The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 104

104. The First Step of a Giant (2)

Michael Dell was a vibrant young man, just a year older than Jung Hyun-woo.

“I’m Michael Dell, CEO of PC’s Limited.”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his hand, which seemed larger than his own.

“I’m Charlie Jung, CEO of Victoria Corporation.”

CEO of Victoria Corporation.

Michael Dell’s eyes widened slightly.

“Are you really the CEO of Victoria Corporation?” he asked, as if needing confirmation. Jung Hyun-woo nodded, still holding his hand.

“Yes, is there something strange about that?”

“Well…”

Michael Dell seemed surprised that the CEO was so young.

“You probably think that the CEO of a company that occasionally appears on TV couldn’t possibly be this young.”

Michael Dell sighed briefly.

“It seems like you’ve read my mind.”

Jung Hyun-woo smiled.

“Most people I meet think the same thing, so it’s not like I’m particularly good at reading minds.”

Michael Dell nodded, understanding.

“We have quite a few cases like that here too.”

However, Michael Dell was tall, so he was less likely to be treated like a kid compared to Jung Hyun-woo.

“Please, have a seat.”

At Michael Dell’s invitation, Anne and Jung Hyun-woo sat down. Even though Anne was wearing a skirt that came just above her knees, the roughness of the chair made her feel exposed. She had no choice but to cover her knees with her handbag.

‘I can’t expect much more here.’

It was then that she frowned.

Jung Hyun-woo raised his voice slightly.

“The factory is quite spacious.”

Michael Dell responded cheerfully.

“It will be filled with people and products within a year.”

“You rented a large factory with expansion in mind?”

“Exactly.”

Michael Dell seemed full of confidence.

Jung Hyun-woo thought it was only natural.

‘Anyone would be full of confidence when their company is on a roll.’

He was the same as Michael Dell. When the Zero Space series was a hit, he felt like he could make any game a success.

Michael Dell lowered his voice and asked.

“Victoria Corporation is quite a large company, so is the reason you came here in person because of a large order?”

He thought Jung Hyun-woo was going to order dozens or hundreds of PCs.

But an order of that size wouldn’t have caused the CEO of Victoria Corporation to fly all the way to Texas.

Jung Hyun-woo clasped his hands lightly and replied.

“I will be ordering computers, but what I’m really interested in is PC’s Limited.”

Michael Dell raised his eyebrows.

“You’re interested in our company?”

“I liked your innovative marketing.”

“Marketing, you say…”

“I’m talking about selling computers directly without using offline stores. I thought it would be a good fit for our online business.”

Jung Hyun-woo wasn’t simply saying he would invest in the company.

He was suggesting that since their companies were headed in the same direction, why not join forces?

Michael Dell stroked his chin at Jung Hyun-woo’s proposal.

“Victoria Corporation is certainly an online company.”

He had never considered receiving investment from a large corporation.

That’s why he hesitated for so long.

‘Hmm, what should I do?’

Michael Dell took his hand off his chin and asked.

“Mr. Jung, you’re not saying you want to acquire our company, are you?”

He absolutely didn’t want to sell the company.

Jung Hyun-woo spread his hands.

“I could do that if you want, but I’m thinking about investing for now.”

“Investment?”

“If Victoria Corporation supports us, PC’s Limited could grow explosively.”

Explosive growth.

It was such a tempting idea.

That’s why Michael Dell couldn’t help but be suspicious of Jung Hyun-woo.

‘Can I trust these two, a young man and a young lady?’

Victoria Corporation was a large company that even collaborated with JP Morgan.

It didn’t make sense that the CEO of such a company would be traveling with only a young woman in her early twenties as an assistant.

“Mr. Jung, I saw someone from Victoria Corporation on TV last Christmas.”

Jung Hyun-woo responded calmly.

“You mean Robert?”

“Do you know him?”

“He’s our company’s COO [Chief Operating Officer].”

Michael Dell asked again.

“Then you must be the CEO.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded.

“That’s right.”

Anne realized that Michael Dell was doubting Jung Hyun-woo’s identity.

‘His eyes are full of suspicion.’

She quickly opened her handbag and took out her business card and Jung Hyun-woo’s.

