and San Francisco.”

“It seems like a business that requires the economics of scale that the Chairman has always emphasized. We need to completely dominate the shared office market by investing more money or taking out loans to lease more offices to prevent competitors from forming.”

I guess I like the shared office business.

It was to the point where one CEO said he wanted to increase investment even though it was not possible to do so.

“It’s not a business that can see a profit right away. The deficit will continue for quite some time.”

“Isn’t that the case in all businesses? Compared to Rocket, operated by Taewo Trading Company, the deficit doesn’t seem to be that big. But is there any reason to proceed with this type of business through Beryl? Rather, it would be better to use an affiliate of Taewo Group, such as Taewo Engineering & Construction. How about proceeding in earnest?”

President Han decided that the shared office business would be beneficial to Taewo Group.

If it is a truly profitable business, is there any reason for me to proceed through Beryl rather than Taewoo Group?

“A bright apricot. It’s a proverb that’s perfect for the shared office business.”

“Are you saying this is a business that will fail?”

“It is an optimal item to attract investors, but it is a business with a very low chance of success.”

The shared office business was ultimately a real estate business.

Although it could be packaged well as an IT business, in the end, it was structured to make profits by renting out offices.

“Now that we are in the era of low interest rates, you may be able to have fun with the shared office business. However, even a small increase in interest rates will take a big hit, and U.S. interest rates will continue to rise for the time being.”

“If you don’t want to be affected by interest rates, can’t you just proceed with the business with the funds held by Taewo Group without taking out a loan?”

“You can say that real estate prices in the U.S. are at their lowest right now. In the end, to be successful, we have to purchase hundreds of buildings. Not only is it not easy to purchase the buildings, but it also requires an astronomical amount of money.”

When I explained it to him, the CEO came to his senses.

He quickly tapped the calculator again and made a new calculation using an interest rate increase and a real estate increase as conditions.

“If the economic situation turns out as you said, the profitability of shared offices will be negative.”

“Even if interest rates remain the same and real estate prices do not rise significantly, it is a business in which various variables can arise.”

“Is there any reason you want to start such a business?”

“It’s for investors who like that kind of business. There are people who will buy bright apricots at a high price. If it’s an IT business like this, there are people in Japan who will rush in.”

The IT industry, investors, and Japan.

With the three hints I gave, CEO Han quickly found the answer.

“Are you talking about Son Jeong-woo, president of Japan’s Softbank?”

“There is something I like among the assets owned by Softbank. Don’t you think it would be good to exchange it for a shared office business?”

There were some things money couldn’t buy.

In particular, people who have made a lot of money through value investing, like CEO Son Jeong-woo, do not often give away what they have to others.

So, we have no choice but to exchange goods.

The shared office business was merely a product to be exchanged for Shortbank’s assets.

“You chose the shared office business as bait.”

“You will have to throw the bait out for quite some time. It may take at least a year or as long as three years for the fish to show interest in the bait. There is no need for us to hold the fishing rod for that long.”

“Beryl’s shoulders looked very strong. She seemed strong enough to hold a fishing rod for about three years.”

It was a boss who finally understood my plan.

He put down the calculator and leaned back against the sofa.

“There are quite a lot of assets that Shortbank is greedy for. There are more than 100 IT-related companies, and everything from mobile phones, electronic products, and finance are attractive assets.”

“I was most greedy for the Internet communication network. In fact, doesn’t the Korean Internet spread to the world through Japan? And that route is owned by Softbank.”

I didn’t like variables.

Taewoo Group was growing based on the IT business, and if we could own the backbone network owned by Shortbank, many variables would disappear.

“I will meet Beryl soon and talk business.”

“It will never be a loss-making business for Beryl. Rather, it is a business that can generate at least five times more profit. In the process of handing over the entire business to Shortbank, a huge amount of soybean products will be lost.”

Did you say that opportunities are something you create yourself?

Beryl persistently reached out to us, and as a reward, she was able to become a leading player in the shared office business.

* * *

next day.

David came to the hotel.

“Boss! The conversation with Cheshire Peak Energy ended well. They decided to join hands with us to develop shale gas in the Texas region.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Although it is not one of the top three oil refineries in the United States, it is a company with a long history. In particular, it possesses unrivaled technological capabilities in the shale gas field.”

Taewo Group could not proceed with the shale gas business alone.

Therefore, I had to join hands with an American oil refinery, and I chose Cheshire Peak Energy.

“I’ll have to visit Cheshire Peak Energy soon and sign a collaboration agreement.”

“We will proceed to complete all procedures within this week.”

“Chairman, Cheshire Peak’s financial liquidity is not good. If the business expands further than it is now, it may be greatly shaken.”

A president voiced concern.

Although it is an oil refinery with deep history and tradition, Cheshire Peak Energy has a poor profit structure compared to the three major U.S. oil refineries.

“That’s why I chose Cheshire Peak Energy. Even if the three major oil refineries are shaken, they have the strength to hold on somehow. However, once Cheshire Peak Energy starts to shake, it could go bankrupt.”

“Are you saying that you would proceed with collaboration even though you knew there was a possibility of bankruptcy?”

“There is no way for Taewoo Group to acquire the three major oil refineries. However, it can easily acquire Cheshire Peak Energy. Especially if it is on the verge of bankruptcy, it will be able to acquire it more easily.”

I did not want to turn the shale revolution into a party for American oil refineries.

In order to have a party together, we had to acquire an American oil refinery, and the best prey was Cheshire Peak Energy.

“So this collaboration is also preliminary work to acquire Cheshire Peak Energy?”

“I plan to add one condition to the collaboration agreement: a condition for preferential acquisition of shares. And if the company gets to the point of bankruptcy, won’t the U.S. government be the first to recommend a takeover?”

“If such a situation were to arise, they would likely try to hand it over to us, even providing debt relief. But do you think Cheshire Peak Energy’s profits will improve if we take over?”

“What happened to the stock prices of IT companies after the IT bubble? Are they going up without realizing that they were sky high after hitting lows? Cheshire Peak Energy will do the same.”

All losses will be borne by Cheshire Peak Energy and the U.S. government.

We only enjoy fruit.

All of the current processes were just preliminary work for eating the fruit.