The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 109

109. The Typhoon’s Landing (4)

Jeong Hyun-woo entrusted the negotiations with Nintendo to John River, not Robert.

He assigned this task to John River, not because of Robert’s preferences, but due to his heavy workload.

‘Robert is already swamped with work and can’t even take proper holidays.’

If he were to handle the Nintendo negotiations as well, he would be working as hard as he did last year.

“John, this is the first project led by the game division.”

John River sighed briefly.

“Hoo, the responsibility weighs heavily.”

He had only thought about developing games enjoyably. However, Jeong Hyun-woo was asking more of him.

“The expansion and reorganization of Development Team 3 into the game division is to handle the projects I explained earlier.”

“I’m aware.”

As Development Team 3 expanded and reorganized into the game division, John River’s position also rose from the head of Development Team 3 to the head of the game division.

Jeong Hyun-woo promoted him to head of the division and set three business directions.

The first was to collaborate with Nintendo to port the game IP [Intellectual Property, referring to the rights to a game] acquired from Atari to the Famicom [Family Computer, the Japanese name for the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES]. He hired 22 new experienced and entry-level employees for this project.

The second was securing Victoria Corporation’s own content. John River preferred this the most. He was pouring his heart and soul into Project F, which would be announced in the second half of the year.

The third was producing sequels to existing IPs. This was the lowest priority, but it wasn’t something that could be put off indefinitely. Jeong Hyun-woo had emphasized to Game Division Team 2 that they needed to produce results by the second quarter of next year.

“John, let’s make the name Victoria widely known to gamers.”

John River nodded vigorously.

“In just two or three years, gamers won’t be able to not know the name Victoria.”

He was confident in the game business.

After John River left.

Sarah came in.

“You look happy.”

“Because we were talking about games.”

Sarah had previously opposed the establishment of the game division. But now her position had changed. She believed that Victoria Corporation had grown strong enough.

“Are JP Services or American Services not as enjoyable?”

Jeong Hyun-woo crossed his arms and replied.

“Those aren’t exactly enjoyable tasks.”

“Just work?”

“It’s not just work, it’s opening up the future. But games are fun.”

Sarah raised her right hand and asked.

“Is it somewhere between work and a hobby?”

“Closer to a hobby than work.”

The process of making games wasn’t always enjoyable. But the process of conceiving games beforehand was as enjoyable as playing them.

Sarah looked at Jeong Hyun-woo with envious eyes.

“Hmm, a job close to a hobby.”

Jeong Hyun-woo changed the subject as if to divert attention.

“Sarah, are you going on a business trip tomorrow?”

Sarah received his words in a soft voice.

“That’s why I came to talk about it.”

Her meeting partner was Henri Arnault of JP Morgan. And the topic of conversation was Victoria Corporation’s IPO [Initial Public Offering, the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance].

Jeong Hyun-woo put his hands together on the desk.

“It’s a meeting that our company’s future depends on.”

As he said, the IPO was a crucial event that would determine the fate of Victoria Corporation.

“How much does Charlie want?”

“10 billion dollars?”

“Still the same price?”

“If we ask for more, Arnault will shake his head.”

Sarah said, sitting across from him.

“No, he’ll try to get more.”

“Are you saying we won’t go public at the price JP Morgan bought it for?”

“JP Morgan will probably try to make at least 20 billion dollars.”

If Victoria Corporation’s value rose to 20 billion dollars, JP Morgan could see a profit of over 1 billion dollars.

“That’ll be difficult right now, though?”

Sarah sighed briefly.

“Hoo… If he thinks the situation is difficult, he won’t agree to the IPO.”

Postponing the IPO until Victoria Corporation’s value exceeds 20 billion dollars.

JP Morgan could also consider this option.

“If they say so, we have no choice but to follow.”

“You’re saying we won’t push for an IPO independently?”

“We don’t exactly need more money, do we?”

Jeong Hyun-woo’s assets were over 600 million dollars, excluding Victoria Corporation’s stock.

On Wall Street, many estimated his assets to be over 5 billion dollars.

“Okay. Then I’ll try to follow Arnault’s opinion as much as possible.”

As she was about to get up, Jeong Hyun-woo raised his right hand.

“Michael is coming next week.”

“Michael Dell?”

“He’s going to look at our company and sign the documents.”

Sarah smiled and said.

“Then I guess we should clean up.”

Jeong Hyun-woo shrugged.

“I think it’s better if it’s messier here.”

“Messier is better?”

“It looks like a company that’s working like crazy.”

“Hahaha, I guess it could.”

Sarah waved slightly and left his office.

Jeong Hyun-woo looked at the documents piled up on his desk and rested his chin on his hands.

“Can’t I go back to the development team now?”

He was still involved in various development tasks, but he had handed over the position of head of the development team to Clay Walker, the head of Development Team 1.

“With the business divisions increasing, I’m busy just with reviews.”

