The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 368



Only Krnovel

368. Poison apple (3)

Taewoo Group currently owned two poisonous apples.

One was the poisonous apple of a shared office business called Together Work.

The other was the poisonous apple of exchanging the THAAD site.

Charlotte and Hyundai Motor Group were fighting over who would own the poisonous apple related to the THAAD site.

Now, there was only one moment left to decide who to hand over the remaining poisonous apple called Together Work.

That’s why we called Together Work’s CEO Beryl to Korea.

Although Beryl was the heir to the Wagner Ranch and was now emerging as a hot figure in Silicon Valley, she still maintained her earnest appearance.

“It’s an honor to see you again, Chairman. From the moment I received the call to come to Korea, I couldn’t sleep a wink.”

“Why are you so nervous? Aren’t we colleagues on the same boat now?”

“I prepared the coffee American style. Don’t be too nervous.”

A manager came in personally bringing coffee.

Then Beryl’s hands began to shake even more rapidly, and she actually became more nervous when she faced the CEO than when she saw me.

President Han was Beryl’s role model.

In order to do that, we had to give up our pride and stick to it.

“He performed his role much better than we expected. It is thanks to CEO Beryl’s outstanding ability that Together Work was able to grow to what it is now.”

“No, I just diligently looked after the flowers that the chairman and the president planted. Watering them on time is something that anyone, not me, can do.”

“Just because an ugly flower is planted in a pretty flower pot doesn’t mean that everyone can take care of it. Thanks to CEO Beryl’s sincere care, the value of Together Work was able to increase.”

Beryl managed the Together Walk with great sincerity.

That’s why Together Work was able to grow quickly, and many investment companies, including Wall Street, showed interest.

Thanks to this, our options were able to increase.

The original plan was to exchange it for some of Shortbank’s assets.

With the current value of Together Work, it could be exchanged for more assets.

“I used to just hang around on Wall Street, but I’m receiving so much attention through Together Work. I don’t think I’ll have any time left even if I die now.”

“What if you’re already thrilled? There’s still a lot of work left to do with us. You’ll get a lot more attention than you do now, and you’ll be in the center of Wall Street rather than on the periphery.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it. Meeting you and the president is the greatest blessing of my life.”

Beryl was a person who knew how to feel grateful.

Plus, he was competent enough that I was able to trust him and entrust him with the job.

Wall Street was full of people who had ability but had a bad personality, and who had a good personality but had bad ability.

There were few cases like Beryl’s with decent personality and abilities.

That’s why Beryl was given the opportunity to work together.

“Now all we have to do is hand over the poisoned apple. Are you ready?”

“Softbank Chairman Son Jeong-woo has decided to come to Korea within this week. We will adjust the date to suit the Chairman’s schedule.”

“We have a guest from Japan, so it’s right for me to make time. You can set the date and time according to Chairman Son Jeong-woo’s schedule.”

When it came time to put an end to it, I had to step in.

And Chairman Son Jeong-woo already knows that there is someone behind Together Work.

Therefore, it was right for me to take the place of Beryl, my agent, for the last position.

Only then could I get the compensation I wanted.

“I will do my best to bring about a good ending.”

“And if Together Work is sold to Softbank, we will compensate you for the amount of shares held by CEO Beryl.”

“No! I’m just satisfied that I was able to have such a good experience.”

“If you ask me to do a job, of course I have to pay you a salary. That way, we can go together for a long time. You’re not planning on just doing this operation and not seeing me, are you?”

“Absolutely not! No matter how much the Chairman gives me, I will accept it gratefully without complaint.”

When I heard that I was handing over the poisoned apple, I felt like a queen.

In the Snow White fairy tale, the queen who handed over the poisoned apple received a bad ending, but fairy tales and reality are different.

* * *

A few days later.

Softbank Chairman Son Jeong-woo visited Korea.

Chairman Son Jeong-woo is said to be the most successful person from the Jeil Korean community.

There was even a saying that if America has Warren Buffett, Japan has Son Jung-woo.

How could you treat such a person with neglect?

The annex of Captain Kang’s Korean restaurant was lavishly decorated, and the table was set with rare foods from all eight provinces across the country.

When all preparations were completed, Chairman Son Jeong-woo entered the annex.

I, who was waiting with Beryl, very politely greeted Chairman Son Jeong-woo.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Minjae Kim from Taewoo Group. It’s an honor to meet someone I’ve always admired.”

“Hehehe, as expected, the Taewo Group was behind Together Walk. If you had told us in advance, we wouldn’t have had to go to the United States.”

Chairman Son Jeong-woo was less offended than expected.

He certainly had a big heart, as befits the most successful person in Japan.

I just hoped that the distribution would be as big as the big heart. That way, I will be able to get as much compensation as I want.

“Together Work is a business that CEO Beryl and I started together. That is why we rejected investment proposals from many investment companies.”

“But seeing as you said you would meet me, I guess you changed your mind.”

“I still don’t have much of a desire to sell Together Work. However, since he is Chairman Son Jeong-woo, whom I have always respected, I plan to meet him and make a final decision.”

I had to pretend as much as possible that I didn’t want to sell it.

That should be the case, but if Together Work plummets in a few years, I will no longer be responsible.

