Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 23

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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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23. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Two days later, the 31st floor of One New York Plaza, Manhattan.
While the beautiful vista of the East River unfolded beyond the expansive windows, the traders of Eldorado Fund sat at their spacious desks, surrounded by multiple monitors, conducting transactions with frantic intensity.
The stock commanding their concentrated buying efforts was NCR—the company AT&T sought to absorb through merger.

“Buy twenty thousand shares at fifty-seven dollars!”
“Fifty-seven dollars and eleven cents! Insane! It’s already jumped.”
“Just buy at market price!”

The moment the order was placed, the purchase executed instantly.
As they swept up the available shares, the stock price crept steadily upward.
Landon, dressed in a fine silk necktie and crisp white shirt, stepped out of his office and gazed at the enormous market ticker mounted on the wall.
Then, like a commander surveying the battlefield, he rose from his position and approached Andrew, who was barking out instructions to the traders in a commanding voice.

“At this rate, NCR’s stock price will break fifty-eight dollars today.”

Andrew turned his head to look at Landon, his arms folded across his chest.
In his tailored vest and rolled-up shirt sleeves, Andrew carried the same vibrant intensity he’d displayed during his Goldman Sachs days.

“With such substantial accumulation volumes, a certain degree of price movement is inevitable.”
“True enough. We’ve purchased over seven hundred million dollars’ worth of stock so far—if the price didn’t move, that would be the real anomaly.”

Landon nodded in agreement, and Andrew corrected him in a measured tone.

“We’ve exceeded eight hundred million dollars with additional purchases this morning.”
“You’ve already accumulated that much more?”

Landon stared at Andrew in astonishment, his expression one of admiration.
With NCR’s market capitalization hovering around three point eight billion dollars, eight hundred million represented nearly a twenty percent stake.
Accumulating such a volume in merely two weeks was remarkable enough, but the fact that the stock had risen only sixteen percent was nothing short of extraordinary.
While Landon marveled openly, Andrew, his expression unchanged, habitually reached into a container on his desk and popped a peppermint into his mouth, crunching it between his teeth.

“Until now, things have proceeded relatively smoothly, but others are beginning to sense something amiss. Our average purchase price will inevitably rise from here.”

That was something I had already factored in from the beginning.

“Expecting them not to notice when we’re accumulating this many shares is frankly absurd. Besides, the boss already told us to fill the target volume below an average price of seventy dollars, so we just need to stick to that.”
“Still, since this is our first chance to prove ourselves, we should cut it off below sixty dollars.”

Andrew’s wounded pride was evident, and Landon flashed a sly smile.

“Even better if you do.”

Suddenly, a ripple of commotion spread through the trading floor as if someone had hurled a stone into still water.

“Uh, uh…”
“Is this real?”

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Andrew’s brow furrowed and his voice rose sharply.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

Mason, seated in front, turned around and answered urgently.

“Bloomberg just broke the news—AT&T is acquiring NCR!”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he quickly leaned forward to check the Bloomberg terminal on his desk.

[December 10, 1992
AT&T announces acquisition of NCR at $105 per share, total value $8 billion.
The acquisition is expected to allow AT&T to expand into the computer sector and establish itself as a leading company in hardware, software, and services.]

After confirming the breaking news, Andrew looked up at the market ticker board mounted on the wall.
Sure enough.
The moment Bloomberg released the news, NCR’s stock price shot up vertically like a rocket being launched.
It breached sixty dollars in an instant, and traders erupted in shouts from every corner.

“Damn it. What is this!”
“All the selling pressure just dried up.”
“This is absolutely insane.”

The moment the M&A news hit, every share on the market vanished as if by magic.
Meanwhile, buy orders for NCR stock poured in explosively.
NCR’s stock price surged past sixty dollars and shot up to seventy dollars in a single leap.

“Seventy dollars! Can you believe it?”
“How much higher is it going to climb?”
“Damn it, even at this price there’s nothing to buy.”

The explosive surge had brought some selling pressure, but the moment shares appeared, buy orders flooded in from all directions, and they vanished in the blink of an eye.
With the Bloomberg flash news spreading that AT&T would acquire shares at $105 per share, it was only natural that the stock price would soar all the way to the acquisition price.
Watching the traders floundering in the rapidly shifting market conditions, Andrew clapped his hands loudly to get everyone’s attention.

Clap!
“Everyone, listen up!”

