Free Web NovelMasayoshi Son looked deep in thought.
He was probably already carrying out behind-the-scenes preparations to acquire Vodafone Japan, driven by his single-minded determination to secure the iPhone’s exclusive distribution rights in Japan.
At present, Japan’s mobile telecommunications market was effectively split between NTT DoCoMo and KDDI.
Vodafone Japan was in third place, but the gap was enormous—not only with first-place NTT DoCoMo, but even with second-place KDDI.
And yet the reason Son had resolved to acquire Vodafone Japan in spite of that was simple: it meant he was staking everything on the iPhone’s success.
The conviction that no device in the world could ever beat the iPhone.
That belief alone must have driven him to take Vodafone Japan, and it was the correct decision.
The problem was that the exclusive rights were already in my hands, and to obtain them, he had to hand over half of Vodafone Japan’s equity to me.
Even for Masayoshi Son, it was not something he could decide lightly.
I gave him more than enough time and waited.
At last, he opened his mouth.
“...If I accept just that condition, are there no other terms?”
There was nothing else I needed to extract from Son.
If the Alibaba investment had failed, I might have demanded equity there instead, but among the companies he had invested in at this point, there was nothing especially attractive.
“Yes. If you accept that one condition, that will be enough. It’s a good offer for me, but it’s an even better one for you, Chairman Son. In the end, you still need to secure acquisition funding. Rather than stretching out your hand to someone else, you’ll be receiving investment entirely from me.”
Son nodded.
But his face was still full of concern.
“The existing investors won’t like it. The fact that the investment is coming from a Korean.”
“Hahaha.”
That made me burst into loud laughter before I could stop myself.
A trace of displeasure crossed Son’s face.
“Chairman Son. Money does not come with a name tag. What difference does it make whether it is Korean capital or Japanese capital? Besides, it’s rather amusing for you of all people to say that. Aren’t you a Zainichi Korean? Your nationality may be Japanese, but isn’t the blood flowing through your body still Joseon blood? Are you Son Jeongui when it benefits you, and Son Masayoshi when it doesn’t?”
“....”
“Don’t overcomplicate it. Ask yourself whether KDDI would reject the terms I’m offering. Would the number-two company, desperate to defeat NTT DoCoMo, really refuse?”
If I had made the same proposal to KDDI, they would have transferred equity to me through a third-party allocated paid-in capital increase, as long as management control was not threatened.
“I heard you made a bold declaration to your shareholders. That within a few years, you would grow into Japan’s number-one telecommunications company. Can high-speed internet alone make that happen? No matter how dominant Yahoo Japan may be as the country’s number-one portal. Once the iPhone is released, the market will shift from PCs to smartphones. You know that too, Chairman Son. That’s why you’re sitting in front of me right now. Isn’t that correct?”
“That’s right. In my view, the era when everyone carries a smartphone will come. If the iPhone had not existed, that moment might have arrived later. But now that a device like the iPhone has already appeared in the world, that speed will only increase.”
For someone this wise to be considering the wrong choice because of a momentary fear...
“Then let me ask you one more time. Will you join hands with me and acquire Vodafone Japan, or will you give up the iPhone?”
“...I will join hands with you.”
A satisfied smile spread across my face as I met his eyes directly.
“You made the right decision. To be honest, I prefer working with someone I know rather than taking the long and complicated way around.”
A flicker of humiliation crossed Son’s face.
Today’s meeting had made it crystal clear who held the key to everything.
Even if I handed him the exclusive supply rights, I could reclaim them anytime I wished.
And because Son knew that, he had even less room to reject my offer.
“By the way, I heard Vodafone Japan’s management has already been replaced. Will the acquisition still be possible?”
“If the price is sufficient, there is no reason they wouldn’t sell. I’ve already had some dealings with the new management. In particular, the British headquarters wants to withdraw from the Japanese business.”
Vodafone, Britain’s largest telecommunications company, was not especially famous in Korea, but in Europe it was a giant of staggering scale.
It was also the second-largest shareholder in Verizon Wireless in the United States, holding as much as 43 percent.
Vodafone had entered Japan’s mobile market with great ambition after acquiring Japan Telecom, but it remained a perennial third-place company, unable to catch not only NTT DoCoMo, but even KDDI.
“You’re already in talks with headquarters?”
“Yes. They want to wrap up the business. We haven’t found common ground yet because the desired acquisition price on both sides is still far apart, but our intentions align.”
So in the end, it all came down to acquisition funding.
“If I hadn’t participated, how were you planning to acquire it? SoftBank doesn’t exactly have the spare capacity.”
“I was considering an LBO.”
“An LBO?”
I only knew that Son had acquired Vodafone Japan in the original timeline, not how he had done it.
The moment I heard “LBO,” I understood how he had planned to secure that enormous acquisition capital.
An LBO was a leveraged buyout.
It meant establishing an acquisition-purpose company—a SPAC—and borrowing money from banks to complete the purchase.
The collateral provided to the bank would be the assets of the company being acquired.
In other words, he would acquire the company using its own assets as collateral, then sell those assets afterward to repay the bank.
It was a way to acquire an entire company without spending a single yen of his own money.
But it was by no means a good method.
“An LBO... wouldn’t things become unnecessarily complicated once financial institutions get involved?”
“Ah, if President Kim comes in as an investor, I plan to secure the acquisition funds through another route. To be honest, I never liked the idea of going to the banks in the first place.”
Looks like the banks had put him through hell.
