The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 54



Only Noblemtl

54. Corporate Acquisition (1)

As I returned to Seoul from the West Sea, the bustling social atmosphere was palpable.

Even though it is recovering from the IMF shock, Korean society has already suffered a huge shock. It has never returned to its former vibrant state. The government tried to change the stagnant atmosphere by mobilizing various means, but it was not enough.

The development of the West Sea oil field was a feat that completely reversed that gloomy atmosphere.

Even when I returned home, the topic of oil drilling was abuzz, and even when I went to work at WD Investment Company, the festive atmosphere did not subside.

The front page of the newspaper was filled with articles related to the successful drilling of the oil field. Chief Kim, whom I had not seen in a long time, looked at me and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

“It’s too much. The oil drilling issue just won’t die down. It takes time to stabilize and start full-scale oil production. If you just watch the news, they’re talking as if domestic consumption will be replaced at any moment.”

“They think they have bought a train ticket to a developed country. When you watch the footage from the helicopter, you can see the lights of gas burning during oil drilling. Many people see that as a symbol of moving toward a developed country. They see hope that things will get better in the future. Many Koreans must have cheered while watching the live broadcast of the successful drilling.”

Chief Kim, who rarely gets excited, explained the significance of the successful development of the West Sea oil field while spitting.

It was the same at home, so it seems that Koreans have a lot of resentment about oil.

For a long time, Chief Kim explained to me how touched they were that day.

“The family hugged each other and recited it?”

“Yes, for some reason, I started crying. I had a hard time crying in front of my daughter.”

“Did you say your daughter is in middle school?”

“It’s the age when you start to disobey others. When you’re young, you say you can’t live without your dad, but now that you’re older, you’re just a stranger.”

“I guess it’s like that everywhere. What about domestic businesses?”

The actual control tower of my domestic business is WD Investment.

The export of soju produced by Dugeobi F&B has been progressing smoothly, with production volumes steadily increasing.

I checked the sales and profits up to last month.

“Did President Kenner say things were going well?”

Negotiations were underway to sell the Mexican oil field to Exxon. The price was being negotiated after Exxon completed the work of confirming the reserves.

“We ultimately agreed to a 25% stake for $3 billion.”

“So you’re saying that the total value of the genetic material is estimated at 12 billion dollars?”

It wasn’t bad.

“When did you decide to sign the contract?”

“I heard that the sales price will be deposited immediately once the boss’s payment is received.”

It was an Exxon downturn, with cash flowing in.

“It hasn’t been that long since the merger with Mobil, but it looks like you have some cash on hand.”

The ExxonMobil merger is not well known in Korea, but it was a hot issue at the end of the century. Standard Oil, created by Rockefeller, was split into 34 companies in 1911 due to an anti-monopoly ruling.

Exxon was split into New Jersey and Mobil into Standard Oil of New York, and in 1999 the two companies merged to become Exxon Mobil. It was a mega deal where Exxon acquired Mobil for $81 billion.

There was a lot of talk about the revival of Standard Oil as two very large companies merged.

“It seems like you have a lot of free time. During the negotiations, you also mentioned the West Sea Oil Field share.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re being too greedy.”

The Mexican oil field is being sold because of various problems, but the West Sea oil field will continue to generate profits if held.

There was no reason to sell the stake.

The Korean government probably doesn’t want that either.

“Isn’t it worth coveting? It’s the largest of the recently discovered oil fields. And Korea doesn’t have a strong voice for resource nationalism.”

“It’s not that it’s not big, it’s that there’s none at all. It’s because there are no resources.”

Countries with abundant oil, such as the Middle East and Venezuela, have nationalized their oil fields. For oil majors who lost all their oil fields and had to develop new ones, Korea’s West Sea oil field was a very tempting target.

“Exxon wants to meet with you, CEO.”

“Do we need to meet?”

“I think so too. They will probably talk about acquiring the West Sea Oilfield, so there is no need to meet, but if you keep being stubborn, they will put pressure on you. That’s because those people are not gentlemen.”

“Pressure? Just tell him to try.”

There is no direct pressure on me. I don’t know if they will target the Korean government. The oil majors are well known for their lobbying power, so they will mobilize powerful American politicians, but I’m not sure.

“The Seven Majors are not ordinary people. They are people who will do anything to get what they want.”

“We may be able to apply political pressure, but if we sell our stake in the West Sea Oil Field under pressure from the United States, will the people stay still?”

“I hope I don’t receive your money either.”

Unlike the dictatorship era, as democratization progressed, America’s power in Korea has greatly diminished. Physical means could be used, but then I would also be releasing my limits.

After various small reports, the final agenda item was reached.

“I heard that Hanyoung Securities is up for sale?”

“Yes, we have expressed our intention to sell, but the price the major shareholder wants is too high. They are asking for 200 billion won for a 32% stake in a company with a capital of 100 billion won.”

“It’s ridiculous. Isn’t the current stock price 12,000 won per share? They’re calling the premium for major shareholders too high.”

“It seems like they are being greedy because the stock price went up to 20,000 won and then came down.”

“There’s no need to rush. You’re doing well now.”

It would be nice to acquire it, but it didn’t matter if it didn’t. WD Investment’s main business was fund management. The growth rate of funds sold by banks and securities firms rather than its own branches was so fast that it was eye-popping.

