The Genius Grandson Of The Cash King Becomes A Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 169

#169

The Yahoo headquarters was located in Sunnyvale, about an hour’s drive from downtown San Francisco.

It was a neat, newly built building, but it lacked the unique character of the Apple Research Center in Seoul.

‘Well, I can’t compare it to a building that architecture students from all over the world come to see.’

Yahoo was simply housed in a bland commercial building.

Jeong-hoon entered the building.

Monochrome offices and expressionless employees.

It was different in every way from the distinctive American IT companies.

It felt as rigid as a large Korean corporation.

Jeong-hoon gave his name and affiliation at the lobby on the first floor.

The receptionist, looking puzzled, called the secretary’s office.

Soon, someone came down from the secretary’s office.

“Mr. Yoon? Are you the chairman of Shinhwa Group?”

“Yes.”

“Please, follow me. I will guide you to the chairman’s office.”

He took the elevator, walked down a long corridor, and entered the chairman’s office.

“Hello, I’m Yoon Jeong-hoon.”

“Hello. This is Gary Yang, and I am James Filo. Welcome.”

Jeong-hoon, upon entering the chairman’s office, sat at the round table in the center of the room.

Gary Yang, who was of Asian descent, and James, a typical Caucasian, the two founders of Yahoo, sat across from Jeong-hoon.

After a moment, tea was served, and they began a conversation about the weather and simple personal matters.

Gary constantly observed Jeong-hoon while talking.

He didn’t miss his expressions and gestures.

Having observed him enough.

He changed his expression.

“I didn’t expect you to visit so suddenly.”

“I tend to be a bit impatient. I enjoy taking action rather than just thinking.”

“So, this visit is about…”

“Yes, as you may already know, it’s about a merger and acquisition.”

Gary and James frowned.

Several negotiations should take place through prior arrangements.

This is a natural procedure in the United States, where corporate mergers and acquisitions are frequent.

Coming unannounced to discuss an acquisition is not the American style.

“You don’t seem too pleased. I understand. It’s not the American style.”

“No, it’s not that. I had a bit too much to drink yesterday.”

Gary, startled that his true feelings had been exposed, gave an awkward smile.

“The reason I came today is to save time. Time is money. The most important thing in America is money. So, isn’t the most important thing how much to sell and buy the company for?”

The two men looked embarrassed.

The reason for making appointments and holding meetings is ultimately for profit.

To get even a penny more,

And on the other side, to cut even a penny more.

It’s a negotiation about the amount.

In fact, several negotiations like that are honestly a waste of time.

The quickest thing is for the CEOs to meet and decide.

Of course, if that happens, the lawyers working below will lose a lot of work.

“Hahaha, well, that’s true.”

Jeong-hoon stared into the eyes of the two men and asked.

“How much do you want?”

No one could easily answer Jeong-hoon’s blunt question.

They couldn’t just say, ‘Just a moment!’ and walk out.

Gary and James exchanged glances.

As always, Gary makes the decision in these situations.

James didn’t step forward unless a clear profit was visible.

“20 billion dollars.”

Jeong-hoon maintained a poker face upon hearing that.

Gary’s expression didn’t change at all.

However, James’s eyes were shaking too much.

“I think you’re underestimating me too much.”

As Jeong-hoon frowned, Gary said with an awkward smile.

“Hahaha, I apologize if that was unpleasant. I wanted to confirm Shinhwa Group’s willingness to acquire. Are you aware of how much Microsoft offered?”

He asked Jeong-hoon.

“Of course. It was 20 billion dollars.”

“We rejected that price. So, we must receive at least more than that.”

Gary adjusted his glasses and said.

His shoulders were filled with strength.

In the original history, Microsoft offers 44.6 billion dollars next year, in 2008.

But that’s through official channels, and they had already proposed acquisitions several times before.

And the reason the amount increased to 44.6 billion dollars is because of their Alibaba stock.

Not yet, but soon the value of the stock will rise sharply.

Unbelievably.

Of course, not yet.

“Of course. So, I propose 30 billion dollars. The condition is that the search engine’s market share remains above 50 percent like last year.”

Both men frowned.

Currently, Google occupies 80 percent of the world’s search market.

Thanks to that, Yahoo’s market share recently fell below 20 percent.

Reversing that is an impossible proposal.

“Ahem, your joke is too much.”

“Is that so? Isn’t it possible with enough investment? Yahoo used to be number one in the world. You built an internet kingdom much bigger than Google is now, didn’t you?”

