The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 117

Jung Hyun-woo returned to Boston.

Sarah was waiting for him in the living room when he got back.

“I told you to go to bed,” he said.

Sarah closed her book. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Jung Hyun-woo knew she was lying. Insomnia was a foreign concept to her, who worked tirelessly from morning till night.

“I’m here now. Go to sleep.”

“What about the story?”

“We can talk about it at the office tomorrow.”

“Will you have time?”

Jung Hyun-woo took off his coat. “Robert said he’s coming back tomorrow, too.”

“You can’t talk about Robert and Aria’s story.”

Robert wasn’t an acquaintance of Aria. Besides, the story related to Aria had nothing to do with Victoria Corporation. The rule was to discuss company-related matters during work hours.

Jung Hyun-woo turned. “Do you want to hear about Aria?”

“I heard you met her?”

“I ran into her at a cafe and had dinner with her.”

“Hmm.”

*Thud.*

Jung Hyun-woo took off his jacket after his coat.

“Are you going to keep staring at me like that?”

“Why? Are you embarrassed to show me?”

“It’s not that… Shouldn’t you be the one who’s embarrassed, not me?”

“I’m the older sister here, remember?”

Jung Hyun-woo shrugged and stopped unbuttoning his shirt.

“Okay. Then let’s just talk about Aria.”

Sarah nodded. “Okay.”

“What are you curious about? Aria and business?”

“Did you talk about business with Aria?”

“No.”

Sarah narrowed her eyes. “Are you teasing me?”

“Why would I tease you? You’re the one who waited up for me.”

“Oh, you know that much?”

Jung Hyun-woo sat down in front of her. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Then what did you two talk about?”

“World peace, maybe?”

Sarah narrowed her eyes. “You’re teasing me again.”

“I’m serious this time.”

“Really?”

“It seems like Aria is donating to various charities around the world.”

“To struggling countries?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded. “Ethiopia is having a very hard time recently.”

“I saw it on the news. I heard there’s a severe famine…”

“It’s a mess with the civil war on top of that.”

“So, that’s why Charlie donated too?”

After the deal with JP Morgan, Jung Hyun-woo had made significant donations to Doctors Without Borders and other organizations.

“Didn’t you donate too, Sarah?”

Sarah sighed. “This is different. I’m just imitating my father or grandfather.”

She didn’t look into the specific situations of each country before donating.

She was just donating as part of noblesse oblige [the responsibility of privileged people to act with generosity and nobility].

“So, you went to Aria and got a lecture about the world’s crises and suffering people?”

“Something like that.”

“Did you promise Aria that you would donate?”

Sarah knew that Jung Hyun-woo had made a lot of money from his investment in Japan recently.

‘He must have made at least 200 or 300 million dollars during the last semiconductor crisis.’

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head. “No. I didn’t promise.”

“Aria would have been disappointed if you had.”

“Would she have been?”

“Aria likes people who follow her lead.”

Jung Hyun-woo got up again. “Then I’ll go wash up now.”

“Is world peace everything?”

“After that, it might have been about hell?”

“It looks like you heard Aria’s sermon.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised his right hand slightly and turned around. “Something like that.”

Sarah watched him walk towards the bathroom and thought.

‘Hmm, it feels different from what Aria said on the phone.’

The only way to resolve the remaining questions was to meet Aria in person.

* * *

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

It wasn’t common to see Jung Hyun-woo, Sarah, and Robert arriving at work at the same time.

Victoria Corporation employees exchanged glances.

“Looks like there’s a big meeting.”

“It must be an executive meeting.”

“Then will team leaders be called in too?”

Department heads like John River were treated like executives.

“We can’t know that yet.”

“Still, since all three of them came to work, it seems like something will happen today.”

Clay Walker, the team leader of Development Team 1, clicked his tongue.

“Everyone, stop paying attention. If something happens, it’ll only make our quitting time later.”

“That’s true.”

While the employees of Development Team 1 turned their attention to their monitors, Jung Hyun-woo, Sarah, and Robert gathered in the CEO’s office.

“It’s been a while.”

“We saw each other last week.”

“Still, it’s been a while.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed at Robert’s greeting.

“That joke isn’t funny.”

“I was giving a sincere greeting, but it seems it wasn’t conveyed.”

Jung Hyun-woo stroked his chest. “It seems that way.”

The atmosphere between the three was good.

Victoria Corporation was setting new sales records every month, and the performance of the sales division led by Robert was also strong.

“So, what’s the topic of today’s meeting?”

At Robert’s question, Sarah replied flatly. “Charlie wants to go public.”

Robert whistled. “Going public? Fantastic.”

Sarah tilted her head. “Robert, haven’t you already been through this at Activision?”

“Victoria Corporation is on a different scale, isn’t it?”

Victoria Corporation had become a bigger company than Activision at its peak.

“You mean a 10 billion dollar company?”

