The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 295



Only Noblemtl

295. The power of unity (4)

A conference room located at GM headquarters.

Here, the GM share acquisition contract ceremony was finally taking place.

It was an event attended by Dimon, me, Warren Buffett’s coalition, government officials, and the president of the National Automobile Workers’ Union.

We took pictures of ourselves signing the contract to distribute to the media.

The stake acquisition ceremony ended only after the camera captured the scene of the two shaking hands.

“Hehe, I don’t know if I can attend this event. I feel embarrassed to sit on an equal footing when we have only invested 5 billion dollars.”

“We could never have moved public opinion on our own. Since you came with trust that is more important than money, you are fully qualified.”

I had a hearty handshake with Warren Buffett.

He was the one who played the role of the joker card in the GM acquisition.

No matter how good the Taew Group’s image is, the fintech bank acquired CITI Group, the world’s largest financial company.

Without Warren Buffett, it would have been difficult to sway American public opinion.

“I’m going to leave now. Let the two of you discuss the company’s management issues well and lead the way.”

“If you don’t like our management policy, you can tell us at any time.”

“If there are too many cooks, the soup will be ruined. I will leave the management of the company to experts like you.”

It was Warren Buffett who really went out with a smile.

Afterwards, everyone including government officials and the American Automobile Workers’ Union left, leaving only me and Dimon in the conference room.

“I’ve met many people on Wall Street, but this is the first time I’ve met someone like him.”

“It means that they trust us that much. It won’t be easy to live up to that trust.”

“Wouldn’t we be able to live up to our beliefs by changing GM so that we can see at least 10 times the profits?”

“For that to happen, we’re going to have to change a lot of things starting now.”

Dimon had been cutting hard all this while.

Business units that were not producing sales were cut out with a single stroke, and large-scale restructuring was carried out and all factory automation facilities were installed.

Nevertheless, there were still too many shortcomings.

The lineup centered on large vehicles such as SUVs had to be changed, and the system had to be improved to ensure a high profit structure.

“There is really a lot of work to be done. I think it would have been a little easier if we had acquired Ford or Chrysler. Now that the acquisition has been completed, is there a reason why you insisted on GM?”

“Hmm, should I say it’s to clear up the past?”

“Cleaning up the past? I know there was a bit of a fight between Taewoo Motors and GM in the process of acquiring a European company, but other than that, isn’t there anything else?”

There was nothing special in this life.

However, in his last life, Taewoo Motors suffered the humiliation of being acquired by GM.

So, in this life, Taewoo Motors had to acquire GM to clean up the past.

“Liquidation in the past was just something we did, and the acquisition of GM was absolutely necessary to realize economies of scale.”

“Now that GM has been added to Taewoo and Kai automobiles, if we do well, we may be able to surpass the top spot in the U.S. market share. However, taking first place in market share does not necessarily mean that we will make a profit. On the contrary, Taew and Kai automobiles, which are doing well, will suffer a great loss. You can see that the automobile market is already saturated.”

Dimon was correct.

The American automobile market is already close to saturation.

So, this is how American car companies got to this point.

“The internal combustion engine vehicle market is saturated, but the electric vehicle market is just beginning. To dominate the electric vehicle market in a short period of time, it must be of this scale.”

“Did you proceed with the merger and acquisition with the electric vehicle market in mind?”

“It’s not just about electric vehicles. To charge an electric vehicle, of course you need a charger. If the charger we make can become an international standard, we can make huge profits. To do that, we have to be first.”

International standards competition was taking place in various fields.

If we look at the precedents so far, the first one would often win, and the winner would monopolize the profits.

“I once saw an expert predict that it would be at least 20 years before electric vehicles become popular. Aren’t you thinking too big of a picture?”

“I have already planned a way to reduce 20 years to 10 years.”

“If it’s about 10 years, it’s enough to make a bet. Then Taew, Kai, GM and Tesla will form a kind of alliance.”

“It can be seen as a sufficient scale to dominate the electric vehicle market. Of course, this is assuming that GM stabilizes.”

“I will do my best to make that happen. Cough! Cluck!”

It was Daimon who suddenly coughed violently.

Was the burden of stabilizing GM too great?

“Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well, you can take a few days off.”

“It looks like the flu is trending these days. Several executives have already contracted the flu and are in the hospital. I also have to go to the hospital sometime today or tomorrow. I took medicine, but it’s not going away easily.”

Is there a flu epidemic?

At that moment, one word passed through my mind.

‘Influenza virus’

It was the name of the flu that was prevalent in 2009.

It was a very severe epidemic that killed as many as 20,000 people.

The terrible epidemic was just beginning.

It is not yet known that the influenza virus is the culprit.

* * *

I quickly returned to the hotel.

Captain Kang, President Han, and David were eagerly waiting for me, and popped champagne as soon as I arrived.

