The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 396



Only Krnovel

396. Extortion (1)

Just one week.

This was the time it took David and CEO Han to prepare for voluntary delisting.

This was possible thanks to the approval and connivance of the U.S. government and the SEC.

“Chairman, starting today, we will be announcing the delisting and tender offer.”

“While President Han is away, please take good care of the affairs of Taewoo Securities, Director of Planning. After a few days of hard work, President Han will be back in no time.”

The head of the planning office managed what was happening in the country.

Of course, the planning office was active both at home and abroad, but as many issues were resolved through President Han and David, the planning office’s position tended to be somewhat weakened.

Is that why?

I felt the same passion as a new employee from the planning manager.

“I’ll make sure to take care of it!”

“There is no doubt about the planning director’s ability to handle things. Hess’s stock price has risen a lot now, right?”

“Since the news about Berkshire was reported, it has risen by more than 40%.”

40% per week.

It was a figure sufficient to stop the blood of short sellers.

In addition, short selling uses leverage, so even if the stock price rises by just 1%, you could incur a loss of 5-10%.

But what if it goes up not 1% but 100%?

A loss of 100 billion won could have become a loss worth trillions.

It’s not surprising that just a few more pranks can cause tens of trillions of dollars in damage.

“I’m sure we’ll have several customers coming from the U.S. in the future.”

“There are no appointments planned at the planning office level yet.”

“When news of the tender offer breaks, hedge fund representatives will come to visit us in droves. There is nothing to prepare, just prepare plenty of cold water. They are going to be upset.”

“I’ll prepare a large quantity of ice water!”

I looked at the routine and waited for the time.

And the moment the long-awaited tender offer announcement appeared on Nasdaq, I stopped what I was doing and looked at the stock chart.

“Chairman! Hess’ stock price is rising at an incredible rate!”

The planning manager opens the door and runs in.

Nevertheless, I continued to look at the stock chart.

The sight of the one-minute bar continuously jumping upward was more fascinating than any other dancer’s dance.

“As demand increases but there is no quantity, prices are bound to rise steeply.”

“If this pace continues, we expect it to rise to 100% within a week.”

“If good news breaks out here, we can achieve 100% in three days rather than a week.”

“Is there any more good news left?”

I explained part of the operation to the planning director with a slightly sinister smile.

* * *

Kanos’ office.

Today, unlike other days, hedge fund representatives were raising their voices.

There were even people pointing fingers at Kanos.

They all rushed to Kanos’ office after checking the tender offer announcement, and were excited by Hess’ stock price rising at an incredible rate.

“What happened? Didn’t you say that Taewoo Group was broke?”

“What kind of money are you talking about for the tender offer?”

“The stock price has already risen by more than 40%. If you have a mouth, say something!”

Hedge fund representatives had nothing to show for now.

If things continued like this, it was natural that we would record negative returns this year, and I couldn’t help but be angry because more than half of my fund holdings would have been lost.

“Calm down. Taewoo Group is trying to protect itself. It may temporarily raise the stock price through a tender offer, but it will ultimately fail. Then the stock price will fall at a faster rate than it is now.”

“It’s not some kind of tape recorder! Do you keep repeating that every time Hess’s stock price rises, it will fall over time?

Kanos had lost trust.

He always said that Hess’s stock price would fall soon, but the stock price has never fallen.

To calm down hedge fund representatives whose patience had reached its limit, Canos stepped forward more confidently.

“If we just wait until the delisting, we will win the battle. If there is someone who wants to get out, I will not stop them. If they cannot endure it for just a few months and want to get out even at the cost of losses, do so.”

“Isn’t this a situation where you can’t escape even if you want to? You have to have Hess stock in the market to buy it and escape! Even if you want to buy it, you can’t because there aren’t any!”

“Don’t worry. Taewu Group can never hold more than 95% of Hess’ shares anyway.”

Kanos asserts.

But before he could finish his words, breaking news arrived.

The Kanos Company employee shouted the breaking news so that everyone could hear.

“News broke that Quantum Fund is transferring its 3% stake in Hess to Taewoo Group through a tender offer!”

“When did Quantum Fund hold 3%?”

“It appears that Quantum Fund purchased the shares released on the market through metallurgy.”

“Everyone, please calm down. It is not a major disruption to the general trend. And Quantum Fund has long been rumored to have a close relationship with the Taewo Group. Don’t worry about it as it is no different from a tradable transaction.”

These were hedge fund representatives who I didn’t want to worry about.

But how can you calm down while looking at Hess’ stock price chart, which is soaring frighteningly again with breaking news?

“I’ll have to find a way to survive on my own.”

“The king of short selling is a thing of the past.”

“Come on, everyone, let’s go out.”

More than half of the hedge fund CEOs left.

They thought they could suffocate to death if they waited here quietly, so they set out to find a way to survive.

Kanos swallowed dryly as he looked at their backs.

Have you ever felt this nervous and anxious?

And he had a strong feeling that this would not be the end.

* * *

President Han returned to Korea.

With Hess’ voluntary delisting strategy completed, it was now fully under control in Korea.

“Thank you for your hard work. It may not have been easy to prepare, but you handled it quickly and well.”

