The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 70



Only Krnovel

Episode 70 failure (3)

Apple now had no money.

Apple was full of debt, but it had something more important than money, and I was going to take it.

“Taewoo Electronics wants to form a perfect partnership with Apple. “The conditions are that we exchange 10% of each other’s stocks and use Taewo Group’s logo in the logo of future mobile phones.”

“It’s not difficult to add another logo. But what is a perfect partnership?”

“We hope to produce not only mobile phones but also home appliances together with Apple.”

“Apple doesn’t make consumer electronics. “It won’t be of any help to Taewoo Electronics, right?”

Apple had a strong image as a computer company.

Although it produced small products such as message pads, it made almost no home appliances.

But after a few years, things change.

As the iPod and iPhone became successful, it expanded into home appliances such as Apple TV.

“This is a partnership that looks at the future, not the present.”

“is it? “I’m not sure, but I won’t be opposed to it since SAVE investment company is investing.”

“If Apple acquires the mobile phone division, it will have a significant impact on the stock price. “We will have ownership of not only InnoPhone, but also the slide phone that performed well at this year’s CES.”

George and other board members nodded.

They all knew how popular Innophone was. They also saw the next product, Slide Phone, in person.

“I think this is enough for the top. Then, we will confirm our intention through voting.”

Voting was meaningless.

Those who opposed it had already resigned and left the board meeting, so the agenda was passed unanimously.

With this, I became Apple’s largest shareholder.

SAVE Investment Company owns 20% of the shares.

With the sale of the mobile phone division, Taewoo Electronics will withhold its 10% stake in Apple.

I personally own 5%, so a total of 35% of Apple’s shares were mine.

If you added the friendly stake, it was even higher.

Adding in the shares held by Steve and George, I was able to control 45% of the shares as I wanted.

“Everyone agrees. “Then, we will proceed with the acquisition of Taewoo Electronics’ mobile phone division.”

“No matter how much the acquisition funds are, SAVE Investment Company will take full responsibility.”

It was a loan disguised as an investment.

I was able to open my wallet without any hesitation because I would eventually get my money back if Apple’s sales increased.

* * *

Apple’s board meeting held in California was concluded successfully.

David was waiting for me at a restaurant not far from the conference hall, and there were two other guests there.

“hello. This is Minjae Kim from SAVE Investment Company. “Please feel free to call me Kim.”

“hello. But are you really investing in our project? I know that SAVE Investment Company is famous on Wall Street. Why are you doing this to us in a place like that?”

“Larry, Sergey. I liked your project. That’s the whole reason.”

The two people with David were the founders of Google.

Google was the result of a research project by two graduate students at Stanford University, and it was only just getting started.

In this case, you can secure a large amount of shares at a low price by investing.

Not only did I watch them before they became graduate students at Stanford, but I also provided them with a lot of support, knowingly or unknowingly.

“Do you know us?”

“Have you ever received a Wall Street scholarship? “If you had read the scholarship certificate to the end, you would have known that it was a scholarship given by SAVE Investment Company.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know the Wall Street scholarship came from SAVE Investment Company. But thank you so much. “Thanks to the Wall Street Scholarship, I was able to attend school without taking out student loans.”

It was the moment when the wall in my heart disappeared.

This is why network management is most effective when you help people when they are having a hard time.

“SAVE Investment Company monitors the performance of all scholarship recipients.”

“So you know about our project. “I was very surprised to hear that they would support a project that had not even produced a proper report yet.”

“Then let me get straight to the point. How about a 49% stake for $1 billion?”

“Are you saying that much?”

“I don’t know what a lot means. “Does this mean that 49% of the shares are a lot?”

“It didn’t mean that the amount of investment was too large.”

1 billion dollars was a large amount of more than 700 billion won.

It was very rare for a graduate student’s project to receive such a large amount of money.

But I knew that this project would be successful and that it would develop into a huge company called Google.

“If $1 billion is not enough, we are willing to invest up to $2 billion. “If that happens, we will have to change the shareholding structure a bit.”

“no. $1 billion is enough. “We will set the stake at 49% and $1 billion.”

“If you don’t have enough investment money, just let me know at any time. We will provide you with nearly infinite funding. And, if we happen to sell our shares elsewhere, we will add a clause that says this can only be done with mutual agreement.”

“Of course I will.”

The meal time continued in a fairly gentle atmosphere.

Naturally, I felt good because I owned 49% of Google’s shares at the low price of $1 billion.

The graduate students were quite excited because they could now proceed with their studies and projects without worrying about money.

Moreover, even David was there.

He made the meal enjoyable by showing off his brilliant tongue, and even got the lawyer’s signature on the contract he brought.

That’s how the meal ended.

David and I took a break in a quiet cafe.

