The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 175

175. The End of the Crisis (2)

A secluded bar on the outskirts of Washington.

Congressman Jack Edinburgh sat across from a man, without even his aide.

“Jack, it’s been a while.”

Congressman Edinburgh finished ordering from the bartender and turned his gaze.

“Ayn, are you doing well?”

The man sitting across from him was Ayn Perrman, the First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF [International Monetary Fund].

“I’m so-so.”

“Why? Is the global economy not doing well?”

“The economy is recovering. But what worries me is…”

“What worries you?”

Ayn Perrman, the First Deputy Managing Director, swirled the glass in his right hand and replied.

“The United States and Japan.”

Congressman Jack Edinburgh smirked.

“The United States and Japan will soon begin negotiations.”

Ayn Perrman asked him.

“It won’t be a simple agreement, will it?”

“Probably not.”

“Depending on the content of the agreement, the global economy could be greatly affected.”

Ayn Perrman, the Deputy Managing Director, was worried about the developing countries that would be caught in the battle of the two whales.

However, unlike him, Congressman Jack Edinburgh didn’t think much about developing countries.

He was an America First person, meaning he prioritized the United States above all else.

“That turbulence will ultimately benefit the United States.”

Ayn Perrman frowned and said.

“You haven’t changed.”

“You mean only thinking about my country?”

“If you want to be president, you need to see the world.”

Ayn Perrman thought that Jack Edinburgh was aiming for the White House.

‘After the Speaker of the House, it would be the White House.’

Congressman Jack Edinburgh received his drink from the bartender and said.

“I’m not thinking that far.”

“Be honest.”

“I really mean it.”

“Jack.”

Congressman Jack Edinburgh slowly shook his head from side to side.

“The White House is too much of a headache.”

“Then are you planning to end your career in Congress?”

“Maybe that’s how it will be.”

The two had different ultimate goals, but they stood together under the Republican tree.

“Ayn, what are you planning to do?”

“You mean life after Deputy Managing Director?”

Congressman Jack Edinburgh nodded and replied.

“Your term isn’t that long, is it?”

“I might go back to Wall Street.”

“To Wall Street?”

“You have Congress, and I have Wall Street.”

Congressman Jack Edinburgh smirked.

“Are you going to get a job at JP Morgan or Citibank at your age?”

“Probably not.”

Congressman Jack Edinburgh asked with a surprised look.

“If not a bank, where are you going?”

“I’m thinking of Vanguard or Magellan.”

The two funds, Vanguard and Magellan, were bringing a new wave to Wall Street.

“Hmm, I thought you were conservative, but I was wrong.”

“I’m thinking of those places because I’m conservative. If I were adventurous, it would be a hedge fund.”

Congressman Jack Edinburgh put down his glass and said.

“Hedge funds are too much. You have to be a villain. Come to think of it, there was a company that recently became a target of a hedge fund…”

“Victoria Corporation, you mean?”

Victoria Corporation’s stock price had risen to $12.2 after Jung Hyun-woo’s announcement, seeming to overcome the crisis.

However, the very next day, after the famous hedge fund Terra announced that Victoria Corporation’s performance and guidance were overvalued and that they would actively engage in short selling, the stock price plummeted again to $9.9, showing a shaky appearance.

“Ah, right. Victoria Corporation.”

“That young friend is going to have a hard time.”

Congressman Jack Edinburgh tilted his head and asked.

“Do you know Charlie too?”

“He’s a bright friend.”

“Hmm, that’s unexpected.”

“Justin recommended him.”

Congressman Jack Edinburgh raised his voice upon hearing Justin Balmer’s name.

“Justin was an alumnus of that friend, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, they’re both from MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology].”

“That friend’s alumni love was particularly strong.”

“What about you?”

The two clinked glasses and began to reminisce about the past.

For the two Washington heavyweights, the story of Victoria Corporation and the hedge fund Terra was just passing small talk.

At the same time.

An old restaurant in New York.

Under the dim light, Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah were having dinner together.

Clunk.

As Jung Hyun-woo put down his fork, Sarah asked.

