CH137 | VOC

“Hahaha, yes, Chairman Kim. It’s good that the stock price is rising thanks to those rabble-rousers. It’s like free money. There’s no reason to complain. Daehoo won’t be swayed by such trivial matters. Anyway, let’s play golf sometime. I need some exercise. Hahaha. Yes, let’s meet soon.”

Chairman Kim Hoo-joong’s face hardened after ending the call with Chairman Kim Chan of Kim-Ae Development, despite his cheerful tone during the conversation.

“…It’s not Chairman Kim…”

But he couldn’t be sure.

The consortium was continuing its offensive, buying up shares. They had already spent 50 to 100 billion won on each of the ten targeted subsidiaries.

Such aggressive action wouldn’t be possible without an inside collaborator. He tried to convince himself that there were no traitors, but he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that someone might have betrayed him.

“This is a nightmare. At a time like this…”

If this had happened a year ago, or even before the IMF crisis, the consortium’s attack wouldn’t have been a problem.

The group would have had ample cash reserves, and investors would have been lining up to invest in Daehoo. He could have easily dismissed the threat. But Daehoo was now facing multiple challenges, both internal and external.

The rising exchange rate had doubled their overseas investment costs, and the government and the IMF were pressuring them to restructure.

“Traitors. Traitors.”

He had to make a decision.

Should he ignore the consortium, dismissing them as insignificant, or should he prepare for a potential takeover attempt?

After a long deliberation, he picked up the phone and called his secretary’s office.

“You’re calling from where?” I asked.

[Daehoo Group’s secretary’s office.]

I smiled at the mention of Daehoo Group. “Ah, I see. What can I do for you?”

[Our chairman would like to have dinner with you. We’re checking your availability.]

“Dinner, you say.”

I knew what he wanted to discuss.

“Our relationship isn’t exactly amicable. Do you think a productive conversation is possible? I’ll have to decline.”

The secretary, seemingly flustered by my rejection of a dinner invitation from the chairman of the second-largest conglomerate in Korea, stammered, – E-excuse me?

“I’ve declared war on Daehoo. What’s there to discuss? He’ll ask me to back down, ask who’s behind this… I’m not wasting my time on such predictable conversations.”

As the secretary stammered, a deep voice came from the phone.

[This is Kim Hoo-joong.]

Chairman Kim had taken the phone from his secretary.

“Ah, Chairman Kim, this is Park Sol.”

[Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you.]

A brief silence followed. But during that silence, both our minds were racing.

He wanted to know how far I was willing to go and if there were any traitors within his company. And I wanted to know Daehoo’s current situation.

I decided to strike first. “Daehoo’s stock price has risen significantly. Congratulations.”

Daehoo Electronics’ stock price, which had been hovering around 10,000 won, had doubled to 20,000 won since the consortium’s involvement.

And not just electronics, but all ten targeted subsidiaries, and even other subsidiaries, had seen their stock prices rise.

It would have been a cause for celebration if it had been due to improved performance or new business ventures, but it was solely due to the hostile takeover attempt, so my congratulations were a provocation.

But he remained unfazed. – It’s all thanks to you, CEO Park. I’m so grateful that I wanted to have dinner with you, but it seems you’re busy.

I chuckled at his sly response. “As I told your secretary, what’s there to discuss?”

[Well, that’s true.]

He agreed surprisingly easily. – Fine, I’ll get straight to the point since you don’t seem interested in meeting. Are you going to continue this?

His question was loaded with meaning, and I responded confidently, “Of course, I wouldn’t have started this if I wasn’t serious.”

[Excellent. Excellent. You’re a true man. But you know something?]

His voice lowered, almost a growl. – I faced many challenges and enemies while building Daehoo, and I crushed them all. Daehoo stands on a mountain of corpses. You’ve chosen the wrong opponent, CEO Park. You’re nothing but a pebble to me. I’ll crush you, just like I crushed all my other enemies.

I smirked. “A mountain of corpses, you say? That’s an interesting expression. But I think I’m one step ahead of you. You know why? I…”

I whispered, as if confiding a secret, “…leave no corpses.”

* * *

The next day, Daehoo Group announced a tender offer to buy back its own shares to defend its management control.

A tender offer was a public offer to buy shares at a specified price, usually with a premium, a common tactic for defending against hostile takeovers.

“He took the bait.”

I chuckled, my shoulders shaking with excitement.

The tender offer meant that he was taking the consortium’s threat seriously and was willing to spend money to consolidate his control.

It also showed his fear of potential traitors within the company.

“He must think there are collaborators since we’re still attacking after spending 100 billion won. Hehehe.”

