After the Divorce, I Found a Thousand Bitcoins - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Got Divorced and Found a Thousand Bitcoins Episode 107

A total of 5 Dash logistics centers were put up for sale.

“The logistics centers that have come up for sale so far are 5 locations including Incheon, North Cheonan, and South Daejeon, and if all properties are combined, the cost is expected to be around 1.5 trillion won.”

“Currently, Dash is expected to take a sale and leaseback strategy where they sell these properties to a REIT jointly created with Beta Asset Management and then Dash leases them back.”

If Dash liquidates the logistics centers, Dash’s operations will become difficult.

That’s why they chose a sale and leaseback strategy that allows them to secure cash while continuing to use the logistics centers.

“Is there no possibility that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will block this transaction?”

Lee Gi-cheol answered Kang Hyeon’s question.

“It seems the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has internally decided not to approve the REIT authorization.”

“What action would Dash take if REIT authorization is not granted?”

“There’s a possibility they’ll take a sale and leaseback strategy again through a private equity fund. In this case, they’d have to sell at a distressed price, so it’s likely Dash, who urgently needs cash, will put this as a lower priority.”

“Second, there’s a possibility they’ll issue commercial paper using assets as collateral. They’ll naturally try to secure sufficient cash by using the logistics centers as collateral.”

“If both strategies fail for any reason, they might sell only the core logistics centers. Of the 1.5 trillion won value of the currently listed logistics centers, 1 trillion won should actually be viewed as the value of Incheon and South Daejeon.”

The team members quickly presented Dash’s future strategies.

Kang Hyeon wrote them down on paper while pondering which strategy Dash would choose.

‘If I were working for Dash, which strategy would be the best and which strategy would be the worst move?’

Kang Hyeon decided to think from a different perspective.

Currently, he was a Dash executive who needed to secure money in the trillions.

The higher-ups said it was okay to liquidate the logistics centers, so they were trying to organize around that.

After making this assumption and falling into thought, something amazing happened.

‘Huh?’

Light began emanating from the word “Dash” written on the paper, spreading in all directions and reaching the three scenarios.

The scenarios also emitted light, appearing in red, blue, and gray respectively.

This meant one thing.

‘If I were a Dash executive, this method would be the most beneficial? And this method would be the most damaging.’

The most beneficial direction was to sell to a private equity fund and take a sale and leaseback strategy.

Common sense also suggested this would be the best option if REIT authorization was rejected.

They might have to pay somewhat higher rent than REITs, but they could still minimize losses.

“If they issue commercial paper with collateral as the second method, can Dash handle the interest?”

“Considering Dash’s current sales, it seems possible, but overall profits would decrease. That’s why the second method seems like it would be chosen last.”

“What about the third?”

“The third is the lesser of evils. Dash’s biggest strength lies in fast delivery, but losing two major hubs could naturally cause delivery delays. Still, immediate cash conversion is possible and outgoing expenses would also decrease.”

In other words, the third method had a high possibility of slowly withering away.

So for them to make the best choice, they had to go with the first method.

The problem was whether there was a place that could pay trillions and take the logistics centers as collateral.

‘If we don’t limit it to domestic but look globally, there are many such places. The question is whether the government will approve this.’

If they could just block this, he thought they might be able to acquire Dash’s logistics centers at a cheap price.

* * *

Minister Park Do-kyeong received a call from Kang Hyeon.

“Yes, Chairman Choi.”

-I contacted you because I have something to ask.

“Please speak comfortably.”

-Does the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plan to refuse REIT authorization for Dash’s logistics centers?

“Yes. The government is reacting very sensitively to this Dash situation. Since they moved the U.S. Government, just taking it would set a bad precedent.”

If the Government of South Korea backed down in this situation, it would set a bad precedent.

Foreign companies would likely lobby the United States, do business in South Korea, and pressure the government to create structures beneficial to themselves.

The government intended to block this in advance.

-Then could you talk with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to also block transferring the logistics centers to foreign private equity funds?

“Foreign private equity funds?”

-Yes. If REIT authorization is rejected, Dash will try to secure funds through other methods. One of those methods is a sale and leaseback strategy of transferring logistics centers to private equity funds and leasing them.

“Transferring logistics centers of this scale to foreign entities requires approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. So I think we can block it, but won’t they try other methods?”

-That’s what I’m hoping for.

Hearing Kang Hyeon’s answer, Minister Park nodded.

“Understood. As I mentioned, the government will provide maximum support. So please secure Dash’s market share.”

-Yes. Understood.

After hanging up, Minister Park thought for a moment then called somewhere.

“Yes, Minister Kim. This is Park Do-kyeong. Do you have a moment?”

He began preparations to support Kang Hyeon.

* * *

Kim Jae-beom’s office.

