The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 386



Only Krnovel

386. Timing (1)

The last month of 2014 has arrived.

Oil prices were still falling at an incredible rate.

Unlike us, who are taking it easy, America is starting to feel sad.

The United States seemed so urgent that U.S. Ambassador Kang Jun-yong came to visit me.

“I’m sorry that I keep bothering Chairman Kim, who is busy.”

“Not at all. If I can meet Ambassador Kang, I can make up for the time I don’t have.”

Ambassador Kang Jun-yong is Korean, but belongs to the U.S. government.

Is that why? He was a person who exuded a different vibe from ordinary Koreans.

“Seeing as how you turned down dinner and came to see me, it seems like you have something urgent to say.”

“I got a call from the White House. They told me to move because everything was ready.”

“Are you ready already? We promised to move early next year.”

“Please understand the situation. Dozens of small and medium-sized shale companies are collapsing every day. Moreover, the overall oil-related business is beginning to decline.”

Ambassador Kang Jun-yong’s acting skills were quite good.

Even with tears in his eyes, he was conveying the crisis of American shale companies.

However, if it was truly a crisis, the action would have been taken directly by the White House, not by the U.S. Ambassador.

“We will finalize the consortium as quickly as possible.”

“I hope to start acquisition negotiations within this year. If it doesn’t work out, wouldn’t it be possible for the Taewo Group to make the first move?”

I couldn’t just bide my time.

It wouldn’t matter if the negotiation target was simply an American oil company.

Since the real negotiating target was the U.S. government, not oil companies, a minimum of sincerity had to be shown in advance.

“It is not difficult for Taewoo Group to make the first move. However, this is only possible if American oil companies are prepared to negotiate with us.”

“Don’t worry about that. I just received word from the Hess board that they are ready to negotiate. We can negotiate as soon as tomorrow.”

“Then, I will try to book a plane ticket to America within this week.”

“It may not happen, but if you don’t have a plane ticket, please contact us. We will transport you safely to the United States by airlifting you by private plane or even mobilizing a US Forces Korea aircraft.”

This event was also important to the career of U.S. Ambassador Kang Jun-yong.

If the oil company acquisition process goes smoothly, he could not only become the U.S. ambassador to Korea but also enter the White House, so he continued to do his job.

“We will prepare as quickly as possible and fly to the United States. And since Taewoo Group also has a private plane, we will decline any help from the U.S. military.”

“Then, I will convey this to the White House. And if Hess demands excessive conditions, please contact me right away. I will make sure that they are complied with, even if it means taking a beating.”

Ambassador Kang Jun-yong even pretends to swing a baseball bat instead of a hawk.

He returned to the embassy after repeatedly requesting that negotiations proceed quickly.

“Please call President Han.”

As soon as Ambassador Kang left, he called President Han.

After waiting for less than 10 seconds, President Han came inside.

“Ambassador Kang seemed very urgent. He asked us to proceed with negotiations as soon as possible because American oil companies are ready.”

“It seems like the entire financial tower is sticking together and short selling is having an effect. Hess’ stock price is still falling, and has fallen by more than 55% compared to six months ago.”

Hess did not propose negotiations for nothing.

It was clear that he was scared by the enormous amount of short selling he had never experienced before.

The people who led this were President Han and the financial companies of the financial tower.

“Thanks to you, things will proceed easily. You have controlled the financial tower well.”

“Isn’t it because financial companies made money? They said they could make high profits through short selling, so they moved on their own without any control.”

“Obviously, as multiple financial companies moved in, they attacked in unexpected ways.”

“Are they the hyenas of Wall Street for no reason? They chew even the bones. Although Hess has a deep history and tradition, is it deeper than Wall Street?”

Wall Street’s fighting power was confirmed once again.

At times, Wall Street seemed like a well-fed pig.

It was a place where prey that looked weak was attacked like a hyena that had been starving for several days.

“We need to form a consortium soon, so we can complete all negotiations early next year.”

“Actually, we can make it right now. But do you mind if we move up the schedule?”

“It doesn’t matter because the results won’t change even if the schedule is brought forward a little.”

“I will form a consortium while you negotiate in the United States.”

“It would also be a good excuse to stop short selling. Taewoo Securities took the lead and created a consortium to acquire oil companies, so how can they continue short selling?”

It was until this year that we had fun with short selling.

Starting next year, oil prices will regain stability and begin an upward curve.

“If we take over an oil company, there will be no short-selling forces. Other oil companies may be attacked, but shouldn’t we assume that no financial company will attack us?”

“This may be true for financial companies in financial towers, but there may also be financial companies that are not under our control that commit crazy acts.”

“Is there such a crazy financial company?”

There was a high possibility that there would be none.

Taewoo Group’s financial power was known all over the world.

“Let’s pretend to be a little weak. There will be a few financial companies that will attack us if we show weakness.”

“Do you really need to be attacked?”

“We need to set an example of what happens if you mess with Taewoo Group. Well, if you don’t get attacked, you can just pretend it never happened and move on.”

