Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 312

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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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312. Thanks to you, I’m going to become a true billionaire.

January 6th, 1997.
Christopher Alexander, the CEO of Microsoft, returned to the office after cutting his year-end vacation short, his brow furrowing slightly as he spoke.

“So Hotmail is asking to postpone the meeting date?”

Suppressed anger simmered beneath his low voice.
With only two days left before the scheduled acquisition negotiation, the other party had suddenly and unilaterally canceled the appointment—a move that justified his frustration.
Patrick Rider, Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer and second-in-command, as well as Christopher Alexander’s college classmate, nodded grimly from his seat on the sofa.

“That’s correct.”
“What’s the reason?”
“They only repeated that something urgent came up and they wanted to reschedule the meeting for later.”

At this, Alexander, seated in the center sofa, twisted his expression in displeasure.

“They didn’t even give a proper explanation of what this urgent matter is?”

As he spoke with undisguised irritation, Alvin, the portly CFO seated around the table with them, glanced cautiously before opening his mouth.

“I suspect they’re intentionally postponing the meeting rather than having a genuine emergency.”
“What do you mean by that?”

Alexander narrowed his eyes as he asked.

“I suspect they’re deliberately dragging out the timeline to put pressure on us.”

Alvin leaned forward and lowered his voice as he spoke.
Alexander then crossed his arms and thought for a moment before looking up at Rider.

“You said Hotmail’s negotiating representative is Park Seok-won of Eldorado Fund, right?”
“That’s correct. He’s an investor who’s been with them since the founding and holds the position of largest shareholder, having been granted full authority over this acquisition negotiation.”

Alexander, who held 5% of Microsoft’s shares and was thus a major shareholder who had met Seok-won several times, recalled the young man’s exceptional vision and seasoned sophistication, which had struck him as remarkable, and unconsciously let out a low whistle.

“Hmm. I’ve got a difficult negotiator on my hands.”

It was a fact anyone could recognize—dealing with a seasoned Wall Street veteran was far more challenging than negotiating with a fledgling IT venture founder who knew nothing but computers, whether it involved me or not.

“From the looks of it, he’s trying to squeeze a higher valuation out of us than what we’ve offered.”
“There’s no other reason for it.”

At Alvin’s response, Christopher Alexander leaned back in his seat and clicked his tongue.

“So three hundred million dollars doesn’t satisfy him. Then what would be a reasonable maximum to offer?”

Alvin shook his head as if the very notion was absurd.

“Honestly, I think offering three hundred million dollars for a venture company that’s only been around for two years is already a significant overpayment.”
“It’s expensive, true, but integrating Hotmail into Microsoft Network is essential if we want to monopolize internet services that will grow into an enormous market in the future.”

Christopher Alexander spoke while sitting with one leg crossed.
Microsoft Network was a sort of portal service that Microsoft had ambitiously launched alongside Windows 95, recognizing the internet’s growth potential.
It provided all the basic services one would expect from a portal—internet access, news and weather information, email, chat rooms, and bulletin boards.
However, despite its ambitious launch, the results fell short of expectations relative to the massive capital and human resources invested.
Due to excessive enthusiasm, it offered a flashy interface, but the computer performance and internet network conditions of this era couldn’t keep pace, making the entire system sluggish with lengthy loading times, which inevitably resulted in poor user reception.
No matter how excellent the services, it was natural for users to become frustrated when it took several minutes just to load a single page.
As a result, people who had tried it once or twice out of curiosity stopped using it, and the user base wasn’t growing as expected.

“As for email, aren’t we already providing our own service through Microsoft Network?”

At Alvin’s remark, Rider’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“We are providing it, of course. But do you know how many active users Microsoft Network actually has?”
“I believe it’s just under five million.”
“Exactly. We’ve set it up so that Microsoft Network is automatically installed when Windows starts, and yet we barely have that many—that’s the problem.”

Considering it was essentially a free offering, Rider’s point was valid.

“Meanwhile, Hotmail doesn’t even offer portal services like we do—it’s just email—yet it has over nine million subscribers, and most of them are active users. Just as Windows dominates the operating system market, Hotmail is the crucial puzzle piece we need to push out Netscape and Yahoo and monopolize the internet market with unlimited growth potential ahead.”

Though Alvin still thought the price was steep, he acknowledged that acquiring Hotmail was absolutely necessary.
Rider turned his head to look at Christopher Alexander, who sat on the center sofa, and spoke.

“Since Chairman Park is stepping into the forefront, we should be prepared to allocate an additional 10 to 20 million dollars.”

Christopher Alexander stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before nodding in agreement.

“Then let’s set the ceiling at that level and proceed with negotiations.”

At that moment, a knock sounded and the door swung open as Emil, the head of the Business Strategy Department, rushed in with an urgent expression.

“Director! There’s news you need to see immediately.”
“What is it?”

Christopher Alexander’s brow furrowed with an ominous feeling as he asked, and Emil hurriedly approached, extending the paper he held.

