Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 230

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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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230. Let’s have us acquire Nolan’s stake.

Outside the expansive penthouse living room, snow fell in pristine white sheets as Seok-won, freshly returned from Miami, sat beside Landon Shore on the plush sofa.

“So you’re saying that under Jeff Collier’s leadership as interim CEO, the company has no future, and he’s looking to sell off all his shares?”

Landon Shore, seated to the left, nodded and replied.

“Precisely. Despite the difficult circumstances, he recently succeeded in issuing corporate bonds worth 661 million dollars through Goldman Sachs, which breathed new life into Apple’s dwindling coffers. However, it appears he’s lost internal trust and faces considerable backlash.”
“Is that because of the recent large-scale restructuring?”
“Yes. While it was necessary for cost reduction, laying off six thousand employees at once and eliminating numerous unprofitable projects would naturally have repercussions. It would be strange if there weren’t any.”

Landon Shore continued with a shrug.

“It’s true that Apple has been run with considerable laxity, and given the precarious state of the company, restructuring was inevitable. Moreover, Steve Nolan played no small role in worsening Apple’s financial situation.”
“Apple did spend quite a bit acquiring NeXT, the computer company Nolan founded.”
“Out of the 420 million dollars, some was replaced with treasury stock being sold this time, but they still spent 380 million dollars in cash. With their already strained finances, this acquisition must have nearly broken their back.”

Seok-won, leaning back into the plush sofa, responded in agreement.

“By simple calculation, they’ve spent half the funds generated from the bond issuance, so that tracks.”
“When Jeff Collier learns that Steve Nolan, who took on such massive losses to bring Apple back into the fold, is now looking to sell off all the stock he received in kind, the CEO’s head will surely ache terribly.”

It was a move that poured cold water on Apple’s desperate efforts to rise again—surely it would make him tremble with a sense of betrayal.

Then Seok-won suddenly furrowed his brow and pondered internally.

‘But did Apple’s decline really progress this quickly?’

The once-solid fortress was crumbling under mismanagement and arrogance, yet as the saying goes, even the wealthy can survive three years of ruin. If his memory served correctly, Apple had stumbled along for several more years.

‘By my recollection, it should have been around next year when Jeff Collier stepped down and Steve Nolan returned as Apple’s CEO.’

Now that he thought about it, Jeff Collier’s appointment as interim CEO had also come sooner than before.

‘This must be another butterfly effect from my interference.’

As he did, Seok-won recalled an incident from long ago involving Manager Oh.

Vroom!

A scooter came roaring up with a loud engine noise and came to a stop in front of the Shoe Repair Shop.
A young man who appeared to be just over twenty years old descended, still wearing his helmet, carrying a metal delivery box with “Bokseong-gak” written in red letters.
As he approached the Shoe Repair Shop with its sliding door left open, Manager Oh, who was sitting inside with one leg propped up, wiggled his feet clad in athlete’s foot socks and spoke.

“When did I order this? Why are you just getting here now?”
“You don’t know how backed up orders get during lunch hour. If you don’t want to wait, call ahead next time.”

The young man matched Manager Oh’s blunt tone and set down the metal box.
As Seok-won removed two bowls of jjajangmyeon and complimentary fried dumplings from the box, placing them on the table he’d already lined with newspaper, the young man grumbled.

“If you want to ask for extra dumplings as a courtesy, at least order something more expensive. What’s two regular ones?”
“Hey, I’ve been a regular at that place for ten years—they should naturally throw in free dumplings.”
“What good is being a ten-year regular? You only ever order jjajangmyeon, and there’s no real profit in it.”
“Still, I order sweet and sour pork sometimes.”
“Oh. Sure. Such an expensive dish.”

Manager Oh deliberately pretended not to hear and changed the subject.

“I asked for extra pickled radish and onions—didn’t you bring them?”

The young man then pulled out another container of pickled radish wrapped in plastic from the metal box.

“Here you go.”

While he complained verbally, he still thoughtfully provided what was asked for—it was unclear whether they had a good relationship or a bad one.

