The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 369



Only Krnovel

369. Poison apple (4)

Is there anyone in Korea who has signed more acquisition or sale contracts than me?

From the time of the IMF until now, we have attempted to sell large-scale companies and acquired mega-corporations such as GM and AIZ.

In the case of small-sized companies, we have made dozens of acquisitions.

Even if you add up all of those contracts, none of them ended as quickly as the contract with Chairman Son Jeong-woo.

“It’s not like you’re roasting beans in a flash, and this is the first time a $10 billion contract has been concluded in a matter of hours, not a day.”

“I have seen many acquisition deals on Wall Street, but this is the first one that ended so quickly.”

Chairman Son Jeong-woo was not just a person who was quick to write contracts.

He was a man who could calculate his money well, and he immediately sent Beryl the $100 million he had promised.

“The deposit has been confirmed. $100 million has been deposited into the fintech bank account.”

“I wanted to give you more money, but time was running out so I could only give you $100 million. But this is not the end, we will continue to be together, so don’t be too disappointed.”

“Are you giving me the entire $100 million? That’s too much for what I’ve done.”

Beryl was one of the heirs of the Wagner Ranch.

Even for him, $100 million was not a small amount.

“We pay performance bonuses based on ability. Thanks to Beryl’s good management of Together Work, we were able to achieve good results. So, just accept it.”

“I just want to work with you longer than $100 million.”

“If you want to keep working with me, take $100 million. That makes me feel better.”

“Then, without further ado, I will accept it gratefully.”

Beryl was unable to raise her head.

Leaving him like that, the president continued speaking.

“30% of Together Work’s shares were owned by a fintech bank. What would you do? You could compensate in cash, or you could compensate by dividing ARN’s shares.”

“Fintech banks are no longer in a hurry for money. Dimon would also like to share some of ARN’s shares. Still, please discuss it with Dimon and do as you wish.”

The fintech bank was like my personal safe.

This decision was made because it does not matter whether the stake is in Taewo Group or a fintech bank.

“By the way, when are you going to tell President Lisa?”

“I have to tell you now. I was already planning to move on to Taewoo Semiconductor right now.”

Lisa, CEO of Taewo Semiconductor.

He acquired a semiconductor design company without consulting her.

However, since she was emphasizing the necessity of semiconductor design, there did not seem to be any major problems.

* * *

The new headquarters was not only located in Seoul.

In Gyeonggi-do, a new headquarters was built for Taewoo Semiconductor and a game company.

Of course, it was a building with fewer floors and a smaller scale compared to new headquarters or financial towers in Seoul, but it was more than enough for Taewoong Semiconductor to use it.

There were two owners of the Taewo Semiconductor building.

Vice President Wei manages the semiconductor production and foundry division.

And President Lisa, who is in charge of semiconductor design and Taewoo Semiconductor.

Both of them were semiconductor experts from Taiwan.

These were the people who became the driving force behind the growth of Taewo Semiconductor.

“It’s been a long time since I sat down with you two like this.”

“I thought the Chairman had completely lost interest in Taewo Semiconductor.”

“It couldn’t be possible. You two were so good to me that I didn’t really have to interfere. Isn’t no news good news?”

“Still, I would appreciate it if you would pay a little more attention.”

President Lisa said, sounding a little angry.

To relieve her anger, I brought out an expensive gift.

“Let me show you how much I care about Taewo Semiconductor.”

Suddenly, I held out the ARN acquisition contract in front of her.

President Lisa looked at the contract for a moment and then froze.

“Are you taking over ARN in the UK? How can you make such a decision without even consulting us!”

“The situation was so urgent that we didn’t have time to discuss it. Softbank Chairman Son Jeong-woo said he wouldn’t sell it unless we acquired it right away.”

Chairman Son Jeong-woo’s name was sold.

Even though he is a man who makes quick decisions, he still had enough time to discuss things with Lisa’s boss.

I just couldn’t take care of it.

“You could have contacted me by phone.”

“As soon as the contract was concluded, I immediately rushed to Taewoong Semiconductor. Do you view the acquisition of ARN negatively? Then let’s cancel the acquisition contract right now.”

“······It is not a negative view. Although it is currently experiencing losses, most smartphone companies are using ARN’s semiconductor design technology, so it is a company with high growth potential.”

I thought you would like it too.

Even though President Lisa was angry that I had signed a deal to acquire a semiconductor design company without telling her.

He couldn’t hide his joy at having the ARN he wanted, so he kept twitching his lips.

“Taewoo Semiconductor will kill two birds with one stone: fabless and foundry. That is why the roles of both are very important.”

“We have acquired ARN, so you don’t have to worry about fabless. We can raise Taewo Semiconductor’s design capabilities to the world’s best within five years.”

Lisa was a confident president.

As expected, Taewoon Semiconductor’s design capabilities have increased significantly every year.

This was possible because a huge amount of money was invested and human resources were also exhausted.

However, this did not mean that the foundry was neglected.