“Okay, then I will spread the information to Wall Street that most of the funds were used to acquire oil companies.”

Are there any fish biting the bait?

I was hoping that one crazy fish would take the bait.

* * *

Arrived in New York, where Hess’ headquarters is located.

In fact, I wanted to bring the Hess board of directors to Korea, but since I had a promise with the U.S. government, I didn’t fight and moved to the U.S.

These are people who will be robbed of the company at a low price, so they should be treated with respect.

Therefore, when I stepped into the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors, I did so with the utmost courtesy.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Minjae Kim from Taewoo Group. It is an honor to attend the board of directors of Hess, a company with a proud history and tradition.”

“······.”

There was silence for a moment.

He seemed at a loss for words at the appearance of someone who could become Hess’ new owner.

Fortunately, one of Hess’s CEO came to his senses first and sent me a welcome message.

“We are honored to meet Chairman Kim Min-jae, who is the most famous person these days.”

“Since the consortium has not yet been completed, we planned to visit in the first half of next year, but the U.S. government wanted to proceed with negotiations first, so we advanced the schedule. We apologize if I was rude in any way.”

“Not at all. We wanted to proceed with negotiations as quickly as possible, so we made a request to the government first.”

I started with the realization that this was not the negotiation I wanted.

That way, I could take the lead in the negotiations, and nothing else would be said later.

“Actually, there doesn’t seem to be much to negotiate. I received Hess’ terms from the U.S. government. I understand that all shares will be acquired at the stock price at the time of acquisition, and Taewoo Group will be responsible for all liabilities, as well.”

“That is correct. And as an additional condition, I would like to be promised employment succession. Of course, this is something that can be negotiated.”

Is employment succession negotiable?

This was tantamount to saying that some people could be fired.

It seemed like the board of directors wanted to pretend that they had made an effort to secure employment succession.

“We promise employment succession for all employees except those at the executive level. Of course, we may fire a very small number of employees who are legally problematic or harmful to the company. Still, we promise that employment succession will occur for more than 90%.”

“I am satisfied with those conditions.”

Acquisition negotiations taking place in a very warm atmosphere.

However, someone appeared who did not like that atmosphere.

A man with a red beard, who had been silent since I appeared, let out a muffled voice.

“Honestly, I don’t understand. Why is Taewoo Group showing interest in Hess?”

“Taewoo Group has long been interested in oil-related businesses and has been investing heavily in Texas shale gas development.”

“Even if it’s shale gas, isn’t the offshore oil field business any different?”

“I don’t think it’s much different.”

“I understand that Taewoo Motors is focusing on developing eco-friendly electric vehicles. Why is an eco-friendly company showing interest in an oil company?”

I never thought I would be asked this question.

Taewoo Motors was implementing eco-friendly policies through electric vehicles.

However, oil companies were an industry that stood at the antithesis of eco-friendliness, and Taewo Group’s interest in the oil industry may have seemed incongruous.

“Eco-friendly businesses such as electric vehicles are ultimately only possible if the oil industry provides strong support. Creating an electric vehicle requires a huge amount of energy, and ultimately requires oil.”

“Is that why you want to take over Hess?”

I looked at the man’s face for a moment.

Through detailed information, we figured out what he was worried about.

“If you are worried that the Taewo Group is just using Hess, you don’t have to be. We plan to invest to ensure that all projects currently in progress are carried out properly, and we plan to support even those that have been abandoned.”

“Are you saying that we can continue to proceed with oil field projects in South America?”

“Of course. And we have prepared success incentives for employees who are working hard in oil exploration.”

His concern was the downfall of Hess.

Hess was anxious about whether Taewo Group was the best choice for his survival.

I needed to be convinced that if Taew Group became the parent company of Hess, things would be better than they are now.

“Could you please add what I just said to the acquisition agreement?”

“Of course, I can add that. I will also specify that we will proceed with everything from oil exploration to development regardless of whether the low oil price era continues for 5 or 10 years.”

“······Then I will agree to the sale.”

No one anymore opposed the sale of Hess.

But the negotiations were not over.

I am in favor of the sale, but there are people who want to receive more of their share.

“Is it possible to specify severance pay in the contract?”

“Wouldn’t it be enough to acquire the shares at a slightly higher premium than the shares you currently own? The U.S. government said you only need to acquire the shares at the market price.”

It was a warning not to be greedy.

The US government was showing great interest in this negotiation.

If negotiations fail due to the Board of Directors’ greed for personal gain, the Board of Directors must take full responsibility.

Therefore, I had no intention of satisfying their greed.

If I wasn’t satisfied with a little premium, I was ready to get out of my seat.

“Tsk, tsk, why did Hess end up in this situation… Are you being greedy for severance pay? Come to your senses. I will not receive a premium. Please use the money as compensation for employees.”

“······Then, we will proceed with the contract by receiving a portion of the premium.”

The situation was sorted out on its own.

We promised an acquisition contract in the grand scheme of things, and now all we had to do was coordinate the finer details with the working team.