The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 178

178. End of Crisis (5)

Tap. Tap.

The one tapping the table with his fingers was Peter Lynch. Seated across from him were Jung Hyun-woo and John Peer.

“So, JP Morgan is an enemy, not an ally.”

‘Is this what they mean by being backstabbed by someone you trusted?’

Jung Hyun-woo let out a long sigh.

“Hoo… This is a real problem. I can’t believe JP Morgan would reject the loan.”

He regretted speaking so confidently to Lyra Marine.

‘I can’t exactly go back and beg Soros to meet me again.’

Just as he was about to sigh again, Peter Lynch spoke.

“John, it’s not like there aren’t any other options.”

John Peer asked him.

“Peter, are you suggesting we go see Mr. Morgan?”

He believed that only Arthur Morgan could overrule Edmund Norman.

Peter Lynch shook his head from side to side.

“John, do you think Mr. Morgan would even see us?”

“Then what?”

Peter Lynch picked up a spoon and replied.

“We have no choice but to take out a loan using the stock as collateral.”

Stock-backed loan.

Most securities firms handled these stock-backed loans. The problem was that Jung Hyun-woo’s primary bank was JP Morgan.

“Edmund will interfere again, won’t he?”

“We’re not talking about using a securities firm’s financial products, but literally using the major shareholder’s stock as collateral.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure I understand.”

John Peer frowned.

Jung Hyun-woo broke the silence and asked Peter Lynch.

“Are you saying we should get a loan from another financial institution using Victoria Corporation’s stock as collateral?”

Peter Lynch slowly nodded at Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“That’s right. Since it’s a company whose stock is being shorted, it will be valued lower than its actual worth, but since you own a significant stake, you should be able to get at least a billion dollars.”

In fact, if they applied the method Peter Lynch suggested, they could secure more than a billion dollars.

The problem was which financial institution to ask for the loan.

Jung Hyun-woo immediately realized the problem and asked Peter Lynch.

“Which company would be willing to lend to me?”

“How about Bank of America?”

“Peter, aren’t they shorting us?”

“I heard that not everyone at Bank of America is an enemy.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly and said.

“Actually… I’m on my way back from rejecting Mr. Giannini’s offer.”

Peter Lynch urged him in a firm voice.

“Charlie, go back.”

“It’ll be difficult.”

“Is it because of your pride?”

“No. There was a condition.”

Peter Lynch tilted his head and asked.

“What kind of condition was it? Charlie, was it a condition you couldn’t accept?”

“They told me to meet someone and get help from them. But I know that person is going down the wrong path.”

Peter Lynch listened to Jung Hyun-woo’s explanation and rested his chin on his hands.

“That’s troublesome.”

John Peer followed him and suggested an alternative to Jung Hyun-woo.

“If Bank of America is difficult, how about Citibank?”

“Citibank?”

“They work with both Victoria Corporation and Citi Services, and they’re one of the few banks that can lend over a billion dollars.”

Peter Lynch also thought Citibank would be a good option.

“Well, if Citibank is possible, turning in that direction wouldn’t be bad.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded at their advice.

“Then… I should contact them tomorrow.”

Peter Lynch said in a cold voice.

“No, contact them now.”

He thought they needed to prepare a countermeasure before Monday’s trading began.

‘The opponent has already created every scenario to attack Victoria Corporation. Even if we move today, we’ll already be several steps behind them. If it’s after Monday’s trading starts, it’ll be even worse.’

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head at his advice.

“I don’t have a close personal relationship with the people at Citibank. It’ll be difficult to contact them on a Sunday.”

“Charlie, this isn’t the time to be picky.”

John Peer felt the same way as Peter Lynch.

“Mr. Jung, if possible, it would be best to contact them now. Tomorrow morning, the banks will have meetings, so they might not answer the phone.”

Monday morning weekly meetings were common to all companies. Victoria Corporation usually started with a meeting on Monday mornings as well.

Jung Hyun-woo sighed deeply at their strong recommendation.

“Hoo… This isn’t easy.”

Peter Lynch tried to comfort him.

“Wouldn’t it be stranger if it were easy when the opponent is Terra?”

As of 1985, the only place that could compete with Terra was Vanguard Fund.

“If you don’t have any acquaintances at Citibank, I’ll try to connect you.”

John Peer had spent a long time on Wall Street, so he knew many people at Citibank.

“Would you do that for me?”

John Peer nodded and stood up.

“Please wait here until I return.”

“Okay.”

Immediately after John Peer left the cafe.

Peter Lynch asked Jung Hyun-woo.

“Did you sincerely trust JP Morgan?”

“I didn’t think JP Morgan had any reason to attack me.”

“Charlie, listen carefully. There are no true friends or true enemies on Wall Street. Only money is real.”

