The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 305



Only Noblemtl

305. Struggling (4)

Swine flu has been declared a pandemic.

It was a moment when fear of the new flu was planted not only in the United States and Mexico, but also in Europe and Asia.

And many countries were working hard to secure Tamiflu, known as a treatment for the new flu.

“Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is heavily promoting the securing of 10 million doses of Tamiflu. Even the Blue House spokesperson is giving a direct briefing and crediting the government with securing Tamiflu.”

“They haven’t even started delivering yet, but they’re moving quickly. Well, they’re not politicians who would miss an opportunity to increase their approval ratings.”

“I received a call from the Blue House saying they would dispatch police special forces to carry out a Tamiflu convoy operation.”

It wasn’t a bad strategy.

Although the picture of the transport vehicle entering the Ministry of Health and Welfare is not good.

The sight of a transport vehicle entering the Ministry of Health and Welfare escorted by fully armed police commandos was a beautiful sight for anyone to see.

“It’s a perfect operation to use for news reporting. It looks like this government is trying to have a lot of fun with Tamiflu.”

“Even if we deliver 9 million doses to the government, there are still more than 5 million doses left. And if we add the amount currently produced, we can export more than 10 million doses per month.”

“We decided to release 20% to Korea, so the amount that can be exported will be about 8 million doses. Where did you get the call?”

“Inquiries have come in from all over Asia, including Japan, the United States, and India, and inquiries have also come in from the United States, Canada, and Europe.”

We only had Asian sales rights.

That was the contract from the beginning, and if we sell Tamiflu in the U.S. or Europe, we will be subject to a huge penalty and our production rights will be taken away.

“It appears that the amount supplied by the Swiss pharmaceutical company is not enough to supply the United States and Europe.”

“It’s not enough. That’s why some countries are even talking about having to ignore the patent rights and make Tamiflu on their own.”

Making Tamiflu was no easy task.

Even if the recipe was somehow obtained and made, it was difficult to come up with a proper treatment.

We also brought in Dr. Jang-Woo Kim, the developer of Tamiflu, but only after going through trial and error did we succeed in mass producing Tamiflu.

“As the Tamiflu shortage worsens, such voices will become louder. Even Swiss pharmaceutical companies will not welcome such a situation.”

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to negotiate to sell to the US and Europe?”

“Private sales will be banned as before, and transactions with countries will be grudgingly approved. But there is no need for us to take action ourselves. Wouldn’t the US and European governments take action first, so that our prices will rise further?”

The person was truly treacherous.

Being the first to lend a helping hand and providing help upon request.

Of the two, I tended to appreciate the latter more.

Therefore, it was more advantageous for us to help those who requested help rather than to support the United States and Europe first.

“Then, we will continue to build up inventory at Taewoo Group and wait for requests to come.”

“Tell Centrian and ask him to increase production even more than now.”

“We are already producing above marginal capa.”

“Let’s send Taewoo Group’s workforce to support us. Then, wouldn’t we be able to produce a little more?”

“We can solve the manpower problem somehow, but it is difficult to solve the factory size problem right now. Since Taewo Group does not have a pharmaceutical factory, we cannot help.”

The Taewo Group did not have a pharmaceutical company.

However, it is not possible to ask to borrow the factory of another Korean pharmaceutical company.

If that were to happen, it could be overlooked now, but it was clear that the Swiss pharmaceutical company would take action in the future.

“Then we should take over a pharmaceutical company. Find a cheap company that has a pharmaceutical factory.”

“The planning office has already reviewed the acquisition of a pharmaceutical company.”

I smiled for the first time in a long time at the planning director’s words.

I can’t believe you reviewed the work in advance even though you weren’t even asked to do it.

The planning director had been working with me for a long time, so he had a good understanding of the direction I wanted to take.

“It’s great that the planning office has already looked into it. So which pharmaceutical company is best?”

“Sacheonli Pharmaceutical best meets the conditions.”

“I couldn’t have said it was a bicycle company, but it seems to be one of the affiliates of the Sichuan Ri Group.”

“That’s right. There is a pharmaceutical company among the affiliates of Sacheonli Group.”

‘Sacheon-ri’ was popularly known as a bicycle company.

However, there was also a Sacheon-ri group with the same name, and it was by no means a group that could be ignored.

In particular, it was the Sacheon-ri Group that stood out in the energy field.

It was a very profitable group, generating a surplus even during the foreign exchange crisis.

“I didn’t know that Sichuanli Group owned a pharmaceutical company.”

“Although the scale is not very large, it is a pharmaceutical company with outstanding technology. It is a long-established pharmaceutical company that developed synthesis technology for AIDS treatment in the 80s and also succeeded in developing antiviral drugs. However, it is not well known to the public because its scale is not large. “I didn’t.”

“If the scale is not large, that means the factory is also small.”

“The factory size is not large, but we have a cGMP level factory. We have the facilities to produce Tamiflu right now.”

cGMP level factory.

It refers to a factory that has passed the management standards set by the U.S. FDA.

It also meant that Tamiflu production was sufficiently possible if it passed the FDA’s management standards, which are known for their strictness.

“Should Sacheonli Group sell the pharmaceutical company? We have no intention of selling, but if we approach first, we will have no choice but to acquire it at a high price.”

“The Sacheonli Group has also shown a desire to sell pharmaceutical companies. We have been meeting with several pharmaceutical companies to discuss since early this year.”

