Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 249

“Welcome, Chairman Valbar, Chairman Wilkins. But what brings you here to see me so suddenly?”

“Valbar quickly responded to Declare’s question.

“We came because we have something important to discuss.”

“Important matters that two giants of the financial world have come together to discuss? This is quite intriguing.”

“Yes. Perhaps. It will be a very beneficial conversation.”

“Is that so? I’m looking forward to it. Well then, come and sit down.”

As the old chairmen sat down, Beom-seok stood in a place where they could see him well. Declare, finding this strange, looked at him.

“Are you the Beom-seok that these two chairmen brought with them?”

“Yes, that’s me. It’s an honor to meet you, Chairman.”

“Nice to meet you too. But why are you standing there? Come and sit here.”

Valbar looked at Declare and said,

“The situation is urgent, so let’s hear from Beom-seok first.”

“The situation is urgent? What’s going on?”

“You’ll understand once you hear it.”

Declare, alternating his gaze between Beom-seok and Valbar for a moment, nodded. He had wanted to meet earlier, but he had only made time now due to his regional branch tour. Since it was delayed because of him, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to be considerate.

“Explain. I’m really curious as to why the three of us had to gather here.”

“Yes. Thank you. Then, I’ll start the presentation.”

Beom-seok displayed the hologram presentation screen he had prepared. The first page was about the Black Society’s attack patterns on the Rainbow Group.

Declare tilted his head at the unexpected data.

“What is that?”

“This is the current state of the Black Society’s hostile M&A [Mergers and Acquisitions] against the Rainbow Group. It’s important data, so please listen carefully.”

“The Black Society… Is that so? Go ahead and explain.”

Having obtained permission, Beom-seok immediately began his explanation.

“Currently, the Black Society is conducting a hostile M&A against the Rainbow Group. However, we anticipated this and have been preparing for it, gathering 48% of the shares.”

“48%? Then it’s almost blocked, isn’t it? No matter how powerful the Black Society is, if the defending side has that much stake, there’s nothing they can do. Not everyone in the world moves according to their will. Especially small individual investors.”

“Yes, that’s right. But we handed over 29% of that 48% stake to the Black Society. So now we only have 19%.”

Declare stared at him in disbelief. He couldn’t understand why they would hand over shares to the enemy after almost successfully defending.

“Are you… an idiot? Why did you do such a foolish thing?”

“It’s simple. Just as Zhuge Liang [a famous strategist from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms] launched empty ships to obtain 100,000 arrows in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I handed over the shares to obtain funds. Thanks to that, we were able to earn over 20 billion Krang.”

20 billion Krang was quite a lot of money. But it wasn’t right to say they did well, since they ended up handing over the Rainbow Group to get this money.

“Tsk tsk. You gave up the entire company for a mere 20 billion?”

Beom-seok immediately moved to the next presentation screen. The screen showed Rainbow Hotel, Rimaster Hotel, and Blue Sky Hotel being merged into one company. It was a lucrative company with annual sales of 31 billion and net profit of 3.4 billion.

“With this 20 billion, we were able to purchase a significant portion of Rainbow Group’s Rainbow Hotel shares and Rimaster Hotel. And we plan to borrow 21 billion Krang from the banks separately to buy Blue Sky Hotel. In other words, the newly formed Rainbow Hotel will transform into a giant real estate company with an annual net profit of 3.4 billion. No, Rainbow Hotel, having acquired the management know-how of Rimaster Hotel and Blue Sky Hotel, will show even better sales than now, so the income will increase further. On the other hand, Rainbow Group will become a hollow company with an annual net profit of 720 million and accumulated debts of 22.3 billion Krang, including loans and deposits.”

Declare, looking interested, rested his chin on his hand with a satisfied smile. Through this M&A, the defending side created a company with nearly three times the sales and net profit, while the Black Society had to take over a company with half the net profit. Well, even so, it wasn’t like Rainbow Group was completely hollow, but it wasn’t worth investing 20 billion to acquire 29% of the shares.

“Interesting. A very good M&A defense strategy. I’d like you to send me the detailed strategy later. I’ll use it as educational material for our employees.”

“Yes. I’ll send it to you if you wish.”

“But you know, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Please tell me.”

“It’s interesting, but why should I, who is so busy, take the time to listen to the M&A strategy of such a small real estate company?”

Beom-seok nodded lightly and moved to the next page.

“It’s very simple. The Black Society currently has 33% of the shares in Rainbow Group. And we have 19%, plus 1.5% from LHN shares and 2.5% from Wilkins shares, for a total of 23%. Adding 11% from Unique Bank will make it 34%. In other words, if you, the president of Unique Bank, support us, we can surpass them in shares.”