The traders stopped their murmuring and turned to look at Andrew.
Having captured their attention all at once, Andrew straightened his voice and spoke with firm resolve.

“Stop all buying orders immediately.”

The unexpected instruction caught everyone off guard.
Mason raised his hand, asking with a confused expression.

“But we haven’t reached our target volume yet. Are you sure that’s alright?”

The other traders also shook their heads, regarding Andrew with bewildered looks.
Landon, standing nearby, was equally curious.

“A major catalyst has triggered this surge, and if we keep pouring in buy orders, the stock price will completely overshoot.”

There was still roughly $200 million in buying capital remaining in the account.
Just as Andrew said, with selling pressure already drying up and buy orders exploding, if the Eldorado Fund pushed in the remaining capital, it would be like pouring oil on an already raging fire.

“So everyone, stop placing orders and just monitor market movements until the situation stabilizes!”

Andrew looked around at the traders and spoke in a stern voice.

“You all understand what I’m saying, right?”
“…Yes, understood.”

The traders understood, but their expressions showed a hint of deflation.
They had been building momentum, and to suddenly halt without properly closing out left them with an unsatisfying feeling.

“Alright. Everyone go grab some beer from the break room fridge and cool your heads for a bit.”

Andrew waved his hand dismissively, lightening the mood with ease.
The traders, who had been wound tight as springs conducting the transaction mere moments before, exchanged uncertain glances with one another before gradually releasing the tension from their shoulders.
About half of them settled leisurely into their chairs and stared at the monitors, while the rest either headed toward the break room to grab a beer as Andrew had suggested or stepped outside for a cigarette.
Watching this unfold, Landon turned to Andrew with a worried expression.

“Are we really stopping the stock accumulation here?”
“What do you mean? We’re not far from our target. We still need to fill the remaining billion dollars.”

Landon was momentarily at a loss for words at such a casual response.

“But why did you halt the purchases just now?”

Andrew reached into the container on his desk and bit into a peppermint candy.

“As you can see, the stock price is overshooting right now, and more importantly, there’s no volume available even if we wanted to buy.”
“Then shouldn’t we push the price higher and acquire the shares anyway?”

As Landon asked anxiously, Andrew glanced toward the market ticker installed on the wall before responding.

“If we do that, our carefully lowered average cost will skyrocket. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes doing nothing is the better move.”
“But what if we completely miss the buying opportunity?”

When their eyes met, Landon’s anxiety evident, Andrew’s lips curled into a knowing smile.

“That won’t happen.”
“What?”

Landon’s expression showed incomprehension.

“Right now, everyone’s rushing in on the M&A news, but once the excitement settles in a few days, they’ll gradually regain their senses.”

Landon tilted his head in thought before his eyes suddenly brightened.

“Ah! Once they realize the M&A could fall through, the inflated stock price will drop again, won’t it?”
“Yes.”

Andrew nodded in agreement.

“The $105 per share price is only achievable if the M&A goes through. It won’t be long before shares start appearing on the market again from those who’ve been lying low.”

Some shareholders would have the audacity to hold their stocks until the very end, but there were certainly many who would want to cash in their gains when the stock price surged.

“When those sellers try to offload their positions, if we acquire those shares, we should be able to fill our entire position without raising our average cost too much.”

I’d known Andrew was skilled, but this transaction had revealed his true caliber.
Landon nodded and stopped offering any objections to Andrew’s opinions, keeping silent instead.

* * *

[…So we’ve decided to pause stock accumulation for now.]

Seok-won, who had parked his bicycle against the side of the dormitory building, nodded quietly as he listened to Landon’s explanation over the phone.

“That’s better than rushing in and buying at inflated prices.”
[I agree. Just because an M&A announcement comes out doesn’t mean the acquisition happens immediately—the necessary procedures will take at least several months. During that time, there will definitely be shareholders feeling anxious or wanting to realize their gains.]
“That’s true.”

Seok-won smiled with satisfaction at the agreement.

“Usually when situations like this arise, people make mistakes out of impatience, but you’ve handled it calmly and well. I think I can trust Andrew with the fund trading going forward.”
[We should observe the results further, but at least he doesn’t seem incompetent.]

Landon was cautious by nature, but he shared similar thoughts with Seok-won.

“I’ll be back in Korea by year-end, so keep that in mind and contact me immediately if anything changes.”
[Are you returning to your home country during the break?]
“Yes.”
[Understood. Have a safe trip.]
“I’ll be in touch again.”