Robert nodded enthusiastically. “It’s a company worth more than 10 billion dollars.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought it was necessary to bring down the excited mood.

“There are several hurdles to clear before going public.”

Robert turned to him. “Can you explain what they are?”

Jung Hyun-woo took a sip of coffee from his mug. “First, JP Morgan’s consent.”

“Don’t Charlie and Sarah have the management rights?”

Robert didn’t think JP Morgan’s consent was particularly necessary.

“I promised Neil that we would work with JP Morgan when going public.”

“Did you put it in the contract?”

“No.”

“Then…”

There’s no need to keep it. Robert was about to say this, but Jung Hyun-woo spoke first.

“I will keep my promise.”

Robert knew that Jung Hyun-woo’s will was firm and slowly nodded. “If that’s what Charlie wants, I understand.”

“Their consent is needed for more than one thing.”

“What other consent is needed?”

Jung Hyun-woo spun his mug. “Without their consent, we cannot sign a stake acquisition agreement with Bank of America.”

Robert slumped into his seat and looked at the ceiling. “Oh! God! Bank of America has also stepped in to acquire a stake in Victoria Corporation?”

“The price offered is the same as JP Morgan’s.”

“Even so, this is a great thing.”

If Bank of America acquired a stake in Victoria Corporation following JP Morgan, Victoria Corporation’s value on Wall Street would inevitably rise greatly.

Sarah folded her hands. “Even if it’s not 20 billion dollars, it’ll get close to that.”

Robert’s stake in Victoria Corporation was 2%.

If they succeeded in going public with a value of 20 billion dollars, his assets would be close to 400 million dollars.

‘With 400 million dollars, I’ll literally enter the ranks of billionaires.’

From billionaires, they could do things that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine.

“I feel like submitting my resignation and going on a world tour.”

Jung Hyun-woo said to Robert in a low voice. “I can’t allow that.”

Robert coughed when he became serious. “Ahem, just kidding.”

Sarah asked Jung Hyun-woo. “Didn’t JP Morgan give you an answer?”

His New York schedule also included a meeting with Henri Arnault.

“They said they’ll think about it and give me an answer.”

Sarah frowned. “Doesn’t that sound like they can’t easily hand over the shares?”

“They won’t use their right of first refusal [an existing shareholder’s right to maintain their fraction of ownership by buying proportional shares of any future issue of stock before it is offered to the public].”

“Why?”

“Because they have to spend 1 billion dollars.”

If they spent 2 billion dollars on Victoria Corporation alone, JP Morgan’s major shareholders would not be happy.

‘Even if Chairman and largest shareholder Arthur Morgan allows it, the remaining shareholders are likely to object.’

Arthur Morgan had the most shares on the JP Morgan board of directors, but he did not exceed 20%.

In other words, if the remaining board members joined forces, they could reverse his decision and even remove him from the chairman’s seat.

Of course, in order to do such a thing, most of the board would have to turn against Arthur Morgan.

“What if JP Morgan acquires the remaining shares?”

“We’ll have to go with that.”

Sarah frowned. “If JP Morgan acquires the remaining shares, they may oppose going public.”

Robert agreed. “That’s very likely. JP Morgan acquiring 20% of our shares is like saying they want to monopolize us.”

Jung Hyun-woo asked Sarah. “What if Bank of America raises the price?”

He was asking what would happen if they offered more than 1 billion dollars.

“JP Morgan can just match it.”

“You mean JP Morgan has overwhelming priority?”

“That’s right.”

Robert spread his arms wide and gave a business smile. “You’re too worried. As Charlie said at first, I don’t think JP Morgan is likely to step in to acquire the shares.”

It was unlikely that JP Morgan would spend 1 billion dollars in cash again.

“If Bank of America acquires the shares, what will the schedule for going public be like?”

At Jung Hyun-woo’s question, Sarah grabbed a pen. “First of all, this year will be entirely spent on Bank of America’s acquisition.”

“They’ll do their financial due diligence [an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract or an act with a certain standard of care], right?”

“I guess so.”

“It’ll take quite a while.”

Robert shrugged. “JP Morgan was special.”

JP Morgan finished Victoria Corporation’s financial due diligence in just one week.

However, it would be difficult to expect Bank of America to be the same.

Robert thought it would take at least a month.

‘Because it’s a deal where a huge sum of 1 billion dollars is exchanged.’

He expected Bank of America to move cautiously.

“Then it’ll be difficult in the first half of next year too.”

“I guess so.”

Jung Hyun-woo snapped his fingers. “JP Morgan said they would give us an answer about the company valuation within 3 months. What about them?”

“If the deal with Bank of America goes through, they’ll be delayed too.”

Bank of America’s stake acquisition was a very important factor in evaluating Victoria Corporation.

“Hmm, then you’re saying we can only go public in the second half of next year.”

“That’s how it’ll be if we keep running smoothly.”

