Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 252

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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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252. It’s fine. Just buy it for me already!

The next morning.
Despite the early hour before the stock market opened, more than thirty or forty individual investors had already crowded into the trading floor of Daehung Securities located in Yeouido.
From elderly gentlemen in bowler hats to middle-aged men in neckties and women with permed hair, investors of all kinds clustered in small groups, chatting or anxiously pacing between the large ticker boards and terminals as they waited for the opening bell.
The undisputed focus of every investor gathered on the trading floor was the Midopa Department Store M&A that had suddenly erupted yesterday.

“Why won’t the market open already today?”

A middle-aged man clutching a pre-written trading slip muttered restlessly.

“It looks like you’re planning to buy Midopa Department Store stock too, Mr. Kim?”

The middle-aged man turned to the permed woman beside him with an obvious expression.

“With the M&A catalyst attached, the stock price will definitely rise—it’s as clear as day. If I’d known this was coming, I would’ve bought Midopa Department Store instead of Utopia. What a shame.”
“Who’s to say otherwise? Still, since it just broke yesterday, we should make a decent profit even buying now.”
“Absolutely. Daheung Group will never let Midopa Department Store slip away, so when the two groups clash, the stock price will shoot up like… well, you know.”
“Oh my. How crude. What kind of comparison is that?”

The permed woman made a disapproving face, yet her eyes gleamed with anticipation as she gripped the bag stuffed with cash she’d brought along.
Not just these two, but most of the individual investors on the trading floor had come expecting the stock price to soar and to buy Midopa Department Store shares.
Since many of those present on the floor were seasoned veterans with considerable investment experience, they had no doubt this was an opportunity to make serious money.
When the permed woman noticed people gathered around the terminals murmuring, she tilted her head curiously.

“Is something wrong? Why are they acting like that?”
“I’m not sure.”

The middle-aged man also looked on with confusion, and spotting a man he’d seen around the trading floor before, he quickly waved his hand.

“Hey there, Guk-sang!”

A man in a brown jacket looked around and, seeing the middle-aged man, walked over.

“Oh. Hey there, hyung. You came out.”

Lee Guk-sang, as the man was called, had run a small fruit shop before abandoning it to dive into stocks starting last year.
The brown jacket he wore now had been purchased during his business days, with a small shop name embroidered on the chest.

“Is something happening up ahead? It’s quite noisy.”

The middle-aged man pointed with his chin toward the crowd gathered around the terminals and asked.
Lee Guk-sang, his face flushed with excitement, glanced around before lowering his voice deliberately.

“Donghae Group just posted a notice that they’re launching a public acquisition of Midopa Department Store shares at twenty thousand won per share.”
“What?”
“Oh my!”

The middle-aged man and the permed woman standing beside him widened their eyes in shock.

“Did you say twenty thousand won per share?”
“That’s right. Everyone’s in an uproar because of it.”

If you held Midopa Department Store shares, your profits were essentially guaranteed up to at least twenty thousand won per share—enough to make anyone’s eyes light up.
What further ignited retail investors’ buying frenzy was the certainty that Daheung Group wouldn’t simply accept this lying down.

“Donghae Group must be seriously committed to acquiring Midopa Department Store.”
“Since their intentions are already exposed, they’re going all in.”

As the permed woman and Lee Guk-sang exchanged words, the middle-aged man urgently tore up the trading slip he’d been holding.

“This is no time to hesitate.”

He hastily pulled a fresh trading slip from the stack on the trading floor table and scribbled a new order amount with his pen.

“Mr. Kim, what are you doing?”

The middle-aged man set down his pen and replied to the permed woman’s question.

“Now that the public acquisition notice is out, who would be fool enough to sell below twenty thousand won?”
“That’s true….”

The permed woman, nodding in agreement, stole a glance at the amount written on the trading slip.

“Two hundred thousand won? That’s more expensive than the price Donghae Group announced.”
“Of course. Daheung Group won’t just sit back and take it either. They’ll definitely bid up the price to secure more shares than their competitors. So everyone’s trying to buy even a single share before that happens.”
“Ah!”