“Haha, that’s right. You know our history well.”

“I started the internet with Yahoo, after all.”

He looked quite encouraged by Jeong-hoon’s compliment.

The elated mood should be lifted even higher.

“With enough investment, we can bankrupt Google within a year.”

James shrugged and replied.

His eyes were full of confidence.

‘Is this one of the reasons why Yahoo is failing?’

‘They are overestimating themselves too much.’

As Lee Byung-seok said, lost customers do not return.

They were overlooking a very basic fact that we all know.

“So, to be honest, I want to invest.”

“Invest? Not acquire?”

“I don’t have enough money to acquire it. I only have 20 billion dollars right now, and I don’t think I can acquire this huge Yahoo with that.”

“20 billion dollars…?”

Jeong-hoon looked at Gary’s expression.

He was surprised by 20 billion dollars.

It wasn’t a regretful face, but it seemed like he was saying he could sell it for that amount.

‘What is it?’

It was a strange feeling.

It seemed like he could buy it for 20 billion dollars.

But he didn’t need a useless company.

“Hmm, it’s definitely a small amount for an acquisition.”

“So, I would like to invest the money I have. I want to see Yahoo rise again with that money.”

“Really?”

The eyes of the two men sparkled at Jeong-hoon’s words.

Gary thought about his dream last night.

The president didn’t appear, and his deceased parents didn’t appear either.

But what a windfall, investment is better than acquisition now.

“Of course. I would like to purchase 20 percent of the shares for 10 billion dollars.”

The faces of the two men turned ashen at Jeong-hoon’s words.

It was a proposal that Yahoo could never accept.

They would have to issue new shares for 20 percent, and existing shareholders would strongly oppose it.

If not, they would have to sell their own shares, which would shake their management control.

In the end, equity investment was impossible.

“Why? Is it difficult?”

“It’s difficult to give 20 percent because of management control. Existing shareholders will also oppose issuing new shares.”

“Hmm… is that so? That’s a shame. I thought it would be possible.”

Jeong-hoon paused as if he was disappointed, then opened his mouth again.

“Is there any other way I can invest? For example, selling valuable assets… Don’t companies sell real estate or stocks they own during restructuring? You probably don’t have stocks, so how about selling this headquarters?”

The two men pondered at Jeong-hoon’s suggestion.

They got a hint from his words.

Stocks?

It seemed like they could sell their troublesome stocks at a high price.

“We have a very good company among the stocks we own.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a Chinese online shopping mall company stock. It’s called Alibaba… We bought 40 percent of that company’s shares for 1 billion dollars, no, 10 billion dollars.”

Jeong-hoon’s forehead furrowed.

‘Are those guys’ hobby lying?’

“A Chinese shopping mall for 10 billion dollars? You’ve been completely scammed. Hahaha.”

“What? A scam? No. It’s a very successful company in the huge Chinese market.”

“What’s the point of being successful? If the Communist Party doesn’t like you, you’ll disappear like a fly, no better than a mayfly.”

The two men looked embarrassed at Jeong-hoon’s words.

His words were not wrong.

The value of the stock they bought did not change because of the reason Jeong-hoon pointed out.

The more the company grew, the more the Chinese risk was highlighted.

So, it didn’t sell well.

“Hmm, that’s not wrong. But if you can last more than 10 years in China, a 10 billion dollar stock will be worth more than 100 billion dollars.”

“I agree. It’s possible if you cater to the Communist Party’s whims for more than 10 years. But such a company has hardly existed so far. Hmm.”

After finishing his words, Jeong-hoon took a sip of the water in front of him.

The eyes of the two men were glued to Jeong-hoon’s lips.

“Let’s do this. Adjust the stock price. And I also want the right of first refusal when issuing new shares.”

“Right of first refusal…”

James looked troubled at the mention of stocks.

Gary, who was sitting next to him, tapped the table with his fingers and pondered.

He clasped his hands together and raised his head, saying.

“Okay. Then, let’s generously sell 40 percent of Alibaba’s stock for 5 billion dollars. And we will give you the right to purchase new shares at 10 dollars upon issuance.”

At his proposal, Jeong-hoon smiled brightly.

‘What? 5 billion dollars? What a windfall.’

Gary looked at James.

His face was full of dissatisfaction with his proposal that had not been discussed in advance.

He didn’t care about the opinions of the person next to James.

“Let’s make a deal.”

“Wait a minute.”

