New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 154

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 154. The Set Table (4)

When the Blue House moved, the entire board shook.

Lone Star, the architect of this game, fell into confusion before the unexpected change.

Tiger Fund, the whale that appeared in that gap.

To hunt a whale, Lone Star alone was insufficient, so they eventually drew Cali Fund in as an ally.

“CEO Oh Chang-jin! I can’t tell you how delighted I am to meet you like this.”

“I’ve also heard a lot about CEO Lee Jung-hoon. I really wanted to meet you once, so thank you for contacting me first.”

Oh Chang-jin, representative of Cali Fund Korea Office.

And Lee Jung-hoon, representative of Lone Star Korea, sat facing each other.

“Shall we have a drink between fellow black-haired foreigners?”

“We’re ostracized in the United States for being Asian, and ostracized in Korea for being black-haired foreigners… Shouldn’t we at least get along among ourselves? I’ll raise the first glass.”

The two men hit it off from the start.

With a common enemy, a sense of camaraderie naturally formed from their first meeting.

“The reason I contacted you is that I’m having a headache because of Tiger Fund.”

“I heard about it. Tiger Fund interfered with the Hana Bank acquisition, right?”

“I don’t understand why a fund with so much money would try to acquire a small bank.”

“Tiger Fund has always been that kind of bunch. You have no idea how much they tormented me when I was acquiring Hanseo Bank.”

Tiger Fund, the common enemy.

Cali Fund had acquired Hanseo Bank at a high price because of Tiger Fund.

Lone Star’s carefully designed Hana Bank acquisition was about to fall through because of Tiger Fund.

“I’m also having a headache right now. They’re moving the Financial Services Commission, and even the Blue House is stepping forward.”

“So what are you thinking of doing?”

“To catch Tiger Fund, shouldn’t we join forces? If we join hands, whale hunting is definitely possible.”

“Hmm, I’d like to know exactly how you want to join hands.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin would grind his teeth at the mention of Tiger Fund even in his sleep.

But he too was a Wall Street man, and not someone who would move without any benefit.

So he hid his true intentions and tried to gain maximum advantage, and CEO Lee Jung-hoon understood his mindset well.

“I’ll give you half of the profits from Hana Bank. In return, I’d like you to share the acquisition costs as well.”

“How much are you thinking for the Hana Bank acquisition cost?”

“The cost changes drastically depending on the situation. According to the original plan, 2 trillion won would be enough to acquire it, but with Tiger Fund interfering, it could increase to 3-4 trillion won.”

“If it’s a maximum of 4 trillion won, Cali Fund would have to bear half of that, 2 trillion won.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin fell into thought for a moment.

Being merely a Korea office representative, he couldn’t easily use such a large amount as 2 trillion won.

But he didn’t want to miss such a good opportunity, so he eventually accepted the proposal.

“Good. I’ll accept the proposal.”

“Thank you. With Cali Fund joining us, I feel like I’ve gained a thousand troops and ten thousand horses.”

“Now that we’re in the same boat, please speak frankly. How is the situation flowing?”

“I’ve already made the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Hana Bank our allies. I was planning to drag out time until next year, lower Hana Bank’s stock price, then acquire it at a bargain price. But Tiger Fund ruined all our plans.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin was no pushover.

Although he had been beaten by Tiger Fund every time, he had the ability to notice that CEO Lee Jung-hoon was hiding something.

“That’s not the entire plan, is it? Stock prices don’t fall by themselves just because you drag out time, so do you have another plan?”

“It’s quite an awkward plan to mention, but you must absolutely keep it confidential.”

“Don’t worry. We’re already in the same boat, so why would I go around spreading weaknesses? Lone Star’s weakness would become Cali Fund’s weakness too.”

CEO Lee Jung-hoon continued to hesitate.

Then he finally revealed his hidden plan.

“Actually, the plan was to make Hana Bank into a failing bank and acquire it at a bargain price.”

“Hana Bank has a lot of debt, but it’s not enough to become a failing bank, is it?”

“If we just slightly touch the BIS ratio, it can definitely be designated as a failing bank. For that, I’ve recruited everyone from Hana Bank to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and even the bureaucratic lines.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin applauded inwardly.

It was a perfect plan.

A perfect plan to acquire one of Korea’s top 5 banks for less than half price.

But such a plan was about to be overturned because of Tiger Fund, so he could empathize with how heartbreaking it must be.

“Tiger Fund appeared when all the design was finished.”

“That’s right. They should have been satisfied with acquiring GL Card, I never expected them to show interest in Hana Bank too.”

“Since CEO Lee has revealed everything, I’ll also reveal a secret that no one knows.”

“What secret?”

CEO Lee Jung-hoon leaned his head forward.

At his turtle-like appearance, CEO Oh Chang-jin smiled fishily and revealed a secret he had recently learned.

“There’s a very high possibility that Tiger Fund is a decoy planted by the Korean Government.”

“A decoy? What do you mean by that?”

“Looking at how the situation is unfolding, it’s flowing very similarly to the Hanseo Bank acquisition. You know that Tiger Fund also participated in the Hanseo Bank acquisition battle, right?”

“I know it very well. Because of this incident, I reviewed all the materials related to the Hanseo Bank acquisition.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin gritted his teeth.

Just thinking about that time made his anger boil up, so he barely contained his rage and continued speaking.

“I obtained information that the Korean Government used Tiger Fund to raise Hanseo Bank’s price.”

“Really?”

“It’s certain since it’s information obtained through Financial Services Commission officials. The Korean Government and Tiger Fund set up the game to somehow sell the bank at a high price.”

“Why would Tiger Fund do such a thing?”

CEO Lee Jung-hoon couldn’t understand.