Only then grasping the strategy, the perm-haired woman hastily scribbled out a new transaction slip.
Others around her seemed to share the same thought, and the fresh transaction slips laid out on the Trading Floor tables vanished one by one until they ran out entirely.
As tension and anxiety filled the Trading Floor, the market finally opened at precisely 9:30 AM.
Sure enough, the moment trading began, Midopa Department Store shares—which had closed at 9,650 won per share the previous day—surged with terrifying momentum, immediately hitting the daily limit.

[Midopa Department Store 14,360
4,710]

The retail investors in the Trading Floor erupted in cheers and sighs as they watched Midopa Department Store shares glowing distinctly red on the price board.

“Wow, it hit the ceiling right away!”
“Look at it just climbing and climbing.”
“The price is soaring like this, yet there’s barely any selling volume.”
“Donghae Group announced a public acquisition at twenty thousand won per share—who’d be foolish enough to sell here?”
“That’s true.”
“Look at that trading volume. I shouldn’t have sold… If I’d known it would come to this, I would’ve held onto my Midopa shares.”

An investor who had sold his Midopa Department Store shares just days earlier, missing out on substantial profits, stared at the price board with a hollow expression.
Meanwhile, the consultation window set up nearby descended into chaos as people rushed to buy Midopa Department Store shares.

“Midopa Department Store! Buy whatever you can!”

The perm-haired woman charged forward with fierce determination, dumping thick bundles of ten-thousand-won notes from her bag, while elsewhere people quarreled over who could place their order first, even coming to blows.

“I was here first!”
“You’ve been standing there since when? Don’t talk nonsense!”
“Get out of the way!”
“When did I ever meet you to speak so casually!”
“Good grief! This young punk pushing people around! Hey, how old are you!”
“Stop pushing!”
“Just process my order first, will you!”

Like an angry pack of wolves, the crowd surged forward, shouting at each other and thrusting their order forms at the windows.
Though the consultation area normally had eight windows due to heavy foot traffic, they were woefully inadequate to handle the sudden rush of people.
The window staff, sweating profusely in the near-riot atmosphere, frantically entered orders into their computers before their expressions turned troubled.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t execute the order.”
“What do you mean I can’t!”
“There are many buy orders, but almost no selling volume.”

The middle-aged woman, her body flushed with heat, pulled out another stack of cash from her bag.

“Then twenty-three thousand won! No, twenty-three thousand won—place the order at that price!”
“Twenty-three thousand won? Are you certain about that price?”

The male employee asked in surprise, but the perm-haired woman waved him off impatiently.

“I’m sure. Just buy it for me already!”
“Yes, of course.”

The male employee quickly typed the buy order into the keyboard.
Because she’d entered a price far higher than what the Donghae Group had declared in their public acquisition offer, the transaction went through immediately, unlike before.

“Purchased 869 shares of Midopa Department Store at twenty-three thousand won.”

It was twice the closing price from yesterday, but the perm-haired woman beamed with joy, carefully tucking the order confirmation slip into her bag.
Watching this, the other people grew even more anxious and began raising their bid prices, placing new orders one after another.

“I want to place a buy order at twenty-three thousand won too!”
“No, me first!”
“Don’t you dare cut in line.”

With people shouting over each other and pushing their way through, the entire floor descended into chaos.

“Everyone! Please maintain order—we’ll process your requests in sequence!”

The branch manager, who had rushed out belatedly, shouted loudly, and the security guards and male employees all came out to try to form a line, but it was useless against the already-excited crowd.
In fact, witnessing the asking price jump thousands of won right before their eyes, people grew even more frenzied, pushing and pulling to get their orders in first, and rough scuffles broke out on the trading floor.
In the midst of all this, the stock price of Midopa Department Store had already surpassed twenty thousand won, the public acquisition price.

[Midopa Department Store 23,490
13,840]

* * *

Gangnam, Seoul.
Having received full authority over this battle from Chairman Park Tae-hong, Seok-won immediately established a situation room in the Daehung Venture Capital’s Fund Operations Department and monitored market movements.

“The morning session hasn’t even ended yet, and the stock’s already jumped over 13,000 won. The market has completely lost its mind.”