“Hahaha. Not only are you eating the rice after hulling the paddy [profiting immensely], but now you’re even trying to take the rice bran [taking even the smallest remaining value].”

“Yes, of course.”

He could appreciate the young man’s ambition, but he seemed to be underestimating the Black Society too much. Even if he supported him, a 1% difference would clearly be reversed by a coalition with other securities firms. If that weren’t the case, he, the group chairman, wouldn’t be subtly watching Vice President Hobbs.

“Aren’t you underestimating the Black Society too much? Most likely, other securities firms are already on their side. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, I understand. That’s why I’ve gathered the three chairmen here today.”

“But even if you combine all three stakes, you can’t beat the Black Society.”

“But LHN, Wilkins, and Unique are the 1st, 2nd, and 4th largest companies in the global financial world. If they unite, they can match the power of the Black Society.”

Beom-seok took out an electronic document from his pocket and handed it to Declare.

“What is this?”

“This is the genealogy of the Black Society forces operating secretly within Unique Bank. If we eliminate them all, Unique Bank will be free from the influence of the Black Society.”

Declare swallowed hard and accepted the list. It would be great if that were the case. As the top manager, he couldn’t be happy with subordinates who represented the interests of other forces.

“But there’s no justification for it, is there?”

“There is. It’s the Rainbow Group case I just explained. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Rainbow Group’s main transaction bank is Unique Bank, but they’re currently siding with the Black Society. In other words, Vice President Hobbs and his line are violating the ethics of the financial world.”

Chairman Valbar offered a helping hand from the side.

“Chairman Declare. I have a son who is rising as a strong successor, backed by the power of the Black Society. But recently, he came with Chairman Lucas and urged us to sell our Rainbow Group shares. If that guy becomes the group chairman, LHN will obviously be swayed by the Black Society. Then I won’t have the face to see my father in the afterlife. How about giving it a try? If we move, the entire financial world will naturally move.”

Beom-seok added one more thing.

“Besides, the Black Society is currently in a grand fight with an economic organization. It means they don’t have the capacity to fight against the three chairmen. Even if they do, they can’t move recklessly. If the financial world and the economic organization are linked, the Black Society is finished.”

Declare, taking a deep breath, looked at Beom-seok. He was now inducing a power-for-power confrontation between the financial world and the Black Society, not just a share fight. It was a bold move, but not a bad idea. He could consolidate his power within the group, and Beom-seok could gain Rainbow Group, achieving a complete victory in the fight against the Black Society. Since the Black Society hadn’t extended its hand to small financial companies, most regional securities firms would have no choice but to hesitate in the middle if they declared war.

Of course, he was concerned that the Black Society might hold a grudge and withdraw funds, but it didn’t matter. They were in the financial business targeting the entire world, and the Black Society’s funds were like dust compared to the world’s funds. And for safety, they spread the funds throughout the entire financial sector, so the amount deposited was not that much. No, if they demanded repayment of the loan as soon as they withdrew, the Black Society would suffer huge losses.

Declare looked at Beom-seok with a favorable expression.

“Here. This is the new look of the Rainbow Hotel that will be reborn this time. What do you all think? Will you become shareholders of the hollow Rainbow Group? Or do you want Rainbow Group to be included in my plan? Now the choice is yours.”

As Gloria finished her presentation and stepped down from the stage, the general assembly buzzed. The appearance of the new Rainbow Hotel company, which combined three hotels, was truly fantastic. Its sales and net income had increased three times more than the existing Rainbow Group as a whole, while the loans were comparable. On the other hand, Rainbow Group’s financial income from Rainbow Hotel’s shares had disappeared, and its net profit had plummeted. In other words, the per-share value had fallen. If her rival forces weren’t just the Black Society, he would really want to support her.

If these people were like this, how would Lucas feel? Although he would take over Rainbow Group, his plan to defeat Beom-seok had been completely ruined. The thought that he might be laughing at him somewhere made his blood boil. But he couldn’t just stay like this. He had to salvage at least Rainbow Group to save face. He glared at Gloria, who was sitting far away, and jumped onto the stage. He had to start the voting quickly and make a decision before the shareholders’ minds wavered.

“Alright, everyone. Now that we’ve heard both opinions, let’s start the voting. What do you think? Do you agree?”

At those words, the pro-establishment shareholders stood up and applauded. They only needed to receive their daily wages, so they didn’t really care where Rainbow Group went.

“Chairman Lucas is right! Start the voting quickly!”

“What are you doing, moderator! Start quickly!”

