Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 428

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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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428. There’s one talented person I’d like to scout.

San Diego Del Coronado Hotel in the United States.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, flooding the spacious penthouse living room with brilliant radiance.
Seok-won, dressed in linen casual attire with a hanging chief accent, sat at a long mahogany conference table with Landon Shore and Counsel Lawyer flanking him on either side.
Across from him sat Nick Reynolds, the CEO, along with three other co-founders of Qualcomm.
There were five additional co-founders, but due to circumstances, they had delegated their authority to CEO Reynolds and did not attend.
A subtle tension permeated the air as the transfer of management rights was underway.
CEO Reynolds gazed down at the contract with a complex expression after both sides’ counsel lawyers had completed their review.
The moment he signed here, the management rights of the company he had painstakingly built would be completely transferred to the Eldorado Fund—his emotions were inevitably turbulent.
Seok-won, seated across from him, interlaced his fingers and spoke in a measured tone.

“As you know, along with the acquisition of management rights, we will invest 500 million dollars through paid-in capital to further advance CDMA technology and strengthen our capabilities in custom wireless communication chips. The CDMA technology you and your co-founders created will never be abandoned—we will ensure it spreads and is used worldwide. You can rest assured and entrust it to us.”

At this, CEO Reynolds relaxed his rigid expression slightly and picked up the fountain pen resting on the table.
Knowing it was far too late to turn back now, CEO Reynolds showed no further hesitation.
Beside Seok-won’s signature already on the contract, CEO Reynolds inscribed his name.
The co-founders present also received the contract and signed in turn, the pen’s nib scratching across the paper.
Once all signatures were complete and the two identical copies of the contract were exchanged, Seok-won rose and extended his hand first.

“I’m grateful we could conclude this with smiles on both our faces.”

Had he rejected the acquisition proposal and held firm to the end, it would have been difficult to sit across from each other like this at all.
CEO Reynolds, still carrying a hint of regret in his heart but having shed much of his initial burden, clasped his hand.

“Since it’s come to this, I hope you’ll nurture Qualcomm well.”
“Of course.”

Seok-won smiled, revealing his white teeth.

“It will become the world’s number one company in the wireless communication chip sector. Have no concerns.”
“Ha ha.”

Nick Reynolds smiled faintly, as if he had anticipated this outcome.
Though the target seemed somewhat ambitious, now that I had completely stepped away from the company, I harbored a deep hope for its success since it was the firm I had founded.
Seok-won then proceeded to shake hands with the other co-founders in turn.
Since I had already made up my mind to relinquish management rights, and the Eldorado Fund had sweetened the deal with a generous premium, the atmosphere remained quite favorable.
Shortly after Nick Reynolds and the co-founders departed the Penthouse, Landon Shore produced a bottle of premium French champagne—apparently prepared in advance—and deftly uncorked it with practiced ease.

Pop!

A cheerful sound accompanied a burst of pristine foam.
Hearing applause and exclamations from those around us, Landon Shore poured the golden champagne into crystal flutes with the flair of a seasoned bartender and handed them out.

“Congratulations on the Qualcomm acquisition.”

I accepted the champagne flute and gazed at Landon Shore, who was grinning with barely contained amusement.

“If this had gone all the way to a shareholder showdown and I’d been forced to seize control, there would have been considerable fallout. You handled the conclusion beautifully.”
“Haha. I simply executed your instructions.”
“Turning words into reality—that’s what makes the work genuinely difficult, wouldn’t you say?”
“I appreciate you seeing it that way.”

Landon Shore flashed a broad grin as he replied.
The two of us then clinked our glasses together with a crisp sound and toasted before taking a sip of champagne.
The effervescent bubbles burst delicately on my tongue, and the sweet yet refreshing aroma stimulated my palate.
I savored the champagne, feeling profound satisfaction and exhilaration at having acquired this semiconductor giant that would lead the coming smartphone era.

“With this, our total stake in Qualcomm comes to 41.5%, correct?”
“That’s right. Considering the gap between us and the second-largest shareholder exceeds seven times, it’s safe to say we’ve achieved virtually complete control of Qualcomm.”
“The second-largest shareholder is CalPERS, if I recall correctly.”

Landon Shore nodded while holding his elongated champagne flute in one hand.

“Yes. They’ve been steadily accumulating shares since the year before last and currently hold 5.9% of the company.”

CalPERS was America’s largest public pension fund, established in 1932 to provide retirement benefits to California civil servants.
It was renowned for its aggressive investment style, allocating more than half its assets to equities, and having a strong presence in Silicon Valley, it had made substantial investments in IT ventures and achieved considerable returns.

“The fact that they’re holding onto their stake means they rejected the block deal offer.”

Landon Shore smacked his lips thoughtfully as he spoke.

“Yes. I’ve made contact multiple times, but each time he refused, saying he had absolutely no intention of selling.”
“It seems he’s already caught the scent of money.”

As I spoke with a slightly regretful expression, Landon Shore looked at me.

“I can’t say for certain, but it’s clear that once the boss started accumulating large stakes in Qualcomm, he switched to long-term investment mode.”
“Because of me?”

Seok-won asked back with a bewildered expression.