He thought there was no reason for Tiger Fund, called one of America’s Top 3 Funds, to become the Korean Government’s puppet and play a supporting role.

“If you look at Tiger Fund’s moves, you’ll understand. Thanks to playing a supporting role in the Hanseo Bank acquisition battle, they continued to acquire Korea’s major companies. Daehyeon Construction, semiconductors, delivery, and even GL Card. How would it have been possible without the Blue House’s help?”

“So they acquired major companies cheaply thanks to moving according to the Korean Government’s will.”

CEO Lee Jung-hoon finally understood the entire situation.

Why Tiger Fund suddenly jumped into the Hana Bank acquisition battle and why the Blue House was trying to play the referee role.

“It will be the same this time. Tiger Fund will try to play the role of raising Hana Bank’s price at the Korean Government’s request.”

“But isn’t it the end of the administration, so the Korean Government has no compensation to give Tiger Fund?”

“That’s unknown. It could be because Tiger Fund’s acquired Daehyeon Construction recently received major construction project orders, or they might have received other compensation.”

It certainly seemed highly likely.

But CEO Lee Jung-hoon had to be cautious since he couldn’t make plans based solely on CEO Oh Chang-jin’s words.

“If Tiger Fund has no actual intention to acquire, it would be fine to execute the existing plan as is.”

“You mean the plan to manipulate the BIS ratio to get it designated as a failing bank.”

“That’s right. But if Tiger Fund really has plans to acquire Hana Bank, we might do the hard work while Tiger Fund takes the benefits.”

“You don’t completely trust my words. Well, even I would find it hard to believe such words without any evidence. Then how about we do this?”

CEO Oh Chang-jin covered his mouth with his hand.

It seemed like he was about to tell some secret story, so CEO Lee Jung-hoon also held his breath and listened carefully.

“Actually, we’ve planted one of our people in Tiger Fund.”

“You mean a spy?”

“Not quite a spy, just someone who shares information. Through him, I’ll bring Tiger Fund’s internal information.”

“If we can accurately grasp Tiger Fund’s intentions through internal information, it would be a great help in establishing our plan.”

CEO Oh Chang-jin smiled sinisterly.

The spy planted during the Hanseo Card acquisition.

That spy had never given wrong information.

He had even accurately told them how much Tiger Fund would bid.

“But moving that spy requires quite a lot of money.”

“How much is needed?”

“He’s someone who needs at least 1 million dollars to move. He’s reliable as he is expensive.”

“If we can just obtain Tiger Fund’s internal information, 1 million dollars isn’t wasteful at all. I’ll prepare the 1 million dollars.”

An amount well over 1 billion won.

But since the profits from this acquisition would be in the trillions, if they could just succeed in the acquisition, about 1 billion won wasn’t wasteful at all.

***

Tiger Fund Korea Branch was the best workplace.

Thanks to high profits, employees could receive more bonuses than headquarters, and they could even build their careers, so everyone wanted to work there.

That’s why once employees set foot in the Korea Branch, they were reluctant to transfer to other branches or even move to headquarters.

Senior Manager Danny.

He had to remain at the Korea Branch semi-forcibly according to the General Manager’s and my will, and he was a person left behind in preparation for situations exactly like today.

“Branch Manager, Cali Fund has made contact.”

“Just a moment.”

Senior Manager Danny quietly visited my office.

Before listening to his story, I closed all the windows and even drew the blinds.

“Why is Cali Fund making contact at this point in time?”

“They asked me to find out if Tiger Fund has any intention of acquiring KEB Hana Bank.”

“Hmm, Cali Fund wouldn’t have the capacity to be interested in acquiring KEB Hana Bank. Then there’s a possibility they’ve joined hands with Lone Star.”

“I haven’t been able to find that out yet.”

Danny sent me a look of expectation.

Since I knew exactly what he was hoping for, I gave him the answer he wanted.

“Did Cali Fund offer one million dollars again this time?”

“That’s right. They also said they’d give additional compensation if I bring out accurate internal information and materials.”

“You can receive money from both sides again this time. The Korea Branch will pay you an additional one million dollars.”

“I just need to send the materials you give me to Cali Fund?”

“Just deliver the materials along with a few words.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Even stealing is difficult the first time.

Danny, who had already played the role of a double spy once, wasn’t nervous at all.

Rather, he was secretly pleased that such an opportunity had come again.

It was understandable since he could make money, had promotion possibilities, and the risk was low.

While we were exchanging smiles for a moment.

Bang bang! Someone knocked strongly on the private office door.

Since there was no one else who would do such a thing except Chairman, I hurriedly opened the door.

“What are you plotting again without me? Are you going to keep doing this?”

“Manager Danny, please leave now. I’ll explain everything well to Chairman.”

“I’ll go ahead then.”

When Danny went outside, Chairman locked the door himself and approached.

I explained in detail what role Danny had played from the Hanseo Bank acquisition until now.

“Oh! As expected, the Korea Branch is interesting. You’re even using double spies.”

“I leaked proper information during the Hanseo Bank acquisition battle, but this time I plan to leak false information.”

“Then Danny will be disappointed. After this time, he won’t be able to work as a double spy anymore.”

“I’m thinking of sending him to headquarters. Since he’s playing a major role and moving to headquarters, I’d like him to be promoted from Senior Manager to Partner level.”

“That’s natural. By the way, the bank acquisition battle is flowing more intensely than expected. It’s fun to watch.”

Fun was ultimately determined by results.

No matter how much enjoyment one tastes in the process, if the acquisition fails, only emptiness remains.

Even to satisfy Chairman’s expectations, the KEB Hana Bank acquisition had to succeed, and Danny’s role in that process was very important.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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