Jeong Hyun-woo was overseeing JP Services, American Services, Project F, and MIT security service research.

Even if he spent only two hours on each project, he would easily exceed the regular working hours of eight hours.

Considering new collaborative projects such as Michael Dell and Nintendo, he still didn’t have enough time.

“Hoo…”

Just as he let out a long sigh.

Ring. Ring.

The phone rang loudly.

‘A direct line that hasn’t gone through Anne.’

Jeong Hyun-woo narrowed his brows and pressed the button.

“This is Charlie Jeong.”

“Hyun-woo, it’s me.”

Clear Korean.

The person who called Jeong Hyun-woo was Hong Won-ik, the chief of staff of Daewoon Group.

‘How did Chief Hong get my number?’

Not many people knew his direct phone number. He cleared his throat and asked.

“Chief, did you shake down Secretary Choi?”

Jeong Hyun-woo thought that Chief Hong Won-ik had received the phone number through Choi Kyung-min.

“You haven’t been in touch, so I had no choice.”

As expected, the source of the phone number was Choi Kyung-min.

‘Secretary Choi must have been quite harassed by Chief Hong.’

He was too busy with Victoria Corporation’s work to properly take care of things in Korea.

He had skipped regular contact with Choi Kyung-min half the time.

“I admit that I haven’t been in touch enough.”

“So when are you coming? The Chairman is really pushing me.”

Chairman Jeong Woo-sun’s pressure.

This was something Jeong Hyun-woo hadn’t anticipated.

‘Is something going on inside the company?’

He narrowed his brows and asked.

“Is there something I’m absolutely needed for?”

Chief Hong Won-ik sighed briefly and replied.

“You haven’t been in touch until the end of vacation, so the Chairman can’t help but feel frustrated.”

Nothing special had happened.

‘Just that there’s a Chairman who wants to see his grandson’s face.’

Jeong Hyun-woo lowered his voice and said.

“I apologize for not contacting you in a timely manner.”

“What’s going on in America?”

“I’ll explain everything when I return to Korea.”

Chief Hong Won-ik raised his voice.

“And when do you plan to return to Korea?”

As he said, Jeong Hyun-woo’s trip to Korea was not yet scheduled.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Soon? Are you talking about Chuseok [Korean harvest festival]?”

Jeong Hyun-woo checked the calendar and clicked his tongue.

‘Tsk, Chuseok might be difficult.’

He thought it would be difficult to make it even by October at the earliest.

“I’ll try to adjust my schedule.”

Chief Hong Won-ik nodded as if he expected it.

“Forget it. If you can’t come, I’ll go.”

“What do you mean…”

“I’ve scheduled a business trip to New York this month. You can come to New York, right?”

New York wasn’t too far from Boston.

“Okay. If you come, Chief, I’ll go to New York.”

“Good. Let’s meet in New York. Choi will contact you with the dates.”

Jeong Hyun-woo hung up the phone and sighed deeply.

“Hoo… New York?”

He regretted being too indifferent to the Korean side, but it was already water under the bridge.

‘Chief Hong is not someone I can avoid.’

If it weren’t for Chief Hong Won-ik, his donations and wealth would have been exposed to the Korean media.

‘I owe him, so I have to repay him.’

* * *

“It’s an amazing company.”

Jeong Hyun-woo waved his right hand.

“It’s not amazing.”

“Honestly, I didn’t think it was such a big company.”

A big company.

Few people could say this after seeing Victoria Corporation.

Because Victoria Corporation’s size was by no means large.

Nevertheless, the person saying it was Michael Dell.

“Is that a compliment?”

As Jeong Hyun-woo raised his voice, Michael Dell replied briefly.

“It’s a compliment.”

“Hmm, you’re saying it’s a big company even though we only use two floors?”

“I know this isn’t all there is.”

Michael Dell was from Texas. He had seen Victoria Corporation AS [After-Sales] center vehicles going around the factory several times.

‘A company with a nationwide AS network can never be called small.’

He thought the Boston headquarters was just a research center.

‘If the scale of the research center is this large, the nationwide company scale will be much larger.’

Jeong Hyun-woo scratched his head at his answer.

“Hmm, if you see through it like that, I have nothing to say.”

As Michael Dell expected, less than 10% of Victoria Corporation’s employees worked at the headquarters.

“Looking at the company, I didn’t see a mainframe either.”

A mainframe refers to a large computer that can process large files.

He also saw through the fact that Victoria Corporation’s mainframe and data center were not at the headquarters.

‘What great observation skills.’

Jeong Hyun-woo had no choice but to admit that Michael Dell was extraordinary.

“The mainframe is located close to the company.”

He wanted to build a data center outside of Boston where he could install a large number of mainframes. But he had not yet purchased the land needed for construction.

“When I met Mr. Jeong, I was half-doubtful. But now I think I can trust you 100%.”

Jeong Hyun-woo forced a smile.

“I’m glad you can trust me 100%.”