“Why? Do you not have an appetite?”

Jung Hyun-woo let out a long sigh in response to her question.

“Hoo…”

“Is it because of the hedge fund?”

Jung Hyun-woo scratched his head and replied.

“No. The hedge fund isn’t a big problem. The problem is the AS engineers.”

The negotiations led by Mac Coyle were not going well from the start. The AS engineers criticized the executives of the headquarters, saying that the people at Victoria Corporation headquarters had gained immense wealth, and they were excluded from those benefits.

Nevertheless, Mac Coyle tried to continue the negotiations, but on the second day, he couldn’t hold back his anger and ended up swearing, completely derailing the meeting.

This was a development that Jung Hyun-woo had not anticipated.

Sarah said, trying to comfort him.

“Mac apologized, so the negotiation schedule will be set again.”

Jung Hyun-woo let out another long sigh.

“Hoo… I didn’t know Mac would get so angry.”

Sarah said, moving her knife.

“Those people were so rude. If it were Robert, he might have thrown a punch.”

“Was it that bad?”

“I couldn’t know the details because Mac didn’t tell me. But according to those who attended together, there were harsh words exchanged between the two sides.”

Jung Hyun-woo guessed that the AS engineers had provoked Mac Coyle by mixing in vulgar language.

‘They are not gentlemen.’

He was well aware of the extraordinary nature of those from the back alleys of New York.

‘If even Mac Coyle couldn’t hold back his anger…’

Words that Sarah couldn’t handle might have been exchanged.

Jung Hyun-woo frowned and said.

“Sarah, go back.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want Sarah to get angry like Mac.”

If the differences between the two sides narrowed, Sarah was scheduled to step in and reach a final agreement.

But Jung Hyun-woo was telling Sarah, who was supposed to reach the final agreement, to go back.

It was a difficult thing for Sarah to accept. She was the chief executive of this negotiation.

“Charlie!”

“I’ll go out for this final negotiation.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows and asked.

“What?”

“Maybe it would be better if I went out.”

Sarah frowned and said sharply.

“Charlie doesn’t trust me.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

“Then?”

“I don’t want Sarah to get involved with those people.”

Jung Hyun-woo imagined Sarah arguing with the people from the back alleys of New York in a rough tone, and he decided to send her back to Boston.

“Charlie, I’m the COO [Chief Operating Officer] of Victoria Corporation.”

“And at the same time, you’re the most precious person to me. I don’t want the most precious person to be involved in such a situation.”

Sarah knew what Jung Hyun-woo was worried about. He didn’t want her to argue with the people from the back alleys of New York in a rough tone.

“Charlie…”

“Please.”

Sarah closed her eyes for a moment after hearing his words, then opened them.

“Charlie is the most precious person to me. I don’t want Charlie to argue with them either.”

She meant that she didn’t want Jung Hyun-woo to argue with the back alley people either.

‘I have more social experience than Charlie.’

Jung Hyun-woo received her words in a firm voice.

“Sarah, if someone insults Sarah, I won’t end it with just one punch.”

Not ending it with just one punch.

In America, this meant using a gun.

Sarah’s eyes shook for a moment.

“Charlie, you can’t do that.”

Jung Hyun-woo said, tightening his throat.

“I’m serious. So please go back to Boston.”

When he said this much, Sarah couldn’t help but go back.

“Okay. If Charlie says so, I’ll go back to Boston. But promise me just one thing.”

“What promise?”

“Promise me you won’t get angry at the negotiation table.”

Jung Hyun-woo took the strength out of his throat and said.

“Don’t worry. I can endure anything that is said to me.”

If it was an arrow aimed at him, not Sarah, he didn’t care how harsh the words were.

* * *

Friday.

After today, the stock market would take a two-day break. Therefore, investors who mainly engaged in short-term trading had to make a decision before the end of Friday’s trading session.

Whether to sell the stocks they held and change their positions. Or to hold the stocks as they were and wait until Monday.

“It would be better to sell Victoria Corporation.”

“Why do you think so?”