Jung Hwan-yeop, seated before a desk with two CRT monitors spliced together, muttered with a rigid expression.
Given the gravity of the situation, his usual playful demeanor had vanished entirely, replaced by a serious countenance.
The other team members, equally tense, kept their eyes fixed on the screens displayed across their computer monitors.
The fate of the Daheung Group rested in their hands, and an immense pressure bore down upon their shoulders.
Manager Choi Ho-geun, his shirt sleeves rolled up, observed his team members from behind before casting a sidelong glance at Seok-won beside him.
Though the Donghae Group had drawn the public acquisition card and struck first, Seok-won stood with his arms crossed, displaying no sign of panic—only composure.
In fact, he seemed to exude such confidence that questions naturally arose.

“Did you perhaps anticipate that our opponent would make such a move?”

At the cautious inquiry, Seok-won nodded slightly with composure.

“Since the M&A attempt surfaced faster than planned, I suspected they would declare a public acquisition to seize the initiative first.”
“Indeed, that’s what happened.”
“But I didn’t expect them to move so swiftly in less than a day. Whoever they are, they’ve certainly made a bold gambit.”

A faint smile played at Seok-won’s lips, as though he found this situation entertaining.
Manager Choi Ho-geun shook his head at such boldness unbecoming his years, yet felt the anxiety lurking in his heart naturally dissipate.
With Seok-won standing so steadfastly at his post without wavering, he too could maintain his composure.

“But at 20,000 won per share, the public acquisition price seems lower than expected.”
“That’s double yesterday’s closing price, and you call it low?”

Manager Choi Ho-geun asked with a puzzled expression.

“Despite the strained finances from the Gangnam Branch renovation, the Daheung Group ranks within the top 50 in the business world. If we mobilize funds without regard for the future, a price point of 20,000 won per share is certainly something we can adequately counter.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”

After a moment’s thought, Manager Choi Ho-geun nodded in agreement.

“They’ll likely raise the public acquisition price immediately once we counter, attempting to seize the initiative through superior firepower.”

It was a prediction that perfectly penetrated the Donghae Group’s strategy.

“But we can’t just sit idle and do nothing about this, can we?”
“Of course not.”

Seok-won raised one hand to stroke his cleanly shaved chin, rolling his eyes slightly.

“Once the afternoon session begins, we’ll file a public notice announcing that we’re also launching a tender offer for Midopa Department Store shares through the 15th of this month.”
“What price should we set for the acquisition?”
“Since they’ve offered 20,000 won per share, we’ll add two more units and purchase at 40,000 won per share.”

At 40,000 won per share—no one would have imagined yesterday that Midopa Department Store’s stock would climb this high.
The problem was that even at this price, there was no guarantee we could acquire all the shares we wanted.
If Donghae Group simply raised their acquisition price again, all our efforts would come to nothing.
In a bidding war like this, even if we won the equity battle, the aftermath would be severe—it was as clear as day. Manager Choi Ho-geun harbored quiet concerns.
But that worry was brief; for now, winning the equity battle took priority, so he pushed his concerns aside.

“Understood.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun immediately moved to relay the instructions to Jung Hwan-yeop.

Bzzzzt.

Just then, the vibration alert sounded, and Seok-won pulled out his phone from his pocket to answer the call.

[Boss. It’s me.]

At the sound of Landon Shore’s voice, Seok-won glanced at Midopa Department Store’s stock price, which was hovering in the 23,000 won range, and asked.

“Did you handle what we discussed?”
[Yes. As instructed, I’ve transferred 400 million dollars to the Daehung Venture Capital corporate account.]
“Good work.”

Seok-won continued speaking with the phone pressed to his ear.

“How’s the Donghae Oil situation progressing?”
[We’re accumulating additional shares in line with the increase in foreign ownership limits.]
“The Midopa Department Store M&A could affect Donghae Oil’s stock price as well. Wrap up the operation quickly.”
[Understood.]

After issuing a few more instructions and ending the call, Seok-won pocketed his phone and murmured softly to himself.

“I’m already looking forward to seeing what expression he’ll have when he belatedly realizes he was never the hunter—he was the prey all along.”

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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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