The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 106



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The Tycoon Who Flies Into Space Episode 106

Episode 106: Please buy Merrill Lynch stock.

If Merrill Lynch had not suffered huge losses and been on the verge of bankruptcy due to investment failures, O’Neill, a black man, would not have become president.

The black CEO is an eyesore because he barely survives after almost dying.

With his foundation weak, President O’Neill desperately needed the support of the board of directors.

“I guess you have something to ask of me since you keep emphasizing that Merrill Lynch’s stock price is low.”

“Please buy Merrill Lynch stock.”

“You want me to buy stocks on the market?”

“Yes, if you do that, the stock price will go up a lot, just as the board wants. It would be even better if you buy enough to take one director seat.”

Even if President O’Neill didn’t reveal the details, it was obvious.

Investment banks have been cautious so far about buying shares because it could easily irritate the Treasury.

Everyone knows this but doesn’t say anything, so the Treasury Department strictly controls the purchase of shares by American investment banks and commercial banks.

Foreign capital comes in and buys up shares in investment banks at will?

This was a call to fight the US Treasury.

Starting with the source of capital, everything is thoroughly investigated to ensure there are no suspicions of tax evasion or crime.

But things are different when there is a request from an investment bank manager.

He said that he would take up the gun himself.

“Do you know what that means?”

“Yes, I will block any opposition from within the company, as well as from the Treasury or the Federal Reserve.”

Even the Fed?

This was unexpected. It meant that this investment was urgent for President O’Neill.

“How so? Wasn’t the US Treasury holding on to Goldman?”

The position of Treasury Secretary alternated between Goldman alumni.

How can Merrill Lynch, even if it’s not Goldman, block the Treasury Department’s influence?

“We may not have the same level of influence as Goldman, but we can still have some influence. There are a lot of former Merrill Lynch people working in various parts of the Treasury.”

Even though its luster has faded somewhat now, it was once one of the top five investment banks.

Suddenly the alcohol I was drinking tasted sweet.

“How much of the stake do you want to purchase?”

“Up to 10% is acceptable.”

Oh my, this is written very large.

“You’re writing too big a deal. There must be considerable internal opposition. How do you plan to quell it?”

President O’Neill laughed bitterly at my words.

“Merrill Lynch is a company created by the merger of two families, Merrill and Lynch. Merrill Lynch’s corporate shares were divided here and there and were distributed to various places. The foundation that made me the president was the California Pension Fund. Since the pension fund owns about 23% of the shares, it is not difficult to secure a seat on the board of directors. And there is a decisive reason that made me make this decision. Isn’t it Ariel Investment, President Cho’s company?”

“… … .”

He didn’t answer right away. I don’t know how he found out, but we weren’t close enough to easily tell him who the owner was.

“I know everything. I am investing in several trust accounts, but anyone with a keen eye for information in this industry would probably know that the real owner of Iriel Investment is Yongwon Jo.”

“How?”

“Who is the most active Korean right now besides Yongwon Cho? Everyone will probably guess by looking at the M&A of Bush Beer.”

“The acquisition funds didn’t come from you. Don’t you know that Bush Beer was acquired with the listing price of Toad?”

I was a little confused, wondering if this was a bluff or if it was an attempt to test me.

Are you saying that I am the owner of Ariel Investment?

That was nonsense.

“Funds were withdrawn from one of our investment bank accounts and used to finance the acquisition of Bush Beer.”

“So?”

“It was an account that had been suspected of being Iriel Investment’s funds from the beginning. It is already widely known that Iriel Investment’s funds are Korean. Didn’t the US branch of WD Investment oversee the fund management?”

I’ve been told to spread rumors, but this is the first time I’ve delved this far into it.

“So? What does that mean?”

“I am the person who thinks that strengthening the asset management department is the fastest way to save Merrill Lynch. The asset size of Iriel Investment has grown like a snowball in a short period of time. I estimate that it has grown to over 100 billion won through several successful investments. Is my guess correct?”

Instead of answering, he gave a slight smile. President O’Neill nodded in agreement.

“It’s really amazing. That’s why I want Yongwon Cho to become the major shareholder of Merrill Lynch. If he can help us at Merrill Lynch with his amazing investment skills, it will be a snap to restore our former status.”

“If you provide investment information along with a 10% stake, wouldn’t I be at a huge loss?”

The scales need to be balanced, they are too tilted to one side.

“I will solve Yongwon Jo’s problem on your behalf.”

“Are you worried?”

“Aren’t you afraid of being ostracized in America? I’ll step in and stop you.”

The U.S. capital market may seem open, but it is extremely closed when you look inside. It is tightly woven with warp and weft, leaving little room for outsiders to enter.

It was nearly impossible for outsiders to enter the heart of Wall Street, which was the most valuable of them all.

Saudi Prince Al-Waleed, who bought a 15% stake in Citibank during its crisis in 1990, also failed to enter the inner circle of Wall Street.

Although he was the bank’s first major shareholder, he had no influence whatsoever on management.

Japanese funds that gained momentum in the 1980s and 1990s by purchasing Rockefeller Center were also treated in the same way.

No matter how much capital you brought to the United States, you were ultimately treated as an outsider.

