Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 162

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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162. If I focus on growing the business, I can just sit back and collect the profits.

Beneath the bright fluorescent lights.
Seok-won, dressed in athletic shorts and a t-shirt with a headband around his hair, moved with fierce intensity alone in the Indoor Squash Court.

Thwack! Bang! Bang!

Following the white squash ball as it ricocheted off the wall with a loud clatter, Seok-won swung the racket in his hand with all his strength.
The ball caught on the racket flew straight across the court and struck the wall.

“Huff. Huff.”

His breathing grew ragged and his athletic wear clung to his body, drenched in sweat, yet Seok-won maintained his focus without wavering, chasing the ball as he moved back and forth across the court.
After swinging the racket for some time, Seok-won finally struck the ball hard one last time and came to a stop.
Standing still with the racket in hand, Seok-won steadied his breathing and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his wrist band.

“Phew.”

Seok-won shrugged his shoulders once and walked to a corner, picking up the water bottle he’d left on the ground and taking a swig of the ion drink.
As he was wiping his face with a towel he’d set aside, his phone vibrated with a soft buzzing sound.

“Hello.”
[Boss, it’s me.]

Upon answering the call, Seok-won heard Landon Shore’s voice.

“How’s the weather in Paris?”

Seok-won asked, draping the towel over one shoulder.

[It’s been overcast since yesterday, so it’s quite gloomy.]

Following Seok-won’s directive to acquire a company, Landon Shore was in France rather than New York.

“That’s unfortunate.”
[Well, we didn’t come here as tourists anyway, so it’s not a major problem.]
“How did the deal go?”
[We’ve reached a final agreement to acquire GTT for 106 million dollars.]

At the answer he’d been waiting for, Seok-won broke into a deep smile.

“You’ve done well.”
[You instructed me to make the acquisition happen no matter what, even if it meant paying a premium, so we agreed on this price. But I’m a bit concerned we might be buying the company too expensively.]

Landon Shore expressed his concern, but my thoughts were different.

“It may look that way now, but before long it’ll become a cash cow that reliably generates enormous sums every single year.”
[To be honest, it’s hard to believe, but your judgment hasn’t been wrong yet, so I’m hoping this choice works out perfectly this time too.]
“Just wait and see. In a few years, they’ll be beating their chests in regret, wishing they’d sold the company for a pittance.”

There was good reason for Seok-won’s confidence.
The company we were acquiring this time—Gaztransport & Technigaz SA, or GTT for short—wasn’t merely a ship engineering firm; it possessed the core proprietary technology for LNG, or liquefied natural gas, vessels.
LNG cargo holds, which had to withstand external shock and maintain temperatures as low as minus 163 degrees Celsius, couldn’t be constructed haphazardly; they required considerable high-level technical expertise and design.
These LNG cargo hold designs were broadly divided into two types—the Moss type and the Membrane type—and GTT held the patents and proprietary technology for the Membrane type.

‘Right now the Moss type and Membrane type have roughly equal market share, but soon the market will tilt completely toward the Membrane type.’

Unlike the Moss type, which featured completely independent hemispherical cargo holds mounted on top, the Membrane type had a structure where the hull and cargo hold were integrated, making it less susceptible to external influences, allowing for greater LNG capacity, and reducing construction costs.
Despite these numerous advantages, it was surprisingly Korean Shipbuilders who played the decisive role in determining the victor in the competition between the two camps.

‘While Japanese Shipbuilders primarily constructed Moss-type LNG vessels, Korea developed the Membrane type.’

As Korean Shipbuilders achieved victory in the fierce Korea-Japan shipbuilding competition and Japan declined, the Membrane type naturally became the dominant standard for LNG cargo holds.

‘The ironic truth is that while Korea dominated the global shipbuilding market and surged ahead, the company that actually pocketed the profits from behind the scenes was GTT, a French corporation.’

Then Seok-won recalled an incident with Manager Oh from before the regression.

“Geez, this is absolutely ridiculous.”

Manager Oh, sitting in a plastic chair with his feet in triple-striped slippers, dangling them idly while holding open a newspaper, spoke those words, and Seok-won looked up.

“What article are you talking about?”

Manager Oh exhaled smoke through his nose, a cigarette wedged between his fingers.

“Did you see this?”
“Oh, that?”

Seok-won replied casually while applying shoe polish with a cloth wrapped around his fingers.

“What’s the point of building ships while sweating buckets under the blazing summer sun? If we’re paying royalties of hundreds of billions per year, there’s nothing left to profit!”

Seok-won shrugged and responded.

“It’s unfortunate that profits shrink, but what can we do when we lack the foundational technology? We can’t just stop building ships because we resent paying royalties.”
“Tsk. I suppose that’s true.”
“That French company GTT receives the most royalties, doesn’t it?”

As he polished the shoes with practiced efficiency, Manager Oh folded the newspaper and set it aside to answer.

“Right. They say we have to pay GTT 5% of the construction cost as royalties for every LNG carrier we build.”
“I hear LNG carriers are incredibly expensive, so 5% of that is truly remarkable.”
“That’s what they mean when they say the bear does all the work while the king pockets the money.”

Seok-won’s expression grew bitter at those words.