“Once you’re done eating, just leave the bowls outside.”
“Got it.”

As Seok-won nodded, the young man extended his hand toward Manager Oh again.

“Two regular jjajangmyeon comes to nine thousand won.”
“Okay.”

Manager Oh pulled out a ten-thousand-won bill from his wallet and let out a weary sigh.

“Back in the day, a bowl only cost twenty-five hundred won. Where am I supposed to find something cheaper to eat?”
“Prices keep rising, so we need to make some profit too.”

As the young man replied and offered a thousand-won coin in change, Manager Oh picked up the jjajangmyeon bowl and stirred it with a wooden chopstick, nodding slightly.

“Keep it for yourself.”
“Thank you.”

The young man quickly pocketed the thousand won and stood up with a grin.

“Enjoy your meal then.”

With that, the sound of a scooter engine rumbled to life, and the young man rode off into the distance.

“What are you doing? Eat before the noodles get cold.”

Manager Oh picked up a piece of pickled radish with his chopsticks, popped it into his mouth, and urged me to come sit down quickly.

“I’ll enjoy it.”
“Good.”

Seok-won removed the cotton gloves from his hands and sat across from him, lifting the jjajangmyeon bowl. Just then, a song ended on the radio sitting to one side, and a female MC’s voice came through.

[Not long ago, Harvard Business Review published some very interesting research results. Steve Nolan, who passed away last November, ranked first as the executive who raised stock value the most. Steve Nolan, who was once ousted from the company he founded, returned in 1997 and raised Apple’s market capitalization to 359 billion dollars before sadly passing away. During his tenure, he recorded an average annual stock return of 35 percent—truly remarkable. Second place goes to Amazon….]

“Hmm.”

Manager Oh picked up a dumpling with his wooden chopstick, dipped it in soy sauce, and suddenly spoke up.

“Nolan may have been an icon of innovation and run his company well, but he had no talent for building personal wealth.”
“But he grew Apple’s market cap from near collapse to that level—how can you say he had no talent for making money?”

Seok-won furrowed his brow at this incomprehensible remark.
Manager Oh then popped the dumpling into his mouth and chewed as he spoke.

“Do you know how much wealth Nolan left behind when he died?”

It was a major issue for quite some time after his death, so Seok-won answered immediately.

“They say it’s over 7 billion dollars. In Korean won, that’s close to 8 trillion. Wow, it’s an amount I can barely even imagine.”
“What do you think made up a significant portion of that inheritance?”
“Well, since he was the founder of Apple and served as chairman for so long, it must be Apple stock.”

Manager Oh chuckled softly and shook his head as if he’d expected that answer.

“No.”
“…?”
“Two-thirds of the inheritance is Disney stock, and the rest is Apple shares.”
“Disney? Why would Disney suddenly come up here?”

Seok-won stared at him with a puzzled expression.

“Like they mentioned on the radio earlier, Nolan was actually forced out of Apple at one point.”
“Really?”
“He was so furious that he sold all his Apple stock. With that money, he founded a computer company called NeXT, and later even acquired a company called Pixar that made animations.”

Seok-won, now absorbed in the story, spoke with understanding.

“Looking back, it seems like such a waste, but if I were him, I’d have been so angry I wouldn’t have even wanted to look at Apple.”
“But here’s the thing—Apple later acquired NeXT.”
“Really?”

Seok-won’s face lit up with intrigue at this unfamiliar piece of history.

“Yes. And he sold it for no less than 420 million dollars, part of which he received as 1.5 million Apple shares.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”

Seok-won’s mouth fell open in amazement.

“But here’s the funny part—he sold all those Apple shares he’d received not long after.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Unlike how well Apple is doing now, back then the company was on the brink of collapse. Nobody knew if it would survive another day.”

Seok-won nodded and chimed in agreement.

