Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 319

Light, about to retort, firmly shut his mouth. The value of a company depended not only on its present state but also on its future growth potential, something that couldn’t be argued with words alone.

Since no one could accurately predict the future, the perceived value of the company varied greatly depending on individual forecasts. In other words, he couldn’t refute Bart, who was brandishing a rosy future based on his own subjective views.

Moreover, Leppard, the CEO of Leppard Planning, and Bumseok, the major shareholder, were sitting in the front seats. If he argued with Bart here and disparaged Leppard Planning, they certainly wouldn’t appreciate it.

Seeing this, Bart inwardly rejoiced as he looked at Light. It was time to get rid of this nuisance.

“So, what will you do? Will you continue to compete with us?”

Before Light could answer, Bumseok immediately interjected. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed unlikely that Hero Investment & Securities was in league with the Black Society. For safety, it was necessary to bring them along, even if it meant some losses.

“Mr. Light, could you perhaps tell us the conditions offered by Hero Investment & Securities? I’d like to hear them.”

“Well, the conditions we’re offering don’t quite match Odin Investment & Securities’ proposal. Would that be alright with you?”

“It doesn’t matter. As I said before, our reason for going public isn’t just about the money. If you can provide various conveniences, we might still consider a contract.”

At those words, Light’s face brightened. If money wasn’t the only goal, it was worth competing.

“First, we plan to increase Leppard Planning’s shares from 440,000 to 22 million through a free stock dividend. And we will offer 50% of this, 11 million shares, to our employees and the public.”

“At what price per share are you planning to offer them?”

Light subtly glanced at Bumseok before stating his opinion.

“We’re thinking of offering them at 830 krang [fictional currency] per share. I dare say that it will be difficult to offer them at a higher price than this. So, please understand this point.”

830 krang was barely over 70% of the amount Bart had proposed. In normal circumstances, this offer wouldn’t even be worth considering. However, Bart’s proposal was like a poisoned chalice, while Light’s proposal was a safe bet. Frankly, if things went according to Light’s plan, Bumseok would receive about 1.37 billion krang.

“I see. What else?”

“We guarantee to list Leppard Planning as a recommended investment stock for one year and will expose it to local media at least five times. Also, we promise to hold at least 1% of the shares for the next three years, and we will give the voting rights for this stake to Mr. Leppard. And decisively, we don’t mind not being the exclusive lead manager. We’re satisfied as long as we can handle a quantity equivalent to 5% or more.

Since Leppard Planning’s listing size is close to 20 billion, it’s impossible for one lead manager to handle all the quantity anyway.”

At those words, Bart said in an indifferent voice.

“Mr. Bumseok, don’t lump Odin Investment & Securities together with local, small-scale securities firms. We can handle all 55% of the shares, so there’s no need to even listen to such talk. And if we become the lead manager, we will purchase all 55% of the shares in one go, so you don’t have to bear the risk of a failed public offering.”

Bumseok stared at Bart silently. Frankly speaking, he had no intention of allocating that many shares to Odin Investment & Securities.

No, he had no intention of allocating even a single share. There was no way he would hand them over to the enemy, even if the money was good.

The reason Bumseok hadn’t listed Leppard Planning until now was to detect the Black Society’s overtures. Now that he knew their attack had begun, it was time to put the plan he had in mind into action.

“Does Odin Investment & Securities want to become the exclusive lead manager for Leppard Planning’s listing?”

“Yes, of course. If you give us exclusive rights, both Mr. Leppard and Mr. Bumseok will be greatly satisfied.”

“But if you’re not assigned as the exclusive lead manager, are those conditions still valid?”

Bart widened his eyes and asked sharply.

“What are you talking about? We pride ourselves on offering the best conditions in the industry. Rejecting this would mean a great loss for Leppard Planning. There’s no need to even think about it; you should naturally assign us as the sole lead manager.”

“Ah? So, are you saying that you’re not willing to accept it if you’re not the lead manager?”

“Yes, of course.”

Bart cut it off decisively. The reason he made this offer was to obtain more than 50% of Leppard Planning’s shares. If he couldn’t be the exclusive lead manager, the stake he would get would be split in half or less, so this offer would be meaningless.