Rather, looking at the investment amount alone, it should have been seen that more than 10 times more was invested in the foundry.

“The foundry division is also doing well. We have signed contracts with world-famous companies, and there are several companies waiting for the foundry factory complex to be completed next year.”

“I’m not going to tell you to make a profit from the first year, so you don’t have to move too hastily.”

“We will more than double Taewo Semiconductor’s sales within five years. In terms of scale alone, we have a factory complex that is much larger than Samjin Electronics or Taiwanese semiconductor companies.”

“The foundry market is a place where economies of scale prevail.”

The size of the foundry market continued to grow.

It won’t be long before the market size exceeds $100 billion.

There was an analysis that if we take the lead from now on, we can take the lead in about 50% of the cases.

What if that becomes possible?

Taewoong Semiconductor will be able to generate $50 billion in sales from its foundry division alone.

If sales exceeded 60 trillion won annually, it could become a driving force for significant growth not only for the Taewo Group but also for the Korean economy.

“Economies of scale work, but in order for the Taewo Semiconductor factory to operate at 100% capacity, demand for semiconductors must be more than twice as high as it is now. The U.S. factory will also be completed next year.”

“Even if we see a loss for more than five years, Taewo Group is fully capable of handling it. And if we maintain the current sales, we will not see a loss.”

Is there any business without risk?

In particular, in the case of the semiconductor industry, the risk was even higher due to the existence of cycles.

Taewo Group poured tens of billions of dollars into such high-risk industries.

It was an aggressive investment that was possible because it was Taewo Group.

Of course, there was no intention to recoup the investment in a short period of time.

Taewo Semiconductor was now Taewu Group’s best cash cow, but this investment could have resulted in an even larger deficit than Taewo Trading.

“Still, there is some hope. The number of smartphone users continues to increase, and demand for automotive semiconductors has increased significantly due to electric vehicles.”

“Demand for semiconductors will increase by more than five times, not twice, compared to now. When that time comes, it will not be possible to meet the demand unless it is Taewoong Semiconductor Foundry.”

It wasn’t something I said to boost morale.

In fact, demand for semiconductors was increasing significantly, and foundry plants could be operating at 100% faster than we expected.

“Chairman, may I say something for a moment?”

“Any time. If you need anything from the fabless division, please let us know. If necessary, we can acquire a design company of similar size to ARN.”

The size of the fabless market could never be ignored.

If the foundry can grow to $100 billion in a short period of time.

The fabless market was an industry that could grow in a short period of time to at least $60 billion.

So, you have to give in to whatever CEO Lisa wants.

If we could have a piece of the pie including the fabless business, Taewoo Semiconductor alone could have achieved first place in the Korean business world.

“For a semiconductor design company, ARN is enough. Rather, I would like to collaborate a little more strongly with the Artificial Intelligence Center.”

“It seems that artificial intelligence can be of great help in semiconductor design.”

“It’s helping a lot. Artificial intelligence often designs things in ways that humans can’t even think of. In many cases, it’s even better than humans in terms of optimization. Of course, there are times when the results are completely nonsense and trash, but it’s still very useful. “It’s being used extensively.”

Semiconductor design is ultimately completed through much trial and error.

Artificial intelligence was able to produce good results because it was possible to conduct hundreds of virtual experiments a day.

If a person redesigned based on the results, the optimal design could be found.

“We are already trying to increase the size of the artificial intelligence center. I plan to promote Team Manager Cheon to center manager and take charge of overall management.”

“I will be the youngest center director. Wouldn’t that be too harsh on Team Leader Cheon? If you send me to Taewo Semiconductor, I can serve as a strong defense.”

“Who in the artificial intelligence center would be jealous of Team Leader Cheon? IIT faculty members also agree and accept anything Team Leader Cheon says.”

“That’s too bad.”

A strong defensive wall is nonsense.

It was Lisa’s president who had plans to monopolize Team Leader Cheon by making him a member of Taewo Semiconductor.

“Then, please take good care of me in the future. Taewo Semiconductor is an affiliate that must serve as a strong pillar of Taewu Group.”

“We will hold on tightly so that the pillar roots do not get pulled out.”

President Lisa exudes the energy of a master.

And Vice President Way, who only smiles benevolently in the guise of a deokjang.

Looking at the two of them, I thought that Taewo Semiconductor might grow faster than I expected.

* * *

June 2013.

The season when the air feels hot has arrived.

News has emerged that could heat up the U.S. economy.

“Chairman! The U.S. Federal Reserve has finally indicated its intention to reduce quantitative easing. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve made the announcement through a press conference!”

“It’s finally time.”

Reduce quantitative easing.

It did not mean that quantitative easing would be carried out right now, but only that the intention was indicated.

However, the remarks of the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, known as the economic president, were enough to shake the US economy.

And it was also the signal we had been waiting for.

It was the moment for Quantum Fund CEO George, who had been waiting for quantitative easing to be reduced, to make his move.