Having fled abroad, he listened to daily reports and was extremely enraged.

“What the hell are you talking about?! All the private equity funds refused to purchase?!”

“That… we contacted all the private equity funds connected to us, but they all refused the deal.”

“We clearly offered the condition of a 20-year lease, didn’t we?”

“Yes. Moreover, we offered rent 20 percent higher than normal rent and included renegotiation clauses for rent every 5 years, but it didn’t lead to a deal.”

“What is this…”

This was absurd.

1.5 trillion won was a lot of money, but private equity funds were places that would jump into any deal for money.

Yet they all rejected such favorable terms.

He couldn’t help but think something was up.

Then his secretary handed him a document.

“This is a JP Morgan report recently issued on Wall Street. This might be the cause.”

“A JP Morgan report? About us?”

“Yes. The content states that Dash’s current situation of conflict with the Government of South Korea is unstable.”

“What?”

Kim Jae-beom took the document and read through the content.

The report was indeed written expressing concerns about Dash’s future.

“What is this? Why is JP Morgan suddenly attacking us?”

“That far…”

“Don’t we have connections to JP Morgan?”

“…No. In the United States, we mainly lobbied the White House, and there was no particular reason to create connections with JP Morgan, a global investment bank…”

“Damn it!”

If they were going global in the future, they would need financial connections, so there was a need to create ties with JP Morgan, but there was no reason to do so in the current situation.

That’s why not having connections to JP Morgan became the problem.

“Use our connections to somehow establish ties with JP Morgan!”

“Understood.”

With the trusted private equity fund sale falling through, Kim Jae-beom was driven to the edge of a cliff.

* * *

The sale of Dash logistics centers was blocked by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Thanks to this, they tried to sell through private equity funds, but this was also obstructed from various directions.

One of them was JP Morgan’s report.

Of course, this was a report that came out because Kang Hyeon asked Richard for it.

“Richard, thank you. It was an unreasonable request, but you handled it quickly.”

-Haha, we just received a decent report and distributed it to our clients.

“Thank you for saying that. I’ll see you in the United States soon.”

-Good. I’ll prepare some good liquor.

After hanging up with Richard, Kang Hyeon’s gaze turned to the monitor.

It contained information about what strategies Dash would choose going forward.

‘For the next two months, Dash will have no choice but to push hard to raise funds.’

Users were already moving to file lawsuits against Dash.

The reason users could move this quickly was simple.

‘They’ve already developed immunity from frequent personal information breaches, and they know exactly how to respond.’

Moreover, the legal field had systematized their approach as data accumulated from such mass lawsuits.

This allowed the legal community to quickly step in, gather victims, and process lawsuits all at once for rapid handling.

‘They’re holding out for now, but they’ll have to present a compensation plan soon. The question is whether they have that much cash on hand.’

No matter how global Dashi was, losing trillions in cash all at once would be a major blow.

Even if they could handle the compensation plan, the cash outflows afterward would likely be problematic.

In the end, they would likely move toward liquidating their logistics centers.

‘If the logistics centers go on the market, we’ll acquire them.’

Even if they bought the logistics centers and then leased them out again, it would be profitable enough.

‘I’d like to jump into logistics, but acquiring just two or three centers would be difficult.’

Even acquiring all the centers Dashi put up would be somewhat of a stretch.

To dominate the entire market, they needed a different approach – without solving that, entering logistics would be difficult.

Just then, Lee Gi-cheol sent over a report.

[I’ve been thinking about ways to create synergy when we secure Dash’s logistics centers.]

After checking the message that came with the report, Kang Hyeon immediately opened it to review the contents.

[For KH Group to enter logistics and distribution, we need not only to acquire Dash’s logistics centers but also make additional investments.

To this end, we should actively discuss pursuing the acquisition of Life Plus, which is currently being sold.]

The acquisition of Life Plus.

The moment he saw that, Kang Hyeon’s eyes lit up.

‘This is…’

Golden light emanating from the words “Life Plus” spread in all directions, pointing toward logistics centers.

This meant one thing.

‘The acquisition of Dash’s logistics centers and Life Plus would create synergy?’

Life Plus was one of the leading offline large discount stores in the country.

Though classified as one of the nation’s top three large discount store chains, it had failed under private equity fund management and was currently undergoing personal rehabilitation.

Its scale was approximately 7 trillion won.

However, the consensus was that the actual investment required would be decided at around 1 trillion won.

‘If we could acquire Life Plus, wouldn’t that essentially create logistics centers in major cities nationwide?’

The possibility was substantial.

Given the nature of large discount stores, Life Plus stores were located in major cities across all eight provinces.

Stopping his deliberation, he immediately picked up the internal phone to contact Lee Gi-cheol.

“Team Manager Lee, please come to my office right now.”

It was time to seriously discuss this matter.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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