“I find it hard to believe, but I’ve heard there was such a time.”
“From what Nolan saw upon his return as an advisor, he judged that the management at the time would have difficulty reviving Apple, so he sold his shares. But most people believe the real reason was a kind of power struggle between the existing management and Nolan.”
“Well, having been kicked out once before, it would be difficult for them to get along.”
“If he had simply held onto the shares he sold off in those two transactions, the world’s richest person probably wouldn’t have been Christopher Alexander or George Millan—it would have been Steve Nolan.”

I mentally calculated the value of the Apple stock Steve Nolan had sold off in those two transactions, then nodded my head.

“That really could have been the case.”
“Well, even after selling it all off, he left behind 5.55 million Apple shares when he died. Maybe he didn’t regret it that much.”
“Did he buy them back later?”
“If that were the case, there’d be no point talking about it. They were all received as stock options, which makes it even more painful.”

Manager Oh grumbled that money has a way of flowing in for those blessed with fortune, even when they do nothing.
As I listened to the story with an expression of great envy, a sudden thought occurred to me, and I asked.

“Then where did the Disney stock come from?”
“I mentioned earlier that after leaving Apple, he ran two companies.”
“Yes. And you said Apple acquired NeXT.”
“Disney bought the other one, Pixar. When he sold it for 7.4 billion dollars, he received 138 million Disney shares and became Disney’s largest shareholder.”
“Nolan was Disney’s largest shareholder?”

I spoke with a startled expression.
The combination of Nolan, famous for being meticulous and perfectionist, with Disney, which protects children’s innocence.
No matter how I thought about it, it was an unlikely pairing, which made it all the more surprising.

“That’s right. Two of America’s largest corporations were essentially in Nolan’s hands.”
“Looking at it that way, Steve Nolan really was an extraordinary person.”

After answering that way, I suddenly looked down at the bowl in my hand and let out a cry.

“Oh no. My jjajangmyeon!”
“I told you to eat it before it got cold.”
“Ugh. I wasn’t paying attention. It’s completely hardened.”

Manager Oh chuckled, saying it was my own doing, and popped the last piece of pickled radish into his mouth.

Having been lost in reminiscence for a moment, I pushed the memories to the back of my mind and tapped the sofa armrest with my fingertips.

“They didn’t make this acquisition proposal to us alone, did they?”
“We’ve confirmed they made the same proposal to other major investment funds and pension funds.”
“What price are they asking for the sale?”
“Fifteen dollars per share.”
“So that comes to roughly twenty-two million five hundred thousand dollars.”
“That’s correct.”

Landon Shore’s eyes narrowed slightly, his expression turning skeptical.

“It’s about ten percent below the current market price, but given Apple’s dire situation—so bleak that even the founder is divesting his stake—I think we should simply decline.”

Wall Street’s view of Apple was that of a once-glorious vessel slowly sinking into the depths, and his reaction was entirely natural.

‘Of course, I know Apple will eventually resurrect itself and become the first company to break through a three trillion dollar market capitalization, but even so, fifteen dollars per share isn’t a bargain price.’

If I waited just a bit longer, Apple’s situation would deteriorate further and the stock would plummet below ten dollars per share, so there was no need to overpay for the stake now.
The reason I was acquiring stakes in other companies like Microsoft and Cisco while leaving Apple alone was precisely this calculation.

‘But the problem is that the person offering the stake is none other than Steve Nolan.’

The thought that this transaction might be an opportunity to build a good relationship with Nolan made me stroke my chin thoughtfully.
Then I looked at Landon and spoke.

“Let’s acquire Nolan’s stake for ourselves.”

Landon’s expression shifted to one of surprise, apparently not expecting such a decision.

“It’s a company that’s been left behind in the internet boom heating up the stock market, and its performance is poor. Is there really a need to acquire the stake?”
“I think it’s a company with fundamental strength that won’t collapse as things stand. Besides, twenty-two million five hundred thousand dollars isn’t that large a sum. Actually, if I acquire the stake with my personal funds rather than fund capital, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

Whether it was fund capital or my personal wealth, it was all the same in the end, but since my resolve seemed firm, Landon didn’t press further and simply followed the directive.

“If that’s your decision, I understand.”

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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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