“Getting angry won’t make technology appear overnight—it’ll only give us a headache. Besides, it means our domestic shipbuilders are manufacturing and selling plenty of vessels, so look at it positively. Isn’t that why articles like this appear?”
“Sigh. You’re right. Getting worked up won’t change anything.”
“For now we pay royalties to build LNG carriers, but someday we’ll build ships using technology we developed ourselves.”
“I just hope we don’t end up only benefiting others. I really hope that day comes.”

Manager Oh made a clicking sound and put the cigarette back in his mouth.
Having finished polishing one shoe, Seok-won set it down and picked up the other, glancing sideways at the newspaper as he spoke.

“Sitting around collecting hundreds of billions in royalties every year—that’s really enviable.”
“Hmm, it sure is.”

Manager Oh continued, wiggling his toes.

“It’s annoying how quickly things move, but that’s how you have to insert the straw.”
“I suppose so.”

Seok-won continued polishing his shoes, envying him inwardly.

Having recalled that far, Seok-won murmured to himself internally.

‘And now I’m the one who’ll be drinking from that straw instead of France.’

Just thinking about hundreds of billions of won flowing in steadily each year filled me with a sense of security.

[Boss?]
“Ah, I was lost in thought and didn’t hear you. What did you say?”
[I asked if we should proceed with the contract as is.]
“Let’s do it that way.”
[Understood. Then I’ll meet with GTT again tomorrow and sign the contract.]
“Contact me again once everything is wrapped up.”
[I will.]

Landon Shore continued, apparently with more to discuss.

[Oh, and Yahoo has reached out regarding additional investment.]

Seok-won furrowed his brow and asked.

“But it hasn’t even been a month since we invested. What do you mean?”
[Apparently the representative of a Japanese IT company called SoftBank came directly and proposed an investment.]

The moment he heard this, Seok-won immediately recognized that, just as history had unfolded before his regression, Jo Jung-gwang—or rather, Jo Masahiro—had sought out Yahoo’s founders.

[Well, he evaluated Yahoo’s corporate value at forty million dollars and said he’d invest, which is quite something.]

Landon Shore spoke with an air of disbelief, but knowing that Jo Jung-gwang would invest an additional hundred million dollars the very next year after his first investment and acquire an additional 29% stake in Yahoo, it didn’t sound like bluffing at all.

“So what did they say?”
[They said they’d give more money, so Yahoo has no reason to refuse. According to the right of first refusal clause, they said if we don’t wish to make additional investments on the same terms, they’ll accept SoftBank’s proposal.]
“Did they mention how much the investment would be specifically?”
[We’d need to negotiate the exact amount, but it seems Yahoo is thinking around two million dollars for approximately 5% equity.]

With the phone pressed to his ear, Seok-won nodded thoughtfully.

“We already hold 40% of the shares. The founders won’t be thrilled about another major investor appearing.”
[That’s likely. The more investment they take in, the more their stakes inevitably dilute.]

“Is Yahoo facing a capital shortage?”
[It hasn’t been that long since they received our investment. That’s unlikely.]

Landon Shore immediately denied it.

“Even so, the fact that they’re seeking additional investment despite favorable terms might suggest they’re trying to bring in other investors to counterbalance us.”
[I hadn’t considered that angle, but now that you mention it, that’s quite possible.]

Though co-founders Patrick Chang and Randy Grossman each held over 30% in shares—a controlling stake—the company would need multiple rounds of additional investment to continue scaling.
Inevitably, their ownership would become diluted over time.

‘As their stakes shrink, they’ll feel increasingly vulnerable, and the fear of losing control will only grow.’

There was precedent enough—Steve Nolan, who founded Apple, had been forced out of his own company, a scandal that had shaken Silicon Valley. It wasn’t an impossibility at all.
After a moment’s consideration, Seok-won spoke again.

“Even if we pass on this round, the right of first refusal remains in place, correct?”
[Yes, it does.]
“If we block other investors and try to grab more shares ourselves, Patrick and Randy will only grow more suspicious. This time, let’s step back.”
[Understood.]

Landon Shore, who already thought Yahoo’s valuation at forty million dollars was absurdly inflated, accepted without hesitation.

“But make it clear—we won’t allow anyone to take more than 5% of the shares.”
[Yes.]

Landon Shore acknowledged and posed another question.

[SoftBank has apparently expressed interest in the exclusive Asian distribution rights we hold. How should we handle that?]

Seok-won smiled, flashing white teeth as if he’d anticipated exactly this.

“Tell them we have no intention of transferring it.”
[I’ll do that.]

After the call ended, Seok-won pulled the phone away from his ear and murmured softly to himself.

“Even if I said I wouldn’t hand it over, Jo Jung-gwang isn’t the type to give up so easily.”

He was certain that Jo Jung-gwang would come looking for him, because the exclusive rights to Asia that Seok-won possessed were just as valuable as the Yahoo shares—if not more so.

“I have no intention of running a portal service business directly in Japan, but I can’t simply hand over the exclusive rights that will become my golden goose.”

When I invested in Yahoo, I deliberately secured the exclusive Asian rights precisely for this moment.

“I don’t need to invest my own time and passion—Jo Jung-gwang will work hard to grow the business, and I’ll simply collect the profits from behind the scenes.”

As I said this, a deep smile spread across my lips.

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