Park Jong-bum smiled. “Daehoo, already short on funds, will face an even more severe cash crunch after buying back its overpriced shares.”

I snapped my fingers. “Exactly. We’ve already doubled their stock price, and now they’re buying them back with a premium. Imagine how much it’ll cost them.”

I was already salivating at the thought of Daehoo’s collapse and the spoils it would yield.

Automobiles, electronics, telecommunications, machinery, raw materials… I was even willing to acquire some of their profitable subsidiaries, although not through conventional means.

I would drain their cash reserves, dismantle the group, and then take over as a creditor, holding a large number of shares.

I wasn’t interested in ordinary stock trading or M&A. I was a vulture, circling a dying beast, waiting to feast on its remains.

And to achieve that, I had to push Daehoo to the brink of collapse.

“How much are they offering?”

“23,000 won for electronics and 64,000 won for automobiles.”

“Good. Let’s give them a day to breathe. And then…” My eyes gleamed. “…start selling the shares we bought, little by little.”

They wouldn’t expect us to sell the shares back to them.

“We’ll make a decent profit, since the price has risen significantly. And then, in two days, we launch our own tender offer, at 24,000 won for electronics and 65,000 won for automobiles. We buy back the shares, and when Daehoo raises the price again, we sell. And then we repeat the process, raising the price by 1,000 won each time.”

We could minimize our losses by buying and selling with a fixed amount of capital, while Daehoo, desperate to defend its management control, would be forced to keep buying at ever-increasing prices.

“This is fun. Very fun.”

The tender offer war between Daehoo and the consortium had begun.

They exchanged blows for 20 days, raising the price every one or two days, five rounds each.

Daehoo’s stock price had quadrupled, reaching record highs every day.

“Are they really willing to go all the way?”

Chairman Kim Hoo-joong’s face was haggard, his initial confidence gone.

He had been certain that there were traitors within his company after the consortium raised their tender offer just two days after his initial offer.

They had already spent 100 billion won, and it was clear that they would have to spend much more. Their relentless attacks suggested an internal power struggle.

He had gathered all available funds and bought back shares to defend his management control.

Daehoo’s ownership structure was stronger than ever, but it was a house of cards.

Daehoo, already struggling with a cash shortage, had squeezed out almost 3 trillion won, pushing all its subsidiaries to the brink of collapse.

But the consortium didn’t stop.

They had matched Daehoo’s 3 trillion won investment and launched another tender offer, raising the price by 1,000 won.

“Who are the traitors? They should have given up by now. Why are they still spending so much money?”

They had increased their stake in the ten targeted subsidiaries by over 5%, but they were still aggressive.

“We’ve acquired an additional 5% of the holding company’s shares. It should be almost impossible for them to gain management control, even with the help of friendly shareholders. Why are they still attacking? Do they have another motive?”

He paced back and forth, deep in thought, and then suddenly realized something. “Wait, 5%?”

If Daehoo had acquired 5%, the consortium, having spent a similar amount, should have also acquired 5%.

But any entity acquiring 5% or more of a company’s shares had to disclose its identity to the Financial Supervisory Service.

That’s why hostile takeovers were usually conducted discreetly, acquiring shares below the 5% threshold, and then launching a public tender offer once their identity was revealed.

“If the consortium had acquired 5%, they would have been registered on the shareholder list. But their name isn’t on any of the ten subsidiaries’ lists. What’s going on?”

His face turned pale. “Don’t tell me…”

* * *

“Sir, a massive amount of shares is being sold to us,” Park Jong-bum said.

My eyes gleamed. “How much?”

“100 billion won worth in just five minutes. And it’s still coming.”

There was only one entity in Korea with that many Daehoo shares.

“Chairman Kim Hoo-joong, you’ve finally figured it out.”

We had been selling small amounts of shares every time Daehoo launched a tender offer, so our actual holdings were minimal.

Barely 1%, worth about 600 billion won.

“He’s trying to unload his shares onto us, but it’s not going to work.”

I had anticipated this and was prepared.

“Cancel our tender offer and dump all our shares at once.”

Park Jong-bum said in surprise, “All of them? But we’ll lose a lot of money.”

Dumping 600 billion won worth of shares would cause Daehoo’s stock price to plummet.

“It doesn’t matter. Our loss is nothing compared to theirs.”

If we lost 100 billion won, Daehoo would lose 500 billion won. If we lost 200 billion won, they would lose 1 trillion won.

“It’s still a shame to lose money, isn’t it?”

Even though I was a multi-trillionaire and didn’t care much about money anymore, it still hurt to lose it.

“Then we’ll just have to recoup our losses from Daehoo.”

I smiled slyly.

“Let’s see how long they can last.”