“Boss, isn’t this too much? “A billion dollars for a graduate student project.”

“So David is more of a lobbyist than an investor. “You know the IT industry is hot these days, right?”

“That’s true, but $1 billion is more than enough money to build a decent company.”

“Just wait. “I will try to work the magic of turning $1 billion into $800 billion.”

“Isn’t this bluffing too much? They say that for a 49% stake to be worth $800 billion, the market capitalization must exceed $1 trillion. “There is no company of that size even in the United States.”

This is so frustrating.

I can’t tell you the future.

Instead of answering, I just quietly drank my coffee and smiled.

* * *

I returned to Korea with good results.

Although he wanted to return to Korea with Dimon, he had to remain in the United States and negotiate with Apple.

So I returned to Korea with someone else instead of Dimon.

“Team Leader Han, how do you feel about coming to Korea after such a long time?”

“It hasn’t been that long. “I came here several times last year.”

I came to Korea with a team leader.

Dimon was in charge of negotiations with Apple and also took charge of the SAVE investment company, so he was able to bring a team leader to Korea.

“I will have to stay in Korea for the time being. “Taewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering negotiations are almost over, but we need to get the final stamp and control the establishment of a joint venture with Aramco.”

“I feel like I have to stay busier than I do in America.”

“Then you came to play? You have to pay the price of receiving a high salary. “Didn’t your salary go up 100 times compared to when you were at Taewoo Securities?”

“If you include the bonuses, it’s more than that. When I was at Taewoo Securities, I never dreamed that I would become like this. “Meeting the CEO changed my life.”

He was a team leader who was a securities man with an annual salary of 20 million won.

But now he is receiving one of the highest salaries on Wall Street.

But it’s a bit hard to say that it’s all thanks to me.

If he had been left as is, he would have been running a large securities company.

“I hope you think your life has changed for the better.”

“Of course. “Out of all my college classmates, no one makes more money than me.”

“Then that’s a relief. You have to work to earn a lot of money, right? Communicate with Dimon and proceed with Taewo Shipbuilding, mobile phone division, and Aramco joint venture cases.”

“We will proceed without any problems!”

He was a team leader full of confidence.

If you were in your early 30s and had to work on three large-scale projects at the same time, you would be nervous.

However, because Team Leader Han had gained experience while working at SAVE Investment Company, he was not nervous and was even enjoying it.

We got in the car and went to Captain Kang’s office.

Upon arriving at the office, a team leader noticed a blackboard located in the center.

Taewoo Electronics’ affiliates and debt information were written on the blackboard.

“The debt ratio has decreased significantly. “If we successfully complete ongoing projects, our debt ratio will drop below 300%.”

“That’s not enough. “It is stable when it falls below at least 200%.”

“Are you planning to dispose of a few more affiliates?”

“It is no longer difficult to lower the debt ratio by selling affiliates. “Now we need to lower the debt ratio in a way that increases the sales of affiliates.”

“If you are the president of Taewoo Electronics, isn’t it difficult to get involved in the affairs of other affiliates?”

So, I made a plan to step down from my position as CEO of Taewoo Electronics.

Taewoo Electronics was roughly finished, so it was time to move on to other affiliates.

“So I’m going to ask my grandfather to demote me. From the president of Taewoo Electronics to the head of the planning department.”

“You want to go to the planning office and get involved in the affairs of other affiliates. But isn’t it a waste? “Isn’t it like going from president to manager?”

“Whether you are the president or the head of the department, you will be sitting as the chairman of Taewo Group anyway, so what does it matter?”

Did you say that a place makes a person?

But in my case it was the opposite.

It didn’t matter where I sat.

The moment the Taew Group’s successor sits down, that seat becomes the head table.

* * *

A full moon has passed.

Although it was a short period of time, a lot of changes occurred.

“president! Sales of slide phones were a hit. We are receiving far more orders than expected. To be precise, orders are flooding in.”

“How does it compare to Innophone?”

“It is difficult to make an exact comparison. During the Innophone period, the factory was not operating properly and production could not be carried out properly. But now, even though all five factories are operating, it is difficult to meet orders.”

The slide phone was, as expected, a success.

It gained enormous popularity by creating synergy with InnoPhone, a flip phone.

However, this did not mean that Innophone’s popularity waned. Innophone was still selling like hot cakes.

“Start building a new factory. Taking over an existing factory is also a good idea. “All funds will be billed to Apple, so don’t worry about money.”

“Will the mobile phone division eventually be transferred to Apple?”

“That will happen soon as the negotiations are in the final stages. “Do you think it’s a waste?”

“Honestly, it’s a bit of a waste. “How could it not be a waste when the jackpot hit one after another?”

Wouldn’t it be a waste to be me?

But in order to have something bigger, you also had to know how to give up.