“Mr. Dell, the detailed contact information and titles are written here.”

Michael Dell looked at the two business cards and frowned again.

‘The business cards are properly made, but I can’t trust them with just this.’

Just as his suspicion deepened, Jung Hyun-woo sensed the tense atmosphere.

‘He doesn’t seem to trust us.’

When he was with Sarah, he rarely faced such suspicion because of her striking beauty and the Hilton family’s reputation. But it was different when he was with Anne.

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly and took something out of his pocket.

“Maybe this will ease your doubts a little.”

He revealed his student ID.

Michael Dell confirmed that the student ID Jung Hyun-woo presented was from MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] and murmured softly.

“Hmm, MIT.”

He had heard rumors that an MIT genius was the CEO of Victoria Corporation.

“Are your doubts resolved?”

“Not all of them, but somewhat.”

Jung Hyun-woo released his clasped hands.

“Then shall we go back to talking about business?”

“Investment, you mean?”

“If the two companies join hands, we can dramatically shorten the time it takes to fill this factory.”

Michael Dell was still wary.

“How do you want to invest?”

“I want to make an equity investment, just like JP Morgan did with our company.”

Michael Dell sighed briefly.

“Equity investment, huh…”

Currently, he owned 100% of PC’s Limited’s shares.

“It doesn’t mean you’ll be taking over management rights.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought that even less than 50% was fine.

‘If I ask him to give up management rights, he’ll object.’

Michael Dell pondered deeply. About three minutes later, he spoke again.

“Still, it can’t be more than 20%.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head.

“I don’t think you can fill this factory with 20%, can you?”

The stake he wanted was about 30%.

“I’m sorry, but 20% is all I can concede.”

The reason Michael Dell presented the figure of 20% was because he was considering an IPO [Initial Public Offering].

‘If I give up more than that, I can’t guarantee management rights after the IPO.’

He wanted to defend PC’s Limited’s management rights at all costs.

‘20% is the absolute bottom line I can’t concede.’

Jung Hyun-woo sighed inwardly when Michael Dell said it so firmly.

‘Hoo… He’s said to be stubborn, so if I push him any further, the deal will fall through.’

Considering Michael Dell’s personality, he decided to accept it.

“Okay, let’s go with 20% then.”

Michael Dell was surprised when Jung Hyun-woo readily agreed.

‘Was Mr. Jung thinking about 20% from the beginning?’

He felt slightly outmaneuvered, but he forced a smile since he was receiving investment from a company much larger than PC’s Limited.

“Thank you for agreeing.”

The two shook hands, but the negotiation wasn’t over yet.

Jung Hyun-woo and Michael Dell knew that the most important part remained.

‘Calculating the value of the company.’

The reason JP Morgan and Victoria Corporation had conflicts was that their perceived values of the company were too different.

“Now it’s time to talk about the value of PC’s Limited.”

Jung Hyun-woo brought up the main point first. He wanted to conclude this deal quickly.

‘There’s no need to drag it out with a 20% stake.’

Michael Dell didn’t intend to waste time either. He had a lot of pending orders.

“Our company ships over 200 computers a month.”

200 units a month meant about 2,400 units a year.

‘The scale isn’t that big.’

Jung Hyun-woo asked, resting his hands between his legs.

“Wouldn’t it be better to calculate it based on sales rather than the number of units shipped?”

“Monthly sales haven’t been released yet.”

Jung Hyun-woo took a short breath.

‘Hoo-ah, did I come here less than a month after the factory opened?’

He had no choice but to change the question.

“Then how much would you say the monthly sales are roughly?”

“The price of the most popular model is around $700, so if you calculate it with 200 units, it would be about $140,000.”

Jung Hyun-woo was quick with calculations.

“$140,000 a month is $1.68 million a year.”

He turned his gaze to Anne.

“Anne, how many times the annual sales do you usually multiply to get the market capitalization?”

Jung Hyun-woo, of course, knew the answer. But he included Anne to persuade Michael Dell.

Anne spread all the fingers on her right hand.

“In manufacturing, we usually take about 5 times.”

“I see.”

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze back to Michael Dell.

“PC’s Limited is not a typical product manufacturing company, so I’ll calculate it at 7 times.”