“It wasn’t that difficult as the SEC and the US government tolerated it. This incident caused a huge uproar among hedge funds on Wall Street. They were beside themselves as the stock price rose 100% in a short period of time.”

“It would be difficult to react that way already. They are already making a fuss about the fact that they are going to proceed with a series of tender offers.”

Quantum Fund was used for the first tender offer.

The shares held by Quantum Fund were acquired at a 100% increased price.

Now the next hitter was fintech banks.

Next it was Berkshire’s turn, and they were able to complete at least three laps.

Then, Hess’ stock price will rise by 300%.

If that happened, hedge funds would have suffered losses of at least 3 to 15 times more.

If leverage had been used less, the damage would have been less, but if leverage had been actively used, bankruptcy would have been a damage that had to be considered.

“I saw a few familiar faces on the plane. It looks like hedge fund representatives will be visiting the financial tower soon.”

“Get rid of President Han. What can you do if you meet a small child?”

“If we recruit all the small children to our side, wouldn’t we be able to isolate Kanos?”

“That could be possible. Let’s weigh things first. Won’t Kanos come to Korea soon? It’s not too late to decide then.”

“Will Kanos come to Korea? If he dies, he’s dead. I don’t think he will come to Korea, even if it’s because of his pride.”

A person called the king of short selling.

So how high can your self-esteem be?

However, in other industries, money was more important than pride in the financial world.

“Kanos will definitely come, if he realizes the only way to protect his honor. If he realizes too late, he will not have a chance, but he will not be so foolish.”

“There is no solution other than filing a complaint with the Chairman. Then, let’s raise Hess’ stock price a little higher so that he can move quickly.”

When I was talking with a president about how to deal with the short selling power.

Knock knock, the head of planning came into the office with a knock.

“Chairman, I received a call from Representative Choi Jae-seok. He wants to meet with me urgently.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Rep. Choi. Tell him I’ll see him tonight. Since he’s not the governor of Gyeonggi Province anymore, we can meet him at Captain Kang’s restaurant.”

“I’ll schedule it right away.”

Representative Choi Jae-seok gave up the presidential election.

After quitting his job as governor of Gyeonggi Province, he was elected to the Nowon-gu National Assembly.

Since the two major parties did not field candidates, they were able to get elected without much difficulty, and were taking a breather to build up their strength for a comeback.

“Come to think of it, there is only one year left until the general election. It is time for Representative Choi Jae-seok and the National Economy Party to move in earnest.”

“Has it already happened? Hmm, I and the head of the planning department will handle the political issues on our own, so President Han, please continue to pay attention to short selling.”

“We will prepare to begin the second tender offer within next week!”

* * *

7:00 pm.

It was a little late for dinner.

Perhaps that was why my mouth watered at the scent of the food prepared in the annex.

Congressman Choi Jae-seok also glanced sideways at the food before me, probably before he had eaten yet, and said hello.

“It feels like it’s been a long time since I had a chance to have a meeting like this with the Chairman.”

“I’m sorry for being negligent. But I’ve always been thinking about Representative Choi Jae-seok and the National Economy Party.”

“I am always grateful.”

“Let’s eat first. Since we’re going to be talking until late at night, shouldn’t we fill ourselves up from the inside out?”

“It’s a good story to hear!”

We just focused on eating without saying a word.

Representative Choi Jae-seok ate his food in a combative manner, and only started talking after empty dishes were piled up.

“I think we will now be able to proceed with the constitutional amendment to the consecutive term system, which we tried to achieve by giving up the presidential election.”

“It’s finally starting.”

“It’s been a constant conversation since last year, and now we’re finally taking the formal step.”

“Can the two-term system be applied from the next presidential election?”

“That’s right. Now, like the United States, we will implement a four-year term system, and the next president will be able to run for consecutive terms.”

Presidential single term system and consecutive term system.

I wasn’t sure which method was better.

However, if the two-term system was implemented, Rep. Choi Jae-seok could sit as president for eight years, so they tried to push for the two-term system.

“Thank you for your hard work. We are really close to reaching the peak now.”

“It’s still a long way off. There are almost three years left until the next presidential election.”

It won’t take that long.

If history goes by, this president will be impeached.

Since the presidential election will be held about seven months early, Rep. Choi Jae-seok only had to wait for about two more years.

“Anyway, it looks like the structure of the next general election will be quite complicated. There is an analysis that the opposition party will be split into two and the ruling party will be even smaller than it is now.”

“I plan to work hard to ensure that the National Economy Party can absorb as many of the divided votes as possible. This is a very good opportunity for the National Economy Party to rise to the top party.”

A new political party becomes the largest party.

It was an achievement sufficient to make Rep. Choi Jae-seok the president.

“We will provide as much support as we can. Of course, it will be difficult to provide financial support, but Taewo Group will provide support in various ways that we can.”

“Thank you very much just for the words. However, it is said that the Blue House will soon invite the heads of large corporations. It seems they are hoping for support from large corporations to host the Pyeongchang Olympics.”

“To put it simply, it means paying a subsidy.”

A major event that became the backdrop for impeachment was about to begin.

It was an incident that, if I made a mistake, could have gotten me covered in shit.