There were signs that President O’Neill had already had considerable communication with the Treasury Department.

“Did the Ministry of Finance say anything else? For example, something like changing nationality.”

“He told me to make a subtle offer.”

As expected.

There was no way that a sweet story wouldn’t contain poison.

From the Ministry of Finance’s perspective, if I change my citizenship to American, the already desirable West Sea Oil and Toad will automatically fall into their arms.

“I don’t want to do something that the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) would like. Besides, even if the toads don’t know, Seohae Oil will be nationalized.”

During this time, various efforts were made to protect the West Sea oil fields by any means necessary.

All those efforts went down the drain in an instant. And the most important thing is that the moment I changed my nationality, all the things I had planned went down the drain in an instant.

O’Neill paid no attention to my indifferent reaction.

“I’m not asking you to make a decision to change your nationality right away. Just remember that there was a proposal.”

He said he would throw out the bait and just wait for the fish to bite.

In the end, you don’t rush and just wait for them to bite the bait slowly. If you’re greedy, you won’t be able to hold out and change your nationality.

To acquire certain companies, such as defense contractors, it was essential to have American citizenship.

The fact that he was the largest shareholder of Qualcomm but did not have access to management rights also had the same meaning.

The temptations will only get greater in the future.

“I will take the time to buy Merrill Lynch shares in the market. I don’t want the stock price to go up too quickly. I will buy a 10% stake.”

Separately, the opportunity to buy Merrill Lynch shares was one that should not be missed.

Given O’Neill’s ability to lead the company, it seemed likely that Merrill Lynch’s stock price would rise significantly.

They clinked their glasses together.

“Deal, I look forward to the future. If you acquire 10% of the shares, I will create a seat on the board.”

* * *

“The story went the way I wanted, but something feels off.”

[Isn’t it the same everywhere? In the future, wasn’t it essential to acquire citizenship to take over an important company in an autonomous country?]

“I guess this is a warning.”

[Do you think this is a signal from the Treasury?]

“Yeah, it’s like saying, don’t buy American companies anymore.”

[Hmm, that’s a reasonable guess. I guess we’ll have to be more careful since the Treasury is paying attention.]

“There are no more companies I want to buy. I need to stabilize the companies I already have.”

[We have rapidly expanded our company size, so we need to strengthen our internal structure.]

“Speaking of the subject, is the expansion of WD Automobile’s production facilities progressing smoothly?”

[The work of expanding parts factories is also going smoothly.]

“It seems like the parts companies are positive.”

[If they say they will provide you with funds and teach you the technology, you’d be an idiot to hesitate.]

“There are a lot of fools in the world. When would be a good time to announce the next engine?”

[You have to wait a long time. I will announce it when the price goes up a lot.]

“How high will the price of oil go?”

[Who knows exactly? The Chinese economy is developing rapidly, so if China becomes a black hole of resources in the future, it will easily go up to $100 per barrel.]

“Oh my, I wish that were true.”

From my perspective as someone with genetics, rising international oil prices meant my pockets were getting filled.

[We must also stop developing oil fields. If oil production is too high, it will be difficult for oil prices to rise.]

“What about the places you discovered?”

[We should just leave it alone and start developing it when the price of oil goes up a lot. It is not good to develop too many oil fields now.]

“They are saying that the oil supply has increased too much.”

[Anything in moderation is good.]

“I guess we’ll have to keep quiet for a while after finishing the development of Micronesia’s oil fields.”

[Do so. And the list is finalized.]

“Once you’ve decided on a target for support, you should scout. This is a good opportunity to make sure there’s a change.”

When politics is murky, the only thing that remains is stagnant water.

[Korean politics is going as expected. Those who oppose the president’s party reform plan and those who are firing shots within the ruling party are coming together as one.]

As a non-mainstream person ascended to the presidency, vested interests began to gather to not acknowledge it.

The minority that supported the president was also unable to raise their voices because they were pushed out by the majority. If the president had been a flexible person, he would have tried to persuade the opposition somehow, but he was a very stubborn person.

The possibility of a split in the ruling party is growing. The reformist faction is splitting from the Honam faction, which is the mainstream faction within the party.

“We need to hurry up and recruit people to build a support base when the president is backed into a corner.”

[The task will not be difficult. If you approach the people on the list, they will not reject you. They are all people with political ambitions.]

“I don’t think the information will leak to the outside world, right?”

[No one cares. They are only interested in the internal fighting within the ruling party, so they won’t bother gathering power.]

“Who would think that they are secretly gathering political aspirants?”

[This is an attempt that has never been attempted before because of funding issues. It may be possible to do so when the election is near, but the general election is still a long way off.]

“This is really fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun.”

[In the space age, isn’t everyone very interested in politics?]

“It is rare for the ruling party to change.”

Once a political entity becomes mainstream, it does not change until it becomes stagnant water or even oil.

He may be called a politician, but in reality he was just a civil servant.

When a major incident occurred, the people could immediately vote directly. There was no need for the members of the National Assembly to be representative politicians.

So politics became so turbulent that when the ruling power of a local government changed, the entire universe was in an uproar.

It was fun to watch the fierce battle between conservatives and reformists in a country like Korea.