Only money is real.

Jung Hyun-woo felt bitter.

‘In the end, is money everything?’

Just as he was sighing inwardly.

“If Citibank doesn’t work out, come find me. I can manage some cash on my end.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised his eyebrows at Peter Lynch’s offer.

“Peter?”

Peter Lynch smiled and said.

“Victoria Corporation’s value is slightly overvalued, but it’s not a bad company enough to be targeted by short sellers.”

He said there were no true enemies or true allies on Wall Street, but Jung Hyun-woo thought he could trust him.

A little later.

John Peer re-entered the cafe.

“They asked me to wait an hour.”

Jung Hyun-woo stood up and asked.

“Did you get in touch?”

John Peer nodded and replied.

“He’s a friend who goes to bed early, but we were lucky today.”

Peter Lynch heard that he had contacted Citibank and stood up as if to switch places with John Peer.

“I think I should go home now.”

John Peer asked him.

“Peter, are you leaving already?”

“I just happened to meet Charlie.”

“Was it an unplanned meeting?”

“That friend was standing there with a frown, so I was just going to listen to his story, and it turned out like this.”

Peter Lynch shrugged and left the cafe.

* * *

Monday, 8:12 AM.

Karon Victor, the New York branch manager of Bank of America, arrived at work with a bright face.

“Mr. Victor, you look good today?”

Karon Victor gestured as if shooting a gun with his fingers and replied.

“Because it’s the day of the final battle!”

Yesterday, he received a phone call. The person who called him was Carnie Paul.

Carnie Paul informed him that Terra would officially join the short selling war starting Monday.

‘Hehehe, by this morning, Victoria Corporation and the Giannini family will be finished.’

He thought that Terra’s spear would be enough to pierce JP Morgan’s shield.

At the same time.

John Peer visited Henri-Arnaud.

“Mr. Arnaud, we must strongly protest this matter.”

Henri-Arnaud raised his voice to John Peer, who was raising his voice.

“How can we strongly protest?”

“How can you forcefully suppress a loan that has no problems?”

“It’s not a loan without problems.”

John Peer widened his eyes and asked.

“You’re saying it’s not a loan without problems?”

‘What’s the problem?’

“We’re short on cash here.”

The answer was that the problem was not with Victoria Corporation, but with JP Morgan itself.

“What does that mean?”

JP Morgan was one of the Big Three banks in the United States. If JP Morgan was short on cash, which bank would have enough cash?

“The returns on the bonds that Edmund invested in have fallen, and the cash flow is getting worse.”

“Are you saying that bond yields are falling because the base interest rate is falling?”

“That’s right.”

Edmund Norman wasn’t simply stopping the loan because he had a bad feeling about Victoria Corporation. He had his own reasons.

“But Charlie Jung is a VVIP [Very, Very Important Person] customer. If he leaves our bank because of this…”

“That won’t happen.”

“Yes?”

“It’s either us or Bank of America. Aren’t they shorting us altogether?”

John Peer frowned and replied.

“But if you continue to do nothing, Charlie Jung won’t stay still.”

Henri-Arnaud knew that much.

“John, that’s why I’m saying this. I want you to help a little.”

“Yes?”

“Try to turn some of the fund’s money around.”

He was saying that he would defend Victoria Corporation’s stock price with investors’ money, not JP Morgan’s money.

“Mr. Arnaud, that’s dangerous.”

If he made a mistake, he could be criminally charged with breach of trust.

“Isn’t Victoria Corporation a company with a promising future?”

“That’s true, but…”

“If a fund manager invested in such a company, how could that be a breach of trust?”

John Peer sighed briefly inwardly.

‘Hoo… Isn’t that a story where the answer can change depending on your point of view?’

To some, Henri-Arnaud’s decision might seem like a breach of trust for using other customers’ money for a VVIP customer.

“John.”

“Yes, Mr. Arnaud.”

“The market will be opening soon.”

He meant to return to the operations team for stock trading.

“I understand.”

John Peer bowed slightly and left Henri-Arnaud’s office.

Henri-Arnaud narrowed his brows as he watched him leave.

‘Edmund, what are you thinking?’

He didn’t think that Edmund Norman’s stated reason of a cash shortage was the real reason for refusing the Victoria Corporation loan.

‘There’s something I don’t know.’

However, Henri-Arnaud could not move actively until he knew what that was.

9:30 AM.

The first trade of the day began at the New York Stock Exchange. And within minutes, Victoria Corporation’s stock fell to $8.7.

The Morgan Stanley fund managers who were watching Victoria Corporation’s decline shook their heads.

“Today doesn’t look good either.”

“Not only Bank of America, but three more places have started shorting.”

“It looks like we won’t be able to stop it today.”

A heavy voice came from behind the three fund managers.