After ending the call, Seok-won tucked his phone into his backpack and murmured to himself.

“Andrew’s abilities seem to exceed expectations.”

Having talented people under you was always a source of satisfaction.
As Seok-won locked the front wheel of his bicycle with an anti-theft lock and entered the dormitory building, the Dormitory Manager, who had been organizing something in the spacious living room, greeted him familiarly.

“Seok-won. You have a package.”
“What is it?”
“Just wait a moment.”

The Dormitory Manager left and soon returned, cradling what appeared to be a heavy bundle of packages.

“Here it is.”

Taking the package bundle, I checked the return address written on the surface.

[New York 303E… Daeheung Group’s Americas branch]

I could roughly guess what was inside.

“Thank you.”

I thanked the Dormitory Manager and headed upstairs to my room with the package bundle.
When I arrived at my door and pulled out my key to insert it into the lock, I muttered upon seeing that it was already unlocked and ajar.

“What? He’s already here?”

I grasped the doorknob, which turned without resistance, and stepped inside to find Roy sprawled limply across the bed, just as I’d expected.

“You’re back.”

I set the package bundle down on the desk along with my backpack and placed one hand on my hip.

“What’s wrong? Why do you look like you’re dying?”
“Damn it. I got F’s in two classes.”

Roy clutched his pillow in anguish and rolled across the bed.

“What am I supposed to say?”

At my indifferent response, Roy suddenly sat up, his voice tinged with resentment.

“Hey! How can you talk like it’s none of your business when I got F’s?”
“Before you complain, maybe you should reflect on your own conduct. You skip classes like it’s nothing, so isn’t it strange that you’d expect decent grades?”

Roy, beaten down by facts, could only pout without immediately firing back a rebuttal.

“Fine. I’m the crazy one for expecting comfort from you.”
“Are you sulking?”
“What are you talking about? I’m not sulking!”

Watching him clutch the pillow tightly and abruptly turn his back, I couldn’t tell if he was a university student or a petulant seven-year-old.

“Just fill in the gaps next semester. If that doesn’t work, you can postpone graduation and take summer classes instead, so don’t be too disheartened.”
“Is that what you call comfort, you bastard?”

Roy frowned, but it didn’t intimidate me one bit.

“That’s what you get for not doing well in the first place.”
“Enough already!”

Roy hurled the pillow onto the bed with a thud and huffed indignantly, his shoulders trembling.

“Damn it. I’m so fed up—maybe I should just quit school and make a living assembling computers instead.”
“Well, that’s not necessarily a bad idea.”

Roy looked at me incredulously, though he had no real intention of actually dropping out of Harvard.

“What kind of friend are you, not talking me out of it and actually encouraging it?”
“It’s your choice anyway. And who knows? Maybe you’ll build and sell assembled computers as a business, become a billionaire in ten years.”

With Dell Computer as a shining example already in existence, I wasn’t just throwing out a joke.
But Roy, unaware of this fact, glared at me with an annoyed expression before letting out a long sigh.

“Ugh. Forget it! What do I expect from a cool guy like you?”

Roy grumbled as he got up from the bed and pulled on the jacket draped over the desk chair.

“Where are you going?”
“Since I’m already in a foul mood, I’m going to grab a beer.”

Roy walked out of the room without another word.
As the door closed with a soft click, I smacked my lips and scratched the back of my head.

“Maybe I was too harsh.”

It felt strange to see someone who always carried himself with such composure now showing visible signs of distress.
Even though he deserved it, I felt a twinge of regret for not delivering the words more gently, so I shook my head to dismiss the thought.

“No. That guy needs a shock to snap him back to reality.”

I removed my coat and hung it in the wardrobe, then unwrapped the package that had been sitting on my desk.
As I peeled away the paper wrapping, a bundle of newspapers came into view.
Since this wasn’t an era where I could instantly access Korean news online, I’d asked Son Dong-sung, the branch manager who had visited the school last time, to send me domestic newspapers like this every week.
After untying the string that bound the papers together, I picked up the newspaper on top and furrowed my brow.

“I wish the internet would hurry up and arrive. Having to receive and read newspapers like this one by one is such a hassle.”

Beyond the inconvenience of the process itself, the fact that I couldn’t see what happened on the same day and had to wait several days to learn about events was incredibly frustrating.
As I flipped through the newspaper, my eyes suddenly widened when I spotted an article headline that caught my attention.

“Huh?”

[Daeheung Group Acquires Taesan Securities!]

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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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