“The strike might be decided over the weekend.”

Fund managers on Wall Street often viewed Victoria Corporation’s stock price negatively.

“Indeed. The tabloids also said that negotiations were sluggish, right?”

“There was also news that the COO who participated in this negotiation is returning.”

The story was that if the negotiations were going well, the COO, Sarah, would not be returning.

“That’s not good news.”

“Should I short sell instead?”

“Victoria Corporation?”

“Terra said they would too.”

The hedge fund Terra’s declaration was having a significant impact on Wall Street fund managers.

“Hmm, I still don’t think I can do it.”

“Why?”

“We are friendly with Victoria Corporation.”

The fund manager who opposed short selling was affiliated with JP Morgan. On the other hand, the person sitting in front of him was a fund manager from Morgan Stanley.

“Then I’ll have to do it alone.”

“Don’t overdo it. The friends who shorted from Bank of America are all gathered at $8.”

Bank of America’s short selling.

In other words, Caron Victor’s short selling was still recording a loss of over ten million dollars.

In response, Carney Paul instructed Caron Victor to fly to San Francisco as soon as Friday’s trading ended.

Caron Victor clicked his tongue inwardly at her instructions.

‘Tsk, another tantrum.’

He was on the same boat as her, but he didn’t respect or value her highly.

“I understand. Then I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Click.

As soon as Caron Victor hung up the phone, he went out of the office. Then he grabbed the nearest fund manager and asked.

“What about Victoria Corporation?”

“It’s $9.9.”

“What? It hasn’t dropped at all.”

Because Caron Victor’s expression was fierce, the fund manager swallowed hard inside.

“Th, that’s, it hasn’t fallen below $9.8 since this morning.”

Despite the hedge fund Terra’s short selling declaration, Victoria Corporation’s stock price had been showing a solid trend throughout Friday morning.

“Damn it!”

Caron Victor spat out a curse and released the fund manager. Then he went to the manager in charge of short selling at the New York branch.

“Who are the guys taking the short selling of Victoria Corporation?”

“It’s JP Morgan.”

“JP Morgan?”

“They own 10% of Victoria Corporation’s shares, so I think they are defending the stock price.”

Caron Victor clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Tsk, JP Morgan became a shield?’

He had expected the situation to change completely with Terra’s participation, but his expectations were completely wrong.

“How much are we short selling?”

“It’s a little over $140 million.”

This meant that Bank of America had shorted about 10% of the shares it held.

“How much more can we use in the future?”

“The higher-ups have allowed up to 20%.”

No matter how much Carney Paul was, she couldn’t use all of the shares she held for short selling.

“I’ll try to increase it to 30%.”

“Then…”

“Put in the remaining 10% today.”

“What about the time?”

“There are two hours left. Use 5% every hour.”

The manager widened his eyes at Caron Victor’s instructions.

“5% per hour means short selling $100 million each time?”

He thought the scale of short selling was excessive.

“That’s how much it will take to break through JP Morgan’s shield.”

An amateur attack would never be able to break through the shield called JP Morgan.

‘Now, let’s see the end.’

Today was the day of victory or defeat for him.

And at 1:20 PM.

Victoria Corporation’s stock price broke the $9.5 line.

“It’s $9.48.”

“What should we do?”

“Damn it…”

The person who clenched his fist tightly was John Peer. He clicked his tongue at the pouring short selling.

‘I don’t think there has been a company that has been hit with such strong short selling recently.’

John Peer thought that the power of those who thought negatively about Victoria Corporation had all gathered in this short selling.

“Spread the defense line at $9.3.”

“I understand.”

John Peer left the exchange and returned to his office. Then he immediately called Jung Hyun-woo.

“Mr. Jung.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly at his call.

“Is the stock price falling again?”

“The short selling is no joke.”

“What’s the scale?”

“It’s over $100 million today alone.”

$100 million was a large amount even on Wall Street.

Jung Hyun-woo frowned and asked.

“How much cash is left?”

“It’s not even $200 million now.”

This meant that if short selling on the same scale as today continued, they wouldn’t be able to last two days.