“They are willing to sell and have a factory that meets international standards. They are the best pharmaceutical company for us. The planning office conducted the investigation very well. It is a busy time, so we should at least give them a bonus as well as a company dinner. Please wait a moment.”

I turned my body back.

There was a safe dedicated to the president that had been in use since my grandfather’s time.

I opened the safe, took out a bundle of cash, put it in a document envelope, and gave it to the planning director.

“Please distribute it evenly to your employees. It may not be a large amount, but it will be enough to each take a chicken home.”

“Thank you! And this is enough money to buy not just one chicken, but 100!”

It was a bundle of cash, enough to roughly give 2 million won to each employee in the planning office.

Although I would not have praised the work in this way, it meant that the planning office had made this work very close to my heart.

“This is a race against time. We need to complete the acquisition as quickly as possible. So, I will meet with the Chairman of Sacheolli Group and negotiate. Please set a schedule.”

“I’ll make an appointment with the Chairman of Sacheonli Group right now!”

The planning director answered in a voice two levels higher than usual.

After all, there was nothing better than a bundle of cash to motivate oneself.

* * *

The next evening.

A meal was held with Sacheonli Group Chairman Lee Jang-deok at the annex of Captain Kang’s restaurant.

“Nice to meet you, Chairman Kim. I couldn’t sleep a wink after receiving the call yesterday.”

“I heard a lot from my grandfather. He said that in the energy field, there is no group with as much tradition and history as the Sacheolli Group, and that Chairman Lee’s resourcefulness is very outstanding.”

“Did Chairman Kim Tae-joong say that? I’ve only seen him a few times, but I’m just grateful that he gave me such a positive evaluation.”

Chairman Lee Jang-deok even blushed and loved it.

That’s right, Sacheon-ri Group’s ranking in the business world is in the 50th place.

Who wouldn’t like it when the top business founder gives praise?

“Taewoo Group is also paying a lot of attention to the energy sector. So, we have been very interested in Sacheonli Group for a long time.”

“Is that so? Then, if you had called me earlier, I would have run out in socks.”

“But isn’t the energy business very difficult these days? I heard that the city gas business is saturated.”

My target was a pharmaceutical company.

First, the story of pharmaceutical companies was not brought up.

We have to make it so that we don’t know what we want, but it makes negotiation easier.

“It is not easy because the city gas business is saturated. We do make money through the coal business, but it is very difficult as it is.”

“It must be even more difficult because of the Lehman incident. I even heard that several affiliates are being sold.”

“In order to focus on the energy business, we are planning to sell affiliates in other industries. If there is an affiliate in the Taewo Group that you are interested in, please let us know at any time. We will sell the affiliate on good terms.”

Chairman Lee subtly threw a bait.

If we take the bait here, we’ll find out that we want pharmaceutical companies.

“Taewoo Group also chose to be selective and focused. So wouldn’t it have sold the shipyard as well?”

“If it wasn’t about acquiring an affiliate, why did you ask to see me? Of course, just having a meal without any reason would be an honor to me…”

I leisurely drank a glass of water.

Even after that, it was only after a little pause that I opened my mouth.

“Aren’t we becoming more and more sensitive to environmental pollution? That’s why I requested a meeting to inquire whether you would be interested in carrying out the LNG power plant project with Taewoo Group.”

“Are you talking about an LNG power plant? If we can proceed with the Taewoo Group, of course we should do it. … But it is difficult right now. The group’s financial situation is not good, so it is only possible after the sale of affiliates is completed.”

LNG power plant development.

This was never something I just said.

Taewo Group was carrying out businesses that consumed a lot of power, such as manufacturing plants and data centers.

Moreover, as the scale was still growing, a private power plant was needed.

“I would like to create a proper LNG power plant by collaborating with Sacheon-ri Group and Taewoo Engineering & Construction. However, it has become difficult since they said there is a lack of funds.”

“We will try to speed up the sale of affiliates as much as possible. We can secure at least 50 billion won in funds just by selling Sacheolli Pharmaceuticals alone.”

It was the situation I wanted.

The purpose of this meeting was to use the LNG power plant as bait to somehow force Sacheonli Group to sell the pharmaceutical company quickly.

“The Taewo Group can help you sell your pharmaceutical company. By using the Taewo Group’s connections, you can create many opportunities to sell to not only Korean but also foreign capital.”

“I would really appreciate it if you could do that.”

“Hmm, first of all, how about the Taewu Group take over Sichuanli Pharmaceuticals and sell it again? We certainly should not ignore Sichuanli Group, but wouldn’t it be possible to receive a more generous price if we proceed with the sale under the name of Taewu Group?”

Even for the same product, the price may vary depending on the brand.

Chairman Lee also understood that, so he did not have much doubt.

“You are saying that Taewoo Group will acquire the pharmaceutical company first and provide you with financing.”

“I heard that they are currently in the process of selling with several other pharmaceutical companies. I can give you a similar amount or a little more than the amount they offered right now.”

Right Now.

This was the key.

The sale to another pharmaceutical company took at least several months.

However, Chairman Lee’s worries did not last long because Taewo Group can pay the sale price right now.

“We will have to go back to the company and discuss it, but I have decided to do it. Even if Chairman Yoo is against it, I will push for it.”

“Then, soon, we will arrange a place where the working-level staff can meet and have a conversation.”

The Sacheon-ri Group was a somewhat special group.

There have been two presidents since its founding, and it remains so to this day.

Since Chairman Lee took the bait, there was no need for me to persuade Chairman Yoo.