As the atmosphere of the general assembly became fierce, Jade, the head of the department in charge of the meeting, was restless. If he showed even a little delay, he didn’t know what kind of riot would break out. Inevitably, he activated the voting system. Since all the statements had been made, he had to start the voting.

However, he could stall for as long as he wanted with the rights of the facilitator. He could have them vote one by one.

“W, we have now launched the system. For the top 10%, we will vote one person at a time. First, Chairman Lucas, the largest shareholder, please vote.”

Lucas, glaring at the moderator, stood up, raising the voting chip in his hand. He didn’t like the intention to delay the time that could be ended in an instant. But he couldn’t help it since he wasn’t the facilitator. He inserted it into the small terminal with a slot on the stage.

“I, Lucas, actively support this opinion to change the management.”

At that moment, the blue bar on the giant hologram screen on the right side of the stage rose sharply. It couldn’t be helped since he had 33% of the shares.

Seeing this, Gloria took out the voting chip and shouted,

“Rainbow Hotel, including my stake, and our employee stock ownership, 19%, oppose this agenda.”

This time, the red button on the opposite side soared greatly. But it didn’t reach the blue side by much.

Lucas, smiling broadly, looked at the man in his 50s sitting behind his seat. It was Director Kandle, who came as the representative of Unique Bank. He was a close aide to Vice President Hobbs and could be said to be an active supporter of the Black Society.

Kandle stood up abruptly and shouted,

“Our Unique Bank, which has 11% of the shares, supports this vote.”

With these words, cheers that seemed to tear down the general assembly were heard. Now that the opinion on the approval side was 44%, it could be said that the change of management was a foregone conclusion. However, as time went on, the cheers decreased, and a worried voice popped out from among them. Director Kalde was pressing the button continuously with a bewildered expression, but the blue bar showed no sign of rising at all.

At this time, someone burst into the general assembly, panting. It was a man who looked to be in his 40s, and he shouted at everyone without hesitation.

“I’m Devon, the branch manager of Avon in Unique Bank! Our Unique Bank opposes this agenda!”

The conflicting expressions of the two employees of Unique Bank plunged the general assembly into a dead silence. It was because they didn’t know what was going on.

Lucas, with a bewildered face, said to Devon,

“What are you talking about? Director Kandle from your bank has already expressed his approval for the dismissal of the Rainbow management.”

Devon glanced at Director Kandle once and replied in a strong tone.

“Mr. Kandle is no longer an employee of Unique Bank! Unique Bank is Rainbow Group’s main transaction bank! Of course, we should support and help Chairman Gloria, but Vice President Hobbs and his subordinates have violated business ethics and sided with the hostile forces! Chairman Declare, who heard this fact, expressed his anger and decided to dismiss all employees involved in this situation as of today. And he sent a stern warning that he would make the Black Society, which has disturbed the financial world, pay the price. Be prepared!”

At that time, Ride, the executive director of LHN, who was sitting on one side of the general assembly, stood up and stood next to Devon, the branch manager. The signal for the start of the war had risen, so he was trying to do his job. He pointed his finger at Lucas and said threateningly.

“Our Chairman Valbar has also said that he cannot forgive the Black Society’s tyranny. He said that he will definitely get the price for the injustice so far. And the beginning is today!”

The third person to come forward was none other than Kembler, the team leader of Wilkins Investment Securities.

“Our Wilkins Bank is the same! Chairman Wilkins has always been concerned about the Black Society’s involvement in the financial world. But the Black Society, instead of restraining itself, has even committed the act of trying to usurp a good company by using its financial power and authority. This is something that can never be overlooked! He said that he would combine the power of the entire financial world to punish you! Be prepared!”

As these three exercised their voting rights at the same time, the red bar, which meant opposition, surpassed the blue bar. And this performance was enough to make the securities company employees nervous.

A declaration of war against the Black Society by the three major banks in the financial world. If they stood in the wrong line here, it could cause enormous damage to their company. One securities company employee, thinking that he should discuss it with the higher-ups for a while, raised his hand.

“I request a temporary recess!”

And this request spread like wildfire through the general assembly. In response, Jade, the head of the department, declared a long recess of 3 hours as if he had been waiting and lowered the voting system. The pro-establishment shareholders protested, but it couldn’t be helped. The facilitator of the general assembly was clearly Chairman Gloria.

At this sight, Chairman Lucas turned his face white and returned to his seat. The declaration of war by LHN, Wilkins, and Unique Bank was nothing short of terror. If they took a wrong step here, the entire Black Society could fall into the abyss. If they tightened their purse strings, many Black Society companies would be doomed to bankruptcy.

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

Have a nice day, everyone. I’ll see you again tomorrow.