Michael Dell clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Tsk, he’s used to this.’

He was smart enough to get into medical school, so he could immediately recall PC’s Limited’s market capitalization calculated at 7 times.

‘$11.76 million.’

The median income for the middle class was about $20,000, so it was quite a generous estimate.

He decided to ask for a little more.

“How about $15 million?”

Approximately 9 times the annual sales.

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head.

“I don’t think 9 times is possible.”

Of course, even if he acquired it at 9 times, it would still be a great deal.

But Jung Hyun-woo didn’t intend to give Michael Dell everything he asked for.

‘I’ve already conceded on the stake.’

Michael Dell sighed deeply.

“Hoo, then how about $14 million?”

He cut exactly $1 million.

In fact, $1 million was not a big deal for Jung Hyun-woo, who had assets of over $500 million.

But as mentioned earlier, he had no intention of simply accepting the other party’s demands.

‘It’s a matter of principle.’

Instead of accepting Michael Dell’s proposal, he made a counter-offer.

“Let’s do it for $13 million.”

A figure between 7 and 8 times.

Michael Dell supported the back of his head with both hands.

“Hmm, $13 million.”

If the market capitalization was calculated at $13 million, the money to acquire a 20% stake would be $2.6 million.

‘With that much money, I could increase the number of employees to 100.’

He could also put more effort into marketing and place advertisements in famous newspapers in Texas and surrounding states.

‘And if we become affiliated with Victoria Corporation, we can get their help too.’

Michael Dell pretended to be seriously considering it, then reluctantly reached out his hand.

“Okay, let’s agree on $13 million.”

Jung Hyun-woo smiled brightly and shook hands.

“You made a good choice.”

It was an acquisition negotiation that was easily resolved without much conflict.

‘The acquisition negotiation was resolved so easily because I moved quickly.’

If someone appeared offering to make an equity investment less than a month after the factory started operating, not many people would be able to refuse.

Jung Hyun-woo thought that Anne had made a surprisingly big contribution.

‘I should give her a generous bonus this time.’

Jung Hyun-woo and Michael Dell had detailed discussions about the date of the formal acquisition negotiation, the down payment, and the final payment, and then finished the meeting.

“Let’s meet in Boston in ten days.”

“Okay. Next time, I’ll go to Boston and sign the contract.”

The reason Michael Dell suggested Boston as the meeting place was because he wanted to see Victoria Corporation with his own eyes.

‘I need to know what kind of company is buying our stake.’

There was bound to be a big difference between seeing it on TV or in newspapers and seeing it in person. He wanted to see Victoria Corporation for himself.

Squeak.

Anne said to Jung Hyun-woo as they left the warehouse that served as PC’s Limited’s headquarters.

“President, it only took two hours in total.”

Considering the time they waited for Michael Dell earlier, they had finished the acquisition negotiation very quickly.

Jung Hyun-woo knew why the negotiation had ended quickly.

“It’s because they made a lot of concessions.”

As the two came outside, Garcia waved and called out.

“Here! I’ve been waiting!”

Anne said that they had finished the negotiation quickly, but for Garcia, who was waiting outside, two hours felt like an eternity.

“Let’s go to the airport.”

Garcia’s eyes widened.

“Aren’t you going to have a meal?”

“If we eat, won’t Garcia’s 퇴근 [quitting time/end of work] be delayed?”

Garcia nodded, as if he hadn’t thought of that.

“That’s true.”

“So, let’s go to the airport.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought he could have a meal on the plane.

‘I wish I could go back before the employees 퇴근 [leave work].’

He wanted to check Andrei’s American service, which was about to be released to the public.

But after arriving at the airport, he realized that it was impossible.

“Departure at 7 o’clock?”

“It’s not like New York or LA where there are planes every hour.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly.

“Hoo… It’s a relief if I can get in today.”

Anne asked softly.

“President, can I claim overtime pay?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded enthusiastically.

“Claim as much as you want. It’s too late to 퇴근 [leave work].”

Anne took out her notebook.

“Then I’ll claim for meal expenses and transportation expenses as well.”

She showed her meticulousness in not missing out on overtime pay as well as taxi fare.