Free Web NovelThere were several ways to structure an acquisition.
You could choose from