Robert shook his wide-open arms. “Either way, there’s nothing bad for us.”

Even if going public failed due to JP Morgan’s additional stake acquisition, the wealth of the three would inevitably increase greatly.

“Charlie, how did it go with the International Monetary Fund?”

Jung Hyun-woo had extended his New York schedule due to the sudden contact from the International Monetary Fund [IMF; an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world].

“I met with First Deputy Managing Director Furman.”

At his answer, Sarah and Robert were greatly surprised.

“What?”

“You met with Deputy Managing Director Furman?”

First Deputy Managing Director Furman was the highest-ranking American working at the International Monetary Fund headquarters.

“Such a big shot is moving…”

Sarah thought it was unusual.

‘Is our company’s value that great?’

She sighed.

“It’s true that I met a great person, but there wasn’t a great story.”

Sarah tilted her head. “Huh? There wasn’t a great story, what does that mean?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded. “There was nothing particularly special. Should I say it felt like an interview? Ah! He asked me what kind of vision I had.”

Sarah looked disbelieving.

“First Deputy Managing Director Furman flew all the way to New York just to ask that?”

Ayn Furman, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, had his office in Washington.

“Come to think of it, he did ask one more thing.”

Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “Did he ask if our company could cooperate with the International Monetary Fund?”

“Not that, he asked about the international economic situation.”

“So?”

“So I replied that an agreement between the United States and Western developed countries would be signed soon.”

Sarah and Robert shook their heads. “I can’t believe it.”

“I don’t know why they’re asking Charlie that.”

The two were not interested in Jung Hyun-woo’s answer, the agreement between the United States and Western developed countries.

‘The Plaza Accord [an agreement between France, West Germany, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, to depreciate the U.S. dollar in relation to the Japanese yen and German Deutsche Mark] is coming soon.’

He knew that the world economy would be twisted once more by the Plaza Accord.

‘I can’t help it.’

Jung Hyun-woo decided to change the subject.

“How was Robert?”

At his question, Robert lowered his arms. “We’re making steady progress. We’ve already started the acquisition process for 120 shops in the West and Midwest.”

“What about American Service installations?”

The branches in charge of installing and maintaining American Service and JP Service were also Robert’s responsibility.

“Last month alone, we completed installations in 200,000 households nationwide.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised the end of his words slightly. “Slower than I thought? At this rate, the service reservation waiting period will increase.”

Robert coughed. “That can’t be helped. JP Service customers are also constantly increasing.”

Since the collaboration with Commodore, installation inquiries from customers with 8-bit computers were constantly coming in.

“You’re saying that more customers want to subscribe to the two services than we expected?”

“To put it simply, that’s right. But there’s one more reason why service installation is delayed.”

Jung Hyun-woo frowned. “What’s that one thing?”

“Contract termination.”

Jung Hyun-woo groaned. “Ugh…”

Contract termination meant that customers were leaving.

“Are there many terminations?”

“Not few.”

The number of customers terminating JP Service was not negligible.

This time, Sarah asked Robert. “What are the contract termination conditions?”

“It ends with paying the monthly fee.”

“You can terminate without penalty with just the monthly fee?”

Robert nodded. “We simplified the termination penalty part to encourage as many subscriptions as possible.”

This was not just Robert’s idea. Jung Hyun-woo had also agreed.

“How about raising the contract termination conditions?”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head. “That’s not a good idea.”

“The termination conditions are too easy now.”

“Sarah, if we do that, we’ll become villains.”

Jung Hyun-woo had no intention of becoming a villain to customers.

‘JP Service and American Service are just the beginning.’

He wanted to secure as many customers as possible.

“If we continue like this, reservations will be delayed, what are you going to do?”

“We have no choice but to hire more people.”

“You mean increase the number of installation technicians?”

“Sarah would object, right?”

Sarah sighed. “Increasing fixed costs is one of the biggest causes of management failure.”

“Let’s think of it as an investment this time.”

Robert also thought that there was no other way but to increase the number of installation technicians.

“Sarah, let’s trust Charlie this time.”

“Do you think so too, Robert?”

“The installation technicians in the field are not robots.”

Considering rest and vacations, it was better to have a surplus of installation technicians.

“Okay. Then Robert, let me know the number you need.”

It was Sarah’s job to draw up the budget.

“Sarah.”

Sarah’s voice was dry. “Why?”

“City Service or Morgan Service may be added.”

Meaning that Victoria Corporation’s partners could increase.

Sarah raised her eyebrows. “Did you talk to them this time?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“I just have a feeling.”

Jung Hyun-woo smiled. “You’re not teasing me, are you.”

“Sarah. When the stake acquisition with Bank of America is announced, there will definitely be a reaction from others.”

Sarah raised the end of her words slightly. “You mean other companies won’t just let go of a company that two giants are paying attention to?”

“That’s right.”

Jung Hyun-woo was confident in this deal.