“Yes. Every IT company the boss touches hits the jackpot, and since Wall Street calls him the Midas Touch, he must be thinking something big is about to break with any company he’s interested in.”

Upon hearing that CalPERS wasn’t selling their Qualcomm stake because of him, Seok-won’s face went blank with astonishment.

“Didn’t I mention last time that there are quite a few small funds and traders following the boss’s moves? CalPERS is likely operating under the same logic.”

Landon Shore smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“If I were in their position, I’d want to follow and bet alongside an investor with a 100% win rate too.”
“Aren’t you exaggerating things just because a few places are following suit?”
“I swear I’m not. The boss’s name was already famous before, but his reputation has grown even more after the Asian financial crisis and after he completely crushed all those hedge funds that were shorting the Korean won recently.”

The Counsel Lawyer and other staff members around us nodded in agreement.

“These days, the boss’s name carries tremendous weight.”
“When people hear Eldorado Fund, they all open their eyes wide.”

Feeling slightly embarrassed by the admiring gazes pouring in from all directions, Seok-won took a sip of champagne and changed the subject.

“By the way, how’s the search for a new CEO coming along?”
“We’ve made contact with Charles Kirk, currently the CTO at Intel, and received a positive response.”
“I’ve never heard of him before.”
“Since his position is focused on technological development, he’s not particularly well-known on Wall Street. However, he has a strong reputation in the semiconductor field, and given that he’s successfully led research and development operations for the past decade, we can say his management capabilities are proven.”

Landon Shore continued speaking to me as I quietly listened, rolling the champagne glass in my hand.

“I believe he’s a person who possesses both the expertise and management capabilities you mentioned, boss.”

Twenty years later, Intel would fall behind not just AMD and Nvidia, but even Sasung Electronics, becoming a once-mighty giant teetering on the brink of collapse. But at this moment, Intel still reigned supreme as the undisputed emperor of semiconductors.
Every time they released their legendary Pentium series, people joked that they must be torturing aliens for technological secrets—a testament to just how dominant their position was.
With Intel’s R&D director at the helm, I could steer Qualcomm in whatever direction I desired.
After a moment’s consideration, Seok-won gave a positive response.

“It seems like a solid choice. But let’s make the final decision after meeting him in person.”
“Of course. Since you’re already in California, I’ll arrange a meeting at a convenient time.”
“Let’s do that.”

Restructuring Qualcomm’s executive team was urgent, and even with a private jet at my disposal, crossing the Pacific wasn’t easy.
It made sense to handle everything in one go while I was here.
Then Seok-won suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, and there’s one talented person I’d like you to scout for the R&D department.”
“Who would that be?”

Landon Shore’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Alice Su. She has a PhD from MIT and currently works as a researcher in IBM’s R&D division.”

Since it was Seok-won himself who specifically named this talent to recruit, Landon Shore had expected someone more impressive and showed a slightly disappointed expression.

“…An IBM researcher, you said?”
“Yes. She’s an exceptionally talented researcher in semiconductors, and recruiting her would greatly help our wireless communication chip technology development.”

Seeing how much expectation Seok-won seemed to have for Alice Su, Landon Shore tilted his head in puzzlement internally.

‘He said she’s just a researcher, not even a research director, yet he’s asking me to scout her personally. She must be quite remarkable.’

Though slightly bewildered, he trusted that if Seok-won said it was necessary, there had to be good reason.

“Understood. I’ll do my best to recruit her.”
“Of course, we’ll increase her salary and position. Beyond stock options, we can even create a separate research team for her if she wants.”

At such generous terms, Landon Shore’s eyes widened slightly.
Realizing once again how earnestly Seok-won wanted to bring Alice Su on board, he responded with a serious expression.

“Understood.”

Landon Shore etched Alice Su’s name firmly into his mind.

“Her surname is quite distinctive—she appears to be of East Asian descent.”
“She’s a Taiwanese-American.”
“I see.”

Alice Su was a young researcher not yet thirty years old, yet she would go on to achieve remarkable breakthroughs that would leave an indelible mark on the industry, and her exceptional management acumen would propel her to the position of Vice President of IBM’s Semiconductor R&D Center within a decade—a meteoric rise.

‘Her most astounding accomplishments were still to come.’

She would assume leadership of AMD, the world-renowned CPU semiconductor company, becoming Silicon Valley’s first female CEO in the semiconductor industry’s history.
But that was merely the beginning. AMD, which had been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy as its ambitious projects failed one after another, would be turned profitable in just two years under her stewardship.
She would then develop an entirely new CPU with exceptional performance and remarkable value for money.
Intel’s executives had dismissed AMD as a company that would never recover, yet she completely revived it.
She created a miracle that transcended and utterly dominated Intel’s once-absolute dominance.
Seok-won was already anticipating what extraordinary achievements Alice Su might accomplish if she joined Qualcomm.

“You’re meeting with John Phillips tomorrow, correct?”

I set down my champagne glass, now empty, onto the table and asked.

“Yes. The contract has already been finalized and the investment funds have been transferred, so you can simply have a relaxed conversation.”

Upon hearing this, I nodded slightly.

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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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