I Am the Third-Generation Heir of a Conglomerate - Chapter 484



Only Noblemtl

484. Expert (4)

1:1 negotiations required advanced psychological warfare.

The same goes for negotiations with multiple parties.

In a situation like now where both sides are raising their voices to acquire shares, there is nothing I can do.

[We will acquire a 25% stake for $15 billion!]

[Even if Alaska is American territory, isn’t it too cheap to buy it? We’ll buy it for $18 billion.]

[What would Chairman Kim think? Oil prices have tripled, so why should he take a profit of a few billion dollars? Shell will spend $20 billion. Shouldn’t he take a profit of at least $10 billion?]

Has there ever been an auction like this?

Every time there was competition, prices jumped by billions of dollars.

Certainly, as they were global oil companies, they had a lot of cash.

Since the auction price was rising by the trillions in Korean Won, I watched with sweaty palms for the first time in a long while.

[Let’s say ExxonMobil buys 25% of Alaska for $31 billion. If anyone wants to bid higher, they can come forward at any time.]

[Hmm, you’re trying too hard.]

[That’s right. There are still Guyana, North Sea oil fields, and Texas oil fields left, but it seems like it’s been overdone from the beginning.]

The winner of the first auction was ExxonMobil.

They were global oil company representatives who left their regrets behind and waited for the next auction share.

Just looking at their expressions, I was convinced that the longer the auction continued, the higher the price of the shares would rise.

“Then, we will sell ExxonMobil a 25% stake in the Alaska oil field development. Next, we will negotiate the sale of a 25% stake in Hess, which owns oil fields in Texas and Guyana.”

This time, a bloody competition has begun.

The genetic stock auction continued for over six hours.

I was able to leave Houston with a very satisfactory outcome.

***

The next morning.

I visited a fintech bank to meet with Diamond.

David had already arrived before me and was sitting in Diamond’s office.

“Boss! I heard you had a lot of fun yesterday. The exact amount hasn’t been revealed, but rumors are spreading all over Wall Street that Taewoo Group has made a record-breaking amount of money.”

“Congratulations.”

“It’s not something I should be celebrating alone. Since we have liquidated some of the shares held by the fintech bank, money will also come into the fintech bank.”

When it comes to U.S.-based oil companies, Taewoo Group isn’t alone.

The acquisition of the U.S. oil company was possible because several financial institutions, including fintech banks, invested jointly.

“But how much profit did you make? You’re not trying to keep it a secret from us, are you?”

“The Alaskan oil fields were sold for $31 billion, Hess received $39 billion, the North Sea oil fields for $22 billion, and if you include the smaller stakes, they ended up receiving roughly $110 billion or more.”

The projected amount was $100 billion.

Thanks to the fierce competition among global oil companies, we were able to generate an additional $10 billion in profits.

The assets that Taewoo Group cashed out through this transaction amounted to a whopping 130 trillion won.

“It’s not bad since we’ve tripled our sales, but if the current momentum continues, won’t the price of oil continue to rise? It’s a bit of a shame.”

“If you buy it back, that’s it. Don’t think of it as selling it, think of it as leasing the shares for a while.”

David looks regretful.

But there was nothing to regret.

Because the oil field stake sold for $110 billion can be bought back for less than $40 billion three years later.

“It is difficult to receive payment in a lump sum, but if a huge amount of cash comes into Taewoo Group every year, Vice Chairman Han will have a hard time.”

“I would rather like it. I am the kind of person who doesn’t mind spending even a dollar on money going out, but doesn’t shy away from money coming in.”

“Have you looked for a market that can handle $100 billion?”

“What good is talking about? You have to throw it at the US and China. That’s why you cashed it out a little early.”

Oil prices weren’t actually at their peak right now.

Oil prices will continue to rise through the first half of this year.

If we had waited a few more months, we could have sold our stake at a higher price, but since time was more important than money, we sold our oil field stake at a slightly discounted price.

“It’s clear that the mood between the U.S. and China is starting to turn strange. I’ve heard from White House officials that the Trump administration is trying to crush China.”

“A war of nerves has already begun. If another person were the president of the United States, it could end with just a war of nerves, but Trump is the kind of person who does what he has to do.”

No one was as knowledgeable about White House information as David.

The fact that the mood in the White House was tense, he felt, meant that a trade dispute was just around the corner.

“Are fintech banks well prepared? The moment the trade war starts in earnest, bombs will explode here and there.”

“We’ve prepared perfectly with the financial tower. We’ve prepared to the point where it feels a little over-prepared, so we’re just waiting for the trade dispute to break out.”

The US-China trade war was a huge blow.

However, for those who were prepared, bad news was an opportunity, and for financial towers and fintech banks, it was an event that could be called good news.

“The Bitcoin market will continue to struggle this year, so shouldn’t we see profits from the US-China trade dispute as fees decrease?”

“The speed at which Bitcoin is falling is not ordinary. Certainly, Bitcoin transaction volume has also decreased significantly. However, if you look at fintech banks, transaction volume has remained the same or even increased slightly.”

“What does that mean?”