“Congratulations. GM has finally come into the arms of Taewoo Group!”

“I expected this day to come since I first met the boss. Taewoo Group is now ranked among the top 10 companies in the world!”

“I would like to thank you. Serving as the Chairman is the greatest blessing of my life.”

These were three people who had prepared a lot.

They even hung up balloons, which they got from somewhere, and even prepared a three-tier cake cutting ceremony.

“Now is not the time. Put down the champagne and gather here.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Is there any hidden debt at GM?”

A CEO and David sit down with their cones on their heads.

Captain Kang’s expression hardened and he stood alert behind me.

“Does anyone know that there is a flu epidemic in the United States right now?”

“It seemed like a lot of people had bad colds these days.”

“I saw a lot of people around me with colds, but I didn’t take the flu seriously because it spreads every year.”

I was still completely unaware of the seriousness of this flu.

In order to gain confidence, we needed more specific data, and there was someone at Taewoo Group who could provide us with such data right away.

“I need to get on the phone with team leader Cheon Min-jeong.”

I called without even checking what time it was in Korea.

Fortunately, Team Leader Cheon was awake and answered the call before the call ringtone rang twice.

[Chairman, what is happening at this hour? Aren’t you in America now?]

“Yes, it’s still America. There’s one piece of information I’d like to know. Can you tell me how prevalent the flu is in America right now?”

[If you extract big data related to the flu using portal sites and SNS, you can find out quite accurately. please wait for a moment. You can extract data in 5 minutes.]

I turned my phone into a speakerphone and placed it on the desk.

A typing sound like playing a piano came through the speakers, and less than five minutes later, Team Leader Cheon spoke up again.

[Flu-related search records have increased 200% compared to last month. On social media, flu-related keywords increased by more than 300%. Speaking solely from the data, it is clear that the United States is now at the stage where a massive flu outbreak is about to begin.]

“Thank you for the great information. Could you send me the detailed data by email?”

[I will organize it and send it to you within 10 minutes.]

“Then let’s meet in Korea sometime soon.”

Team Leader Cheon sent a huge amount of data by email.

I showed the data to David and CEO Han, and they realized the seriousness of the situation.

“It seems to be definitely different from the flu that circulates every year. It seems to be very contagious and has a high fatality rate.”

“It is most likely the flu in the form of an influenza virus. Fortunately, treatments for the influenza virus are already on the market.”

“Are you talking about Tamiflu? I have heard that it is used as a treatment for bird flu.”

“That’s right. Sooner or later, Tamiflu will sell like hot cakes. We won’t be able to sell it because we don’t have it. So, if we secure the exclusive manufacturing rights for Tamiflu, we will make a big profit.”

I remembered the Tamiflu crisis.

Just taking Tamiflu, a treatment for the influenza virus, significantly improved symptoms, leading to hoarding.

“Boss! Although it was an American company that developed the Tamiflu treatment, a Swiss company currently holds exclusive production rights. They are already having a lot of fun with Tamiflu, so I don’t think they will hand it over easily.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t necessarily have exclusive production rights. You just need to get joint production rights, so David can negotiate directly.”

“Chairman, but is there really a need for us to focus on flu treatments at this point? Of course, it is a business that brings in a lot of money, but Taewoo Group has no pharmaceutical base whatsoever. If we build a base and produce drugs, the flu will already be over. Wouldn’t you like it?”

President Han analyzed it thoroughly from a business perspective.

However, there was one piece of information that was not included in his analysis.

“We have already secured the foundation. Do you remember CEO Seo Jeong-jun, who was an advisor to Taewo Group?”

“Ah! Do you mean Centrion? You mean the pharmaceutical company created with investment funds from Taewo Group and SAVE Investment Company.”

“That’s right. So it doesn’t mean that Taewo Group doesn’t have a pharmaceutical base.”

“But is this possible with Centrian alone? Even if we secure joint production rights, we cannot easily produce the drug.”

“So, we need to bring in one more expert. David, there must be a Korean researcher among the people who developed Tamiflu. Please bring him in.”

Dr. Kim Jeong-woo, a Korean resident in Japan.

He was a chemist who participated in the development of Tamiflu, and he was such an important person that it is said that it was because of him that Tamiflu could be developed.

“I also specialize in recruiting talent. How do I recruit them to Taewo Group? Or can I recruit them to a pharmaceutical company called Centrian?”

“You can recruit as a Centrian. Promise the position of Vice President and ask for an annual salary of at least 3 times more. Also, tell them that Taewo Group will provide separate welfare benefits.”

“I’ll have to meet you first, but I don’t think it’ll be that bad if those conditions are met.”

David runs outside.

Since the flu was already spreading, he knew very well that this was a race against time.

If only I could succeed this time.

I was able to grow the Centrion several times in size in one go.

If we can do that, we will be able to have a great influence even in the Corona era that will come in 10 years.