“I understand. Redeem the funds from the Japanese side.”

“The Japanese side?”

John Peer raised his voice because the returns on the Japanese funds were quite high.

“Let’s redeem only $200 million for now.”

He meant to create funds to last another day or two.

“Mr. Jung, how about using a loan instead?”

“A loan?”

“You can borrow the necessary funds from a securities company using fund assets as collateral.”

As of 1985, interest rates had fallen considerably from their peak.

“Hmm, how much can we borrow?”

“Looking at the overall size of the fund, $1.5 billion should be enough.”

“How much interest will you charge?”

“How about 8%?”

Interest rate of 8%.

This was just a slight fee added to the base interest rate.

‘8% of $1.5 billion means paying $12 million in interest per month.’

In a situation where they had to fight against hedge funds, monthly interest of $12 million was not an expensive cost.

“8% is fine. Let’s secure funds with a loan.”

John Peer thought that $1.5 billion would be enough to defend against the hedge fund’s attack.

‘There are about $2 billion of Victoria Corporation shares released on the market, and even including Bank of America’s ownership, the limit that can be shorted is around $4 billion. If we invest $2 billion, half of the $4 billion, as defense funds, we can sufficiently block the hedge fund’s attack.’

He nodded and received Jung Hyun-woo’s words.

“I understand. Then I’ll start the loan work right away.”

Because it was an emergency loan, there was a need to hurry.

“Mr. Peer.”

“Is there anything else you would like to order?”

“What procedures do we need to go through to buy back our own shares?”

John Peer widened his eyes and asked.

“Are you saying that Victoria Corporation is planning to buy back its own shares?”

“We have extra funds on this side too.”

“You can buy back your own shares right away just by disclosing it.”

Since Victoria Corporation had more than 50% of the shares when combining Jung Hyun-woo and Sarah’s shares, they could immediately enter into buying back their own shares without the approval of the board of directors.

“It’s fortunate that we can buy back our own shares.”

Jung Hyun-woo hung up the phone with John Peer and immediately called the headquarters.

“This is Victoria Corporation.”

“This is Charlie. Sarah, has she arrived?”

Sarah had taken a plane to Boston in the morning.

“Ms. Hilton has not arrived yet.”

“Then please tell her to call me here as soon as she arrives.”

“I understand.”

Immediately after Jung Hyun-woo hung up the phone.

The phone rang.

Ring. Ring.

He immediately answered the phone.

“This is Charlie.”

“Charlie, it’s me, Sarah.”

Sarah had arrived at Victoria Corporation right after his phone call ended.

“Sarah, I have a favor to ask.”

Sarah thought that Jung Hyun-woo’s voice was urgent.

“Calm down and tell me.”

Jung Hyun-woo took a short breath according to her suggestion and continued.

“Take the funds from the Magellan Fund and buy our company’s shares.”

Sarah frowned and asked.

“Are you saying we should buy back our own shares?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm, taking the funds from the Magellan Fund is easy, but…”

Sarah was worried that he and Victoria Corporation might become prey for hedge funds.

‘We could have defended after the stock price dropped a little more.’

Jung Hyun-woo asked her.

“Sarah, would it be something that would make Peter feel sorry?”

“I don’t think so. Peter will know that we are in trouble too.”

“Then please proceed as is.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“They say it’s okay if we just disclose it.”

Sarah sighed and asked back.

“Hoo… That’s not what I meant.”

She meant to ask if it was okay to take the investment and defend the stock price.

“If we secure our own shares, we can also use them to negotiate with the AS engineers, so it will be a win-win situation.”

Sarah nodded after confirming that he had made up his mind.

“Okay. Then I’ll start the work of buying back our own shares. But it will be difficult today.”

There was not much trading time left. She thought it was impossible to finish all the work in a short time.

“Let’s disclose it on Monday and buy it from Tuesday.”

Jung Hyun-woo saw that the next week was the peak.

‘I’ll endure this week somehow.’

He wanted to let the hedge fund know that they had chosen the wrong opponent.