I nodded as I watched Son readily abandon the LBO route.
He had probably recruited Kazuhito, the vice president with broad financial connections, as CFO for the LBO plan, but with public sentiment toward Son more negative than positive right now, that strategy had lost much of its meaning.
The banks would undoubtedly demand harsh collateral terms, and the more that happened, the more Son’s grip on control would weaken.
Now that he had me as an investor, shifting to another route was the wiser decision.
Still, something felt odd.
Did he really have another window for raising that much money?
“That’s a wise decision. But can you really raise the acquisition funds another way? I heard you already transferred all of your Yahoo U.S. shares to headquarters.”
Son nodded and replied in a confident voice.
“I personally know an investor. A wealthy man who is also SoftBank’s second-largest shareholder.”
“Ah, you mean Chairman Yamasaki.”
“I’m relieved you know of him. He was the very first person to say he trusted me.”
“I knew of him, but I had no idea he was capable of mobilizing that level of cash.”
Yamasaki Hideo.
How he had accumulated that much money remained shrouded in mystery.
But rumors said his cash mobilization power rivaled major banks, and he had been one of Son’s earliest investors.
“In the original plan, the elder would directly invest about twenty percent of the acquisition price, and around thirty percent would come from SoftBank and Yahoo Japan. The remaining half would be financed through bank loans. But if President Kim joins as an investor, I don’t think I’ll need to go to the banks at all.”
“And if something goes wrong? Another company might interfere. For example, rivals in the mobile telecommunications business. KDDI in particular has been unusually vocal in criticizing the government ever since you won the mobile handset service license, hasn’t it?”
After launching high-speed internet service, Son had immediately applied for a mobile handset service license and secured it earlier this year.
“I know. But if the elder invests directly, even KDDI won’t be able to interfere anymore.”
“Is his influence really that great?”
I had never once met Yamasaki Hideo, neither in my previous life nor in this one.
“In Japan, they say there is no company owner who hasn’t received that elder’s money.”
“How can someone like that remain unknown?”
“The elder only cares about money. He dislikes stepping into the spotlight, and he never meets politicians.”
“That’s fascinating. It almost makes me want to meet him.” freeweɓnovel.cøm
I had only known that he was SoftBank’s second-largest shareholder. I had no idea his influence ran that deep.
When I casually mentioned wanting to meet him, Son gave an awkward, hesitant reply.
“I’ll try sounding him out.”
“Good. Try speaking with him. Then for now, let’s establish the SPAC.”
I considered whether to invest under my own name or insert a shell company in the middle.
“Let’s structure our side’s investment through the corporation established in Britain. For now, how about one hundred billion yen each?”
“A British corporation?”
“Yes. Direct investment under my own name doesn’t seem like the best approach. I’ll revive one of the shell companies and have it contribute the capital.”
“That would be even better.”
Son’s face brightened.
It seemed that direct investment under my own name had been an enormous burden for him as well.
“At the latest, all acquisition procedures must be completed by the end of this year. Only then will we be able to match the timing.”
“Are you thinking of a Japan release next year?”
“Most likely. First, we’ll launch simultaneously in the United States and Korea, then release it in other countries afterward.”
Son spoke again, sounding regretful.
“Still, wouldn’t Japan be better than Korea? The mobile communications market is larger there.”
“I think so too. But that’s what Apple wants.”
“I don’t understand. For testing the Asian market, Japan is a bigger market right next door than Korea.”
I agreed.
For the company’s profits, testing in Japan would be better than the Korean market.
“Who can possibly understand what Steve Jobs is thinking? If that’s what he wants, there’s no reason to stop him.”
“If you said something—”
“There is even less reason for me to do that. I’m also a customer who wants to use the iPhone as soon as possible. So launching it in Korea first is better for me. And even if you acquire Vodafone Japan, there simply isn’t enough physical time. Don’t be too greedy. If it succeeds in the American and Korean markets first, won’t that make marketing in Japan much easier?”
Though still disappointed, Son nodded.
What I said about there not being enough time was simply the truth.
“For now, continue the acquisition negotiations with Vodafone. The flies will definitely swarm in. Even so, you can still acquire it, right?”
“Of course. I am Masayoshi Son. Once I set my mind «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» on something, nothing is impossible.”
I answered his confident voice with a smile.
“Then I’ll send an agent to Japan. It should take about a week, so keep that in mind.”
I needed to revive a shell company that existed only in name, appoint a new representative, and turn it into a living corporate vehicle.
After finishing the meeting with Son, I immediately moved on to the next item on my schedule.
“Minister Han, it’s been a long time.”
Waiting for me at the meeting location was the Minister of Information and Communication.
“President Kim. It has been a while.”
He stood from his seat and shook my hand with a smile.
“People are full of praise, saying Korea’s information and communications technology has advanced greatly since your appointment.”
“Haha. That’s too much praise. Isn’t it only natural when the President and the government all move with one voice?”
“It was a painful loss for us when you left Ilseong Electronics.”
“...Let’s sit first.”
The pleasantries were over.
The moment we sat down, I got straight to the point.
“The reason I arranged this meeting so urgently is to finally wrap up something I mentioned before.” freёwebnoѵel.com
At that moment, the door opened, and Nam Jungsik, the president of Korea Telecom, entered.
“Oh dear, I’m terribly late. I see both of you are already here.”
Nam Jungsik lowered his head in apology.
I had summoned both men today with the intention of finishing all the remaining groundwork for the iPhone launch that had been postponed.