“How much has been the total fund sales so far?

“As of yesterday, equity funds amounted to 3.102 trillion won, and bond funds amounted to 1.4528 trillion won.”

“There are a lot of stocks? Don’t bond funds usually sell better?”

“That’s because the returns of the stock funds sold so far have been overwhelming.”

“How much did it cost?”

“The highest fund return is over 87%.”

“It’s eye-catching. It will crush the competition’s funds.”

“The reason it is closed is because it is no longer being sold at that scale. Additional sales are made only when there are refunds, and no additional sales are set.”

“The investment target of new funds is ambiguous.”

The reason why WD Investment’s stock fund achieved high returns is because it included stocks of Ddukie F&B and Woori Foods.

“The stock prices of both companies have risen so much that I am waiting to see for the time being.”

“It would be good if other stocks go up, but it looks difficult for the time being, so it would be better not to sell additional stocks.”

Not only the domestic stock market, but also the U.S. market was not doing well.

When things are uncertain, the answer is to take a break from investing.

***

“I need to rest for a while. I’ve been so busy.”

[I worked hard, unlike a master.]

“Yeah, nothing special?”

[We received contact from our branches in China and Russia.]

“why?”

[It’s because of oil exploration. It seems there are a lot of inquiries because of the depth at which oil was drilled this time.]

“Why is that? You said there was nothing special about it.”

[It has already been developed to a considerable extent, but this is the first time we have dug that deep. The technology developed by Shell is similar, but this is the first time it has actually been used for drilling. It is known to be a technology developed by Her, but the owner of the company is a master.]

It was something that was obvious even without hearing it.

It may be a story about asking people to come to our country and develop things, but if we’re not careful, we could end up being fooled.

Russia’s oil drilling technology was stolen from American oil companies that entered Russia to develop oil fields.

If you bring technology to a dictatorship, you’re stupid.

“You know what I mean, right? Flippers are the best. Tell Her that we don’t know about this, so she’ll contact Her.”

If you try to contact Herr, they’ll make up all sorts of excuses and refuse to let you in.

[There is no one who does not know that Herr’s master is the Master.]

“Don’t make excuses about the US government. Herr is an American company. You may not know it, but the US government will never allow you to enter the two countries.”

Why did I develop the West Sea oil field without much burden? I started it because I trusted the U.S. government.

[What should the UK do?]

“Why there again?”

[The North Sea oil fields are drying up. We have no choice but to jump in now that useful technology has emerged.]

“It must be really urgent there. There was a lot of talk about British soldiers and such, and the reason they were talking about it was because of the crude oil coming out of the North Sea oil fields.”

[Yes. The money from there was used to make up for the government budget shortfall. The North Sea oil fields are rapidly being depleted, so if additional oil field development is not successful, Britain will also have a hard time.]

“It’s the same there. There’s no reason for me to go in. We shouldn’t do any additional genetic development. We can only make money if the price goes up.”

If supply increases, it is difficult for prices to rise. What does it matter to me whether Britain is struggling or not?

I thought the excitement of the interview would pass quickly, but it didn’t seem to die down, so I stayed home.

While I was stuck there, I drew up blueprints for the drill ships and FPSOs that will be built at the shipyard I will be taking over in the future and reviewed them one by one.

The reason I came out for the first time in a while was because of an appointment with Oh, the Chief of Economy.

When I arrived at the meeting place, Chief Oh, who was a little thin, came out first and was waiting for me.

“You must be out of your mind these days, but you came out.”

“It’s not like that any time. Oil is steadily increasing. You’ve worked hard.”

Am I the one suffering? It’s my employees who are suffering.

The enthusiasm that had been building up as oil was drilled also began to cool down over time. The biggest concern of the people these days was the Korea-Japan World Cup that was just around the corner.

There was a lot of talk about how far it would go.

“There’s something urgent that’s happened. The prosecution is preparing to blow it up. I guess the prosecution is out of control because of the current administration.”

At my words, Oh Soo-seok frowned.

“…….If you know about it, then it’s spread everywhere.”

“I don’t think so. I’m just a bit quick on the uptake, so other people might not know. It’s just a rumor I heard recently because I’ve been keeping my antenna up.”

The reason I am interested in the corruption scandal of the current administration is because it overlaps with the issue of the preferential acquisition of Chosun Ilbo. I heard from Team Leader Oh that the situation is unfolding urgently.

There was a high possibility that a controversy over preferential treatment would arise later when the president’s son was taken over by Woo Dae-joon.

But that didn’t mean I would back down.

Since we even received a promise from the President, we just pushed it through.

“The Industrial Bank of Korea president has agreed to the sale. The selling price will be 1.5 billion dollars.”

“I guess the Industrial Bank of Korea president raised his hand after holding out for so long. But it’s in dollars, not won?”

When I tilted my head, Oh Soo-seok snorted.

“If you don’t listen, I have no choice but to cut you off. The president is the president until the end of his term. The dollar has been unstable lately, so the Industrial Bank of Korea wants dollars.”

There is no reason why you can’t pay in dollars if you want.

At $1.5 billion, it’s more expensive than expected, but it’s not something they can’t give. It’s not about price, it’s about time.

If I missed the timing of the acquisition, I might have to acquire a real American shipyard.