“Then, I’m afraid that won’t work. I’m thinking of using companies from LHN and Wilkins Financial Group as lead managers for this listing. I think it’s better to keep our loyalty, even if the income is less.”

“Why not!”

“Well, there are several reasons. I have to consider my friendship with LHN and Wilkins, and I also have to be considerate of Hero Investment & Securities, a local investment firm. Also, I’m a bit uneasy about putting more than half, 55%, into one company. Due to our circumstances, I can’t guarantee that something difficult won’t happen.”

“What difficult thing?”

“That’s something I can’t tell you. Anyway, just know that the rights of the exclusive lead manager cannot be given to anyone. This applies equally to LHN, Wilkins, and Mr. Light here.”

Bart made a dumbfounded expression and immediately turned his head towards Leppard. He was currently the president of Leppard Planning. No matter how much Bumseok opposed, if only Leppard agreed, the deal would be done.

“Mr. Leppard, you really need to think carefully. You shouldn’t fall for such absurd advice and throw away a great profit.”

“Well, I don’t know anything about it. If Mr. Bumseok says so, I think there’s a valid reason.”

“I’m telling you because it’s not valid. If you don’t accept our offer, Mr. Leppard, the largest shareholder, will suffer a great loss. Your income will decrease by almost 30%.”

“Well, isn’t that the same for Mr. Bumseok? He’s a major shareholder with 15% of our company’s shares. Mr. Bumseok is even giving up a great profit to come out like this, so I can’t only look after my own greed, can I? And Mr. Bumseok has made me, who was almost begging for a living, into such a successful person. If I don’t trust him, who would I trust?”

Bart, with a blank expression, fidgeted and then shook his head and stood up from his seat. Since even Leppard was coming out like this, there was no room for further persuasion.

“Hmph~ I understand. Then, I’ll have to go back and discuss it with my superiors. To see if they’re willing to accept it even if they’re not the exclusive lead manager.”

“Yes, thank you for understanding. But you need to contact us quickly. Things might be processed urgently.”

“I understand. Then, I’ll visit you again in the near future.”

Bart gave his farewell greetings and left the room. However, he never came back as promised. Bumseok quickly put the listing plan into action and selected LHN, Wilkins, and Hero Investment & Securities as the lead managers. Naturally, there was no place for Odin Investment & Securities to step in. Now, all they could do was participate in the public subscription.

Soon after, Bumseok allocated 9% of the shares to LHN, 8% to Wilkins, 5% to Hero Investment & Securities, and 3% to employee stock ownership. However, he did not conduct a public subscription. If he did, the Black Society could also participate and buy the shares cheaply, so it was better to meet the listing requirements through direct sales, even if it was a bit difficult.

Fortunately, he knew many wealthy acquaintances, and most of the companies selected as lead managers were also very capable. Soon, the listing conditions were met, and they passed the listing review.

“Hahum. Even though it’s the holiday season, there’s so much to do…”

Bumseok, sitting in the chairman’s office, yawned and spent a lazy morning. He had been so busy lately that he didn’t have enough time to sleep. Managing the team, having intimate moments with his lovers, the listing of Leppard Planning, and the power plays with the Black Society… it was as if he needed ten bodies.

‘I’m too busy, way too busy.’

Last year, God’s Knights finished the season with 38 matches, 15 wins, 7 draws, and 16 losses. Although the winning rate wasn’t very high, they were still ranked 7th in the league. This was because strong teams such as Chaplin Whisper, Dark Hyena, and Snow Girls swept away the points. Thanks to this, there was no worry of relegation throughout the year, which always made Bumseok’s shoulders feel lighter.

However, one concern was whether to aim for promotion in the next season or not. Currently, God’s Knights’ main force consisted of a total of 9 World League-level gladiators: Jelsomina, Rafine, Nikita, Kazella, Lenka, Jermia, Iphis, Herse, and Cathy. And there were a total of 10 Central League-level gladiators: Emma, Siya, Oscar, Matilda, Violet, Reimei, Hestia, Lynn, Venus, and Agelia. And there were three Wide League-level gladiators: Chiria, Erica, and Erpina.