James hurriedly interjected.

There was still one thing in his head that he didn’t understand.

According to Yoon Jeong-hoon, Chinese companies have no value.

But why is he buying it?

He felt uneasy, like he was being tricked.

He had to resolve his doubts.

“But why are you buying a Chinese company that has no value for 5 billion dollars?”

“Because of the new share acquisition rights.”

“What? Even so, buying rights for 5 billion dollars is foolish.”

“Hmm, I can’t tell you this because it’s top secret… The truth is, it’s because of ‘Guanxi’ [personal connections and relationships].”

“Guanxi?”

It is a word that emphasizes personal connections in particular.

People doing business in China must know it.

The speed and scale of the business depend on whether you have Guanxi or not.

“We are doing business with China in many fields. We have an obligation to maintain close relationships with the Chinese Communist Party for smooth business operations. Gifts are good for good Guanxi… These days, it’s fashionable to exchange paper companies with stocks.”

“Aha…”

“Alibaba is a relatively well-known company in China, so they will definitely like it. You can divide this stock into hundreds of paper companies and give them away one by one.”

At Jeong-hoon’s words, the two men nodded involuntarily.

In terms of corruption, it is undoubtedly the world’s strongest country along with the United States.

If you only exchange paper companies, it is very difficult to find traces.

He understood why Yoon Jeong-hoon was buying the stock.

James began to see Yoon Jeong-hoon of Shinhwa Group differently.

He felt an unknown sense of intimacy with his ability to create Guanxi in an innovative way.

“Ah, now my question is resolved. Then let’s make a deal.”

James and Gary stood up.

Yoon Jeong-hoon also stood up from his seat.

The three men shook hands.

The deal was made.

“Good. The legal team for drafting the contract will be here soon.”

“Okay. I like that you’re so cool.”

“Then, now that the negotiations are over, shall we have a meal?”

“We’ll treat you to the meal. There’s an amazing steakhouse right in front of us. Let’s meet there.”

As Jeong-hoon left the room, James removed the smile from his face.

“Hey, how could you give him the new share acquisition rights without my permission?”

“Hmph, you’re so stupid… It’s just a right. We can just not issue new shares.”

“What?”

‘What an astute guy.’

James felt like he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer at Gary’s words.

He wasn’t wrong.

“Ha, that guy from Korea is a complete sucker. How did he grow his company with that brain?”

“When I investigated, his grandmother was incredibly wealthy. In the end, he’s just having fun with his grandmother’s money. He’s a worthless, bubbly guy.”

“Really? Hehehe, well, there are always bubbly things everywhere, in real estate, in companies. And of course, in people too!”

The two shared a bitter laugh with satisfied expressions.

***

He thought they would go to a pretty decent place, even if it wasn’t a hotel steakhouse.

The two men treated him to a meal at a nearby ordinary restaurant that was neither expensive nor cheap.

They said they didn’t care about formalities.

It must be because they didn’t want to spend money.

‘You rude bastards. I’ll make you regret it.’

Anyway, he didn’t like the way they acted at all.

“Thank you for the meal. I enjoyed it very much.”

“The meat at this place is really tender. It melts faster than ice cream. Hahaha.”

‘It was as tough as rubber, you bastard! Was it my teeth that were the problem?’

“Like ice cream? Haha, yes, it was as delicious as ice cream.”

Jeong-hoon forced a bitter smile and gave an awkward laugh.

“Are you going to sell Yahoo?”

“Yes, if there’s a good owner.”

“A good owner? Star Group in Korea will try to acquire it. Their will to acquire is great. Especially since we are acquiring it, they are burning with the will not to lose.”

“Oh, how did you know?”

“We are competing with Star Group in every area. In fact, it’s not competition, it’s war.”

That was true.

Not competition, but war.

They are unilaterally eliminating everything Star Group has.

All that remains are ‘Shin Cheong’ and the military forces of Chun Seong-han.

“It’s a shame, but I’ll have to concede this time.”

In an instant, Gary and James gasped.

There are two companies negotiating an acquisition.

But one of them is backing out.

Then…

It is a natural sequence that the acquisition price will fall.

They had to somehow maintain the acquisition negotiations with Yoon Jeong-hoon of Shinhwa Group.

Gary Yang and James Filo turned to face each other.

Their eyes narrowed and a sinister smile was etched on their faces.

A wonderful plan was being formed in the minds of the two men.

The Genius Grandson of the Cash King Becomes a Chaebol.