It was the Bitcoin market that suffered a major crash.

So, naturally, the trading volume was bound to decrease, and the fintech bank with the industry’s number one exchange had to suffer the most.

But there was a relaxed expression on Diamond’s face, and he seemed unharmed.

“Small and medium-sized exchanges are experiencing delays in payments. They are also limiting the amount that can be withdrawn per day.”

“It seems like there are no limits for fintech banks.”

“No matter how much you want to withdraw, we process it within an hour. This is a great opportunity to clearly explain why our fees are higher than those of other exchanges.”

The Bitcoin market decline was devastating news for exchanges.

It was inevitable that many small and medium-sized exchanges would soon go bankrupt.

But fintech banks had huge cash reserves, so there was no such problem.

“There is no promotional tool that captures the hearts of customers as much as trust.”

“Many customers who used small exchanges to save a few pennies on fees have moved to fintech banks. And thanks to the chairman’s stake sale, we now have more free funds. Even if all Bitcoin users withdraw their money at the same time, we can survive.”

Fintech banks are not just exchanges.

When you look at the entire bank, Bitcoin’s share was not that large.

“The Bitcoin market is currently struggling due to regulations, but it will recover in just one or two years. When that happens, fintech banks will be able to completely monopolize the Bitcoin exchange market.”

“I expect that when the Korean market recovers, the Bitcoin price will rise again. Since the chairman is in Korea, the Bitcoin price fluctuates depending on the Korean market.”

Taewoo Group did create Bitcoin.

But considering that even before the regression, Korea was a big player in the Bitcoin market, this didn’t really concern me.

“It seems like everything is going as planned, both genetics and Bitcoin. Now, if we can just make it happen by the next US presidential election, we’ll have no worries.”

“Are you already thinking about the next US presidential election? His approval rating is certainly lower than that of the previous president. It’s barely over 40%. On the other hand, his disapproval rating has surpassed 55%.”

It was a characteristic of a Trump-type leader.

But voters who support him become diehard supporters.

On the other hand, Trump’s politics were such that he turned the middle class and supporters of the opposing party into staunch anti-fans.

“Re-election will probably be difficult.”

“I think so too, but there has been no case of a failed re-election in nearly 30 years. In particular, there has been no case of a change of government in a re-election in 40 years, so I am not sure.”

“It won’t be easy because the antipathy level is so high.”

“Then, should I support the Democratic candidate this time?”

Until the Corona era, we had to hold hands with the US President.

After that, the Taewoo Group will have power that transcends the nation, so there will be no need to use the massive election funds as it does now.

“First of all, just make contact. But that doesn’t mean you should completely abandon Trump.”

“It’s about creating a connection between both sides. It’s hard work, but it’s not impossible. I’ll support both sides very carefully.”

The next US presidential election was a truly unpredictable one.

If history goes by, it will be an election in which the Democratic Party wins.

In addition to the variable of the US-China trade dispute, there was also the huge variable of COVID-19.

I planned to maintain good relations with both sides, as the outcome could have been very different from before the regression.

“It’s going to be a very busy year. But let’s not run too hard from the beginning and maintain a steady pace as we run the marathon.”

“It’s good to be busy. It means you get a bigger bonus.”

“I only ran short distances, so my body was aching. I also stored up a lot of stamina, so I definitely won’t lose it in the middle.”

I would have liked to chat a little more with David and Diamond.

I had to leave the fintech bank with regret because I had an important appointment.

***

The next destination was Omah.

It was where Berkshire Hathaway was, and the person I was meeting today was Warren.

I arrived in Omaha early in the morning for my appointment with him, and when I arrived, Warren had just finished breakfast.

“I think I came too early. I apologize for taking up your breakfast time.”

“I’m sorry you had to eat breakfast alone.”

It was simple for a tycoon’s breakfast.

A fast food breakfast set and a glass of cola.

It was also Warren’s morning routine that continued for decades.

“I was finally able to keep my promise.”

“I heard the story. I heard that they sold their genetic stake.”

“Berkshire also sold its stake in Hess.”

I made a promise to Warren.

A promise to increase Hess’ stake by five times.

That promise led to a huge victory over the short sellers, and now it’s time to keep that promise.

“Haha, Chairman Kim’s skills are truly amazing. The price of oil only went up three-fold, but you made five-fold profit?”

“It was possible because the chairman bought Hess’s shares at a very low point. And also because Hess’ stock price rose further thanks to the Guyana oil field.”

An auction of oilfield shares targeting global oil companies.

The most popular item was Hess’s shares.

Because it was a new oil field that had just started production, there was fierce competition to take possession of it.

“Hmm, that would be over 15 billion dollars.”

“Yes, you can deposit it into your desired account today.”

“Haha, I can’t just accept that money. I’m thinking of investing it again in Chairman Kim.”

Warren looks at me with a kind expression.

It was hard to believe that he was the type of person who would invest a whopping $15 billion.

Should I say that it’s like a grandfather giving pocket money to his grandson?

I was curious about his thoughts hidden behind his kind appearance. He was definitely not the type of person to invest money without any purpose.