“Please take a look at this first.”

The moment Christopher Alexander received the printed paper and reviewed its contents, his eyebrows shot up.

[
Netscape Considering Acquisition of Hotmail to Strengthen Email Services
Tom Harper, founder and CEO of Netscape, revealed in an interview with reporters following his lecture at University of Illinois today that the company is considering acquiring Hotmail, which has recently become wildly popular, to strengthen its web browser services.]

Christopher Alexander’s face contorted as he looked up, his voice sharp with urgency.

“Is this true?”
“Yes. I just printed this breaking news that Bloomberg just reported.”
“Ugh.”

He clutched his head and let out a groan of distress, prompting Rider to ask with a puzzled expression.

“What’s the matter?”

Christopher Alexander handed over the paper without answering.
As Rider took the paper and examined it, his eyes widened in shock as well.

“Netscape is trying to acquire Hotmail? This can’t be happening!”

Alvin, the CFO, who had been watching carefully for clues, couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Rider’s outburst.
Rider set the paper down on the table and rested his hand upon it, his expression grave.

“If Netscape really does acquire Hotmail, we’ll fall even further behind in the competition.”
“That’s true.”

Christopher Alexander nodded gravely.
Microsoft was already losing ground to Netscape in the web browser market, and if Hotmail slipped away as well, it would be nothing short of catastrophic for the company.

“Could that be why they suddenly postponed the acquisition negotiations?”

At Alvin’s words, Rider’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“They’re meeting with Netscape first, brushing us aside?”
“We haven’t signed any contracts yet, so if they presented better terms, it’s entirely possible, isn’t it?”

As the image formed in his mind of the two companies balanced on a scale, being weighed against each other, Rider’s urgency grew, and he spoke to Christopher Alexander.

“If that’s the case, we can’t afford to sit idle like this.”

Christopher Alexander seemed to share the sentiment, and he furrowed his brow as he spoke.

“We’ll have to raise our bid.”

Even Alvin, who had expressed concern just moments earlier that the acquisition price was too steep, couldn’t bring himself to object once he learned that Netscape was in the picture, despite privately thinking it was an overbid.

* * *

A few days later.
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse balcony overlooking Central Park blanketed in pristine white snow, I was on the phone with Tom Harper, the founder of Netscape.

[So Christopher Alexander got so worked up that he flew to New York himself?]

With one hand in my pants pocket, I answered with an air of ease.

“They thought they could acquire it without any trouble, but suddenly a competitor appeared, so they must be flustered. And if that competitor is Netscape, which Microsoft is desperately trying to catch up to in the web browser market, they’d be even more anxious.”
[I almost feel sorry for Christopher Alexander, who rushed to New York without realizing it was just a bluff to drive up the price.]
“In negotiations, it’s natural to do whatever it takes to squeeze out even a little more profit.”

I shrugged with a nonchalant expression.

[That’s true. But how much are you planning to extract from Microsoft that you’d go this far?]

Tom asked with obvious curiosity.

“We should be getting at least $400 million, shouldn’t we?”
[What! Didn’t you say the initial amount was $300 million?]
“That’s right.”
[So you’re trying to squeeze out an extra $100 million on top of that.]

Unlike Tom’s incredulous reaction, I responded with casual indifference.

“When there’s competition, everything gets more expensive—that’s just how it works.”
[Good grief. You realize you sound like a complete villain right now.]
“I’m simply trying to sell a company I built with great effort for its true worth.”
[From where I’m sitting, it looks like you’re trying to fleece them.]
“The more Microsoft spends acquiring Hotmail as our competitor, the better it is for you anyway.”
[That’s why I’m playing along with your tune like this.]

I chuckled softly, then my expression turned serious as I asked.

“But you really have no intention of acquiring Hotmail?”
[That’s right. I believe our own email service is sufficient on its own.]

Tom displayed unwavering confidence and pride in the company he’d built with his own hands.
But knowing how the future would unfold, I couldn’t help but wear a slightly regretful expression.
Since I’d already sold off all my Netscape shares and was no longer a shareholder, I couldn’t force something upon him that he deemed unnecessary, so I swallowed my bittersweet feelings.

“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing to be done about it.”
[Roy will become a true billionaire thanks to you. When the company sells for a high price, I’ll have my share too, so don’t forget to treat me to a proper meal later.]
“Of course. I’ll give you proper hospitality at the most expensive and finest restaurant in New York, so look forward to it.”
[Okay. Let’s stay in touch later then.]

As Tom hung up, I pocketed my phone with a satisfied smile.
Just then, Han Ji-sung approached from behind and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Sir. It’s time to head to the meeting location.”

I rolled up my sleeve to check the time and gave a small nod.

“These are clients who will help us earn substantial sums—it wouldn’t be proper to keep them waiting.”

I turned and began walking.
As Han Ji-sung hurried to follow me across the expansive penthouse living room, Bockus, the burly bodyguard stationed by the entrance, pulled open the wooden door and stepped into the hallway with us.

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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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