“I’m glad I came to Boston.”

“Do you like this city?”

“No. I’m glad I know what kind of company Victoria Corporation is.”

Jeong Hyun-woo clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Tsk, he was quite suspicious of me.’

In fact, he had no choice but to be suspected.

Even though he had a beautiful secretary, he was still a CEO who wasn’t even an adult yet.

“Still, it seems like it ended well.”

Michael Dell said, looking at Jeong Hyun-woo.

“If I had my way, I’d like to acquire a stake in Victoria Corporation.”

Jeong Hyun-woo slightly raised his voice.

“Mr. Dell, do you know how much 1% of our company’s shares are worth?”

Michael Dell nodded and replied.

“I read it in a magazine. It said it’s a company worth 10 billion dollars.”

1% of 10 billion dollars was 100 million dollars.

On the other hand, Michael Dell’s company had a market capitalization of only 13 million dollars.

‘To put it a little exaggeratedly, the two companies are 1,000 times different.’

In other words, the two companies were too different to be compared on the same level.

Nevertheless, Michael Dell was not intimidated.

“We’ll be joining the 10 billion dollar club soon too.”

Jeong Hyun-woo didn’t laugh at him.

‘Dell Computer will actually grow into a company worth more than 10 billion dollars.’

He said in a soft voice.

“It’ll happen in as little as five years.”

Michael Dell raised his eyebrows when Jeong Hyun-woo presented a time limit of five years.

“Five years is a bit tight.”

“Even if we help?”

“We haven’t received any help other than investment yet.”

Jeong Hyun-woo smiled.

“You’ll be getting help other than that soon.”

Knock. Knock.

The person who knocked on the door was Jeong Hyun-woo’s secretary, Anne.

“The documents are ready.”

Jeong Hyun-woo nodded and raised his right hand.

“Bring them in.”

Squeak.

Anne opened the door and came in. Michael Dell was familiar with her.

“Here they are.”

Anne placed a copy of the contract in front of Jeong Hyun-woo and Michael Dell, respectively.

“Let’s look at the details.”

Michael Dell carefully checked the contract. Jeong Hyun-woo had to wait more than 15 minutes for him to finish checking the contract.

‘Michael Dell has a meticulous personality.’

He thought that Michael Dell’s personality led to the success of Dell Computer.

‘It’s a relief he didn’t bring a lawyer.’

No sooner had he finished thinking than Michael Dell asked.

“Has this been reviewed by a lawyer?”

Jeong Hyun-woo clicked his tongue inwardly and replied.

“Of course, it has been reviewed. Should I call them to this place to review it again?”

Michael Dell thought for a moment before answering.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

He didn’t find anything special in the contract that Jeong Hyun-woo had prepared.

‘There should be something, though.’

The reason Michael Dell spent 15 minutes reviewing the contract was because he couldn’t find any toxic clauses.

He thought that when two companies with a big power difference signed a contract, it was common for the more powerful side to include toxic clauses.

But Jeong Hyun-woo didn’t do that.

“Then let’s sign.”

As Jeong Hyun-woo held out his right hand, Michael Dell nodded and signed the contract.

Swish.

His signature was sleek and concise.

“It’s done.”

This time it was Jeong Hyun-woo’s turn. He moved the pen with familiar skill.

“I’ve finished signing too.”

He put down the pen and held out his hand to Michael Dell.

“Let’s jump to 10 billion dollars as it is.”

Michael Dell grabbed his hand and said as if joking.

“Mr. Jeong, if we achieve it in five years, you’ll have to give me a bonus.”

If PC’s Limited achieved a market capitalization of 10 billion dollars, Jeong Hyun-woo’s investment of 2.6 million dollars would increase to 2 billion dollars.

‘If I put in 2.6 million dollars and get 2 billion dollars, I can give him more than just a bonus.’

He raised his voice, receiving Michael Dell’s words.

“Mr. Dell, what kind of bonus would you like to receive?”

Michael Dell seemed to have thought about it in advance and immediately answered his question.

“I think it would be great if Victoria Corporation ordered 1,000 of the latest computers.”

Jeong Hyun-woo readily agreed to his proposal.

“1,000 units. Okay. I’ll order them as soon as we reach 10 billion dollars.”

The Boston headquarters could not handle the volume of 1,000 units. But the game shops scattered across the country could handle the volume of 1,000 units.

‘The number of branches will increase in the future.’

He calculated that by the time PC’s Limited, led by Michael Dell, reached a market capitalization of 10 billion dollars, Victoria Corporation would have 2,000 branches.

‘By then, our market capitalization will exceed 30 billion dollars.’

Jeong Hyun-woo secretly wanted to challenge a market capitalization of 100 billion dollars.

But 100 billion dollars was an unknown territory that no company had ever reached.

As of 1985, the company closest to a market capitalization of 100 billion dollars was IBM, the world’s number one company with a market capitalization of 96 billion dollars.