The core of this operation was to ensure that the sale process proceeded entirely because Chairman Son Jeong-woo wanted it to proceed.

“Let’s not go into detail. The terms I can propose are to purchase 60% of Together Work’s shares for $5 billion.”

“Currently, Together Work’s corporate value is estimated at more than $10 billion. However, $5 billion seems too small.”

“We’re not done talking yet. And let’s invest an additional $5 billion into Together Work. Then, the value of the 40% stake you two own will increase several times its current value.”

$5 billion was equivalent to 6 trillion won.

Even highly-paid actors have never received this amount of money.

It is said that Beryl and I raised the corporate value of Together Work with just our acting skills, but we were entrepreneurs, not actors.

What if Together Work were to go public right now?

It could be valued at at least 10 billion dollars or more, and even after 1-2 years, it could be evaluated at more than 40 billion dollars.

It was Chairman Son Jeong-woo who could not have known that.

So it was also about emphasizing the 40% stake.

It meant that I would take care of the management myself and make a big profit with a 40% stake, which was not the direction I wanted to take in the negotiations.

“Taewoo Group is not a group that is short of money. Rather, it is flush with cash.”

“You mean you need something other than money.”

“I won’t ask you to calculate the future value of Together Work, but I would like to receive the current value. Please give me the assets that Softbank owns, not money.”

Chairman Son Jeong-woo lost in thought for a moment.

In some ways, he was similar to President Han.

He had a calculator in his head and the ability to analyze profits and losses in real time.

“First of all, we need to clarify the terms. Are you planning to sell 60% of your shares, or are you going to sell all 100% of your shares?”

“I am a person who likes things neatly. I have no intention of profiting by leaving behind some shares in a messy manner. I will sell 100% of the shares.”

“You’re asking for assets worth at least $10 billion. What can I give you?”

For now, a CEO has been analyzing Shortbank’s assets for several months.

Among them, I found things that are still undervalued, but whose value will increase dozens of times over time.

Of course, I couldn’t say what I wanted from the beginning.

The plan was to first propose a proposal that Chairman Son Jeong-woo had no choice but to reject, and then get to the point.

“I want ownership of the communication network connecting Japan and Korea.”

“That will be difficult. It will shake the foundation of Shortbank.”

“Then they want to exchange it for a stake in an e-commerce site they invested in in China.”

“That is also impossible. Not only does the corporate value not match, but it is a company with higher growth potential than Together Work.”

It was Chairman Son Jeong-woo, who had already rejected the offer twice.

It’s going to be hard to say no three times in a row, so now is the time to come up with the conditions you really want.

“Then, I would like to exchange Together Work with the semiconductor design company that Softbank recently acquired.”

“Are you talking about ARN, a British semiconductor design company? Few people know about our acquisition, but you somehow managed to do so. I guess the rumor that Taewo Group’s information power is the best in the world was not just a rumor.”

For the first time, the word ‘impossible’ did not come out of Chairman Son Jeong-woo’s mouth.

Of course, the word ‘possible’ wasn’t mentioned, but the long pause seemed to mean that there was some possibility.

“As you know, semiconductors are Taewo Group’s main business. A large-scale semiconductor factory will be completed next year.”

“Most of the semiconductor factories being completed are foundry factories.”

“If we can acquire ARN, wouldn’t we be able to make up for our lack of design capabilities? Of course, Taewoo Group’s semiconductor design capabilities are among the best in the world.”

British semiconductor design company ARN.

The company was experiencing large losses due to various negative factors.

Thanks to Chairman Son Jeong-woo’s continuous investment, the company will grow into a company valued at more than $60 billion within five years.

But if you just look at it now.

Together Work was a $10 billion company with endless growth potential.

ARN was a $10 billion company with little growth potential.

“Those are not bad conditions.”

“I have not told you all the terms yet. I would like to acquire ARN with the 90% stake held by Taewo Group. The 10% stake held by CEO Beryl must be negotiated separately.”

“Hehe, you’re asking for ARN and money as well. So how much do you want?”

Chairman Son Jeong-woo turned his head towards Beryl.

Beryl, who had already prepared her mind, said the amount she wanted in one breath without taking a breath.

“I know very well that the shares I own don’t mean much. I will sell my 10% stake for $100 million.”

“You’re a thoughtful person. It’s a $10 billion company. If you asked for 10%, or $1 billion, I wouldn’t negotiate with you for an equity stake.”

It was Beryl who now held a 10% stake.

However, if Chairman Son Jeong-woo poured a huge amount of money to increase the total amount of shares in Together Work, it was also a stake that would quickly shrink.

So, if you are greedy without knowing the fraction.

It was Chairman Son Jeong-woo who had the idea to cut it off with a single blow and exclude Beryl from this negotiation.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be more greedy, but I wasn’t greedy because I sincerely want Together Work to succeed. I hope you will invest in Together Work the same amount as the value of the shares I own.”

“You have the right mindset, which is hard to find on Wall Street. All right. We will acquire a 10% stake for $100 million, and exchange Taewoo Group’s shares with ARN.”

Quick resolution.

This was Chairman Son Jeong-woo’s style.

The person who invested billions of dollars after only 10 minutes of conversation with the founder was Chairman Son Jeong-woo.

Moreover, since they had already confirmed each other’s conditions, he did not want to take any more time.