“I guess Victoria’s luck ends here.”

The three fund managers were surprised to learn that the old man standing behind them was Chairman Kyle Montana.

“Mr. Montana.”

“How did you get here, Representative…?”

Kyle Montana smiled as if something good had happened.

“Sometimes it’s important to come all the way here and smell the money. Don’t you think so, Frank?”

Frank Giles, Morgan Stanley’s chief manager, was standing behind Kyle Montana.

“Of course.”

Even Chief Manager Frank Giles was a difficult figure for the three fund managers to handle.

In fact, Frank Giles was treated as the president of an affiliate at Morgan Stanley.

“Frank, what do you think?”

“We’ll hold out today.”

“If we hold out today, you mean we won’t be able to hold out tomorrow?”

“That’s right.”

Morgan Stanley’s big head, Kyle Montana, burst into a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha, there’s a limit to holding out with a toy-like program.”

He thought Victoria Corporation’s stock price was exaggerated several times over.

‘I might consider buying it when it goes down to around $2.’

It was when he turned around to return to his office.

“It’s up to $9.1!”

Kyle Montana turned his body at the shout of a fund manager.

“$9.1?”

You might think it’s only up 40 cents, but in terms of %, the increase was over 4%.

“Strong buying is coming in.”

Kyle Montana frowned and asked.

“Which side is it?”

“It’s Magellan Fund.”

“Magellan Fund?”

Kyle Montana blinked in disbelief.

‘Why are those guys showing up here?’

The Magellan Fund he knew was not interested in investments such as short selling or short-term exchange gains.

“It’s going up to $9.3.”

In just 30 minutes of trading, Victoria Corporation returned from hell to heaven.

The strong buying from Magellan Fund flustered not only Karon Victor of Bank of America but also Damon Ferman of Terra.

“What money do these guys have…?”

He clicked his tongue and picked up the phone.

“Apple!”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Check all the disclosures and rumors about Victoria Corporation.”

Damon Ferman thought that maybe some news he didn’t know about had come out.

‘If not, their participation can’t be explained.’

It was when he was biting his lip slightly. His secretary reported to him.

“There’s only news that the AS division has entered into new negotiations with reporters.”

“Find out about other things too. Magellan wouldn’t have participated just because they started new negotiations.”

“I understand.”

Not a settlement of negotiations, but the start of new negotiations.

This could not be seen as a big piece of good news.

“Tsk, what the hell is going on?”

While he was narrowing his brows, Victoria Corporation’s stock price soared to $9.7.

Carnie Paul couldn’t stand it any longer and called Karon Victor.

“Karon, what are you doing?”

Karon Victor’s mouth was dry from the unexpected development.

“Strong buying is coming in from Magellan Fund.”

“I know that. What I want to ask is why are you just taking it!”

Karon Victor couldn’t help but pause at her shout.

“Ms. Paul, if we short more here, it will exceed 20%.”

He thought he couldn’t use too many shares for short selling.

‘Because there’s a line.’

But Carnie Paul was in a hurry.

“Karon, use 10% more.”

Short sell 30% of the shares held.

Karon Victor couldn’t immediately answer that he would do so.

“Are you really okay with this? There’s still a lot of time left.”

“I gave you permission, so why wouldn’t it be okay?”

Karon Victor clenched his fist tightly.

“I understand.”

Bank of America held a total of 10% of Victoria Corporation’s shares, and 10% of this 10% corresponded to 1% of Victoria Corporation’s total shares.

‘If it’s 1% of the current stock price, is the total amount $180 million? Surely, if we short this much, even Magellan Fund won’t be able to stop it.’

But if they short so many shares, it could be seen as an abnormal short selling.

‘Because we’re shorting $500 million in a few days.’

Perhaps the financial authorities might ask Bank of America for a disclosure regarding the short selling.

‘That’s troublesome.’

At the moment when Karon Victor was narrowing his brows, Victoria Corporation’s stock price broke through $10.

“Tsk, I can’t let it stay at $10.”

Following Carnie Paul’s instructions, he shorted $200 million worth of Victoria Corporation shares at once.

However, despite shorting a large sum of $200 million, Victoria Corporation’s stock price only fell to $9.2.

“Are they blocking this?”

It wasn’t just Karon Victor who was surprised.

Damon Ferman of Terra was also watching Bank of America’s $200 million short selling in real time.

“This can’t be happening. With $200 million, it should be pushed down to $7, even if it’s not halved!”

He immediately looked for the bank or securities company that had defended the $200 million.

“Where is it?”

Soon, a familiar name came into his eyes.

“Citibank?”

Not JP Morgan or Magellan Fund, but Citibank.

“Why?”

Damon Ferman’s pupils shook violently at the appearance of a relief pitcher he had never expected.