Usually, this level of strength would be a bit lacking to aim for World League advancement, but things changed when Bumseok joined. He could single-handedly block more than three World League-level gladiators. And in the next second half of the league, Liza, who had W2-level skills, would also be joining the team.

With this, they could be kings in the Hyrn Central League, where Chaplin Whisper and Dark Hyena had left.

‘Hmph~ If we had just two more key force-level gladiators, the chances would be significantly higher… I should spread some funds around.’

No matter how strong God’s Knights was, there was a chronic problem of a shortage of key gladiators. If a few were injured, the team’s strength would drop sharply, which could cause major difficulties in promotion.

The most necessary thing to prevent this was to replenish the main gladiators. Fortunately, he had recently earned 1.31 billion krang from the sale of Leppard Planning’s shares, and if he combined the existing funds with the season ticket sales, medical corporation income, sponsors, and team emblem product sales that he would earn this time, he could definitely recruit two World League-level gladiators.

‘No, what if I only buy one?’

Suddenly, a different light flashed in Bumseok’s eyes. An elf who had recently been making headlines came to his mind.

She was the gladiator named Seiya, who was currently the main gladiator of the Grow Lancerz team, which had been promoted to the World League this time. Her age was currently 14, which was a bit young, and her physical abilities were somewhat lacking, but she was a genius gladiator with outstanding swordsmanship skills, ranking 163rd in the world. That’s why strong World League teams were actively courting her, and her affiliated team, Grow Lancerz, was having a big headache.

If they sold her, it would be difficult for the team to survive the World League survival competition this year, and if they kept her on the team, Seiya’s desire to go to a strong team was burdensome.

But surprisingly, the choice was simple. They could solve the problem by selling her expensively and buying two useful gladiators. Thanks to this, five teams had already jumped into the recruitment war, and her value had recently risen to 2.4 billion krang.

‘Hmm, I have the money, but let’s decide after checking the information window first. It could be all bark and no bite.’

But the problem was that Bumseok had never checked Seiya’s abilities. A value of 2.4 billion krang was a huge sum approaching the top 50 in the world rankings, and even World League teams with excellent financial resources couldn’t easily open their wallets.

This was the same for Bumseok. Seiya’s recruitment was something that could only be done after verification and verification. But there were about a month left before the transfer market opened. He could still turn off his attention to Seiya.

He leaned back in his chair and got up from his seat. It was because there would be a meeting between the Ilsimhoe [a secret society] members soon.

“Well, shall we go meet the Ilsimhoe members? I need to set up a plan to hook the Black Society today. Hehehe.”

Soon, Leppard Planning would be listed. As a result, the Black Society was slowly making overtures, but they were not sending a definite signal.

This was because Bumseok and the early members of the Ilsimhoe occupied 50% of the shares. In this situation, a share war would be a foolish act, and the Black Society would not rush in. But if things continued like this, they would give up and try to hit Leppard Planning in another way, and the decent income would be gone. So today, Bumseok was planning to meet with the early members of the Ilsimhoe to explain the plan to lure them into a share war and ask for their help.

He went to the parking lot, got into his flying car, and headed to the Rainbow Hotel. The only safe place to hold a meeting, away from the Black Society’s gaze, was their base.

“Everyone’s here.”

Bumseok, who entered a small room, greeted the Ilsimhoe members who had arrived earlier. Their faces were full of smiles, probably because their pockets had recently become fuller.

During the LKS Broadcasting listing in the past, most of the funds were used to defend the Rainbow Group as soon as they came into hand, but this time, they were safely deposited in their accounts.

“Hahaha. Bumseok, come on in.”

“Chief. You look great.”

“Hehe. That’s right.”

Lexter stroked the collar of the expensive suit he was wearing and was embarrassed. Until a few years ago, he had been struggling with low pay and spending boring days, but now he had risen to the ranks of the wealthy and was envied by those around him.

So much so that even the federal commissioner had been complaining to him whenever he met him recently. He wanted to enter politics, but he didn’t have a sponsor. Thanks to this, he had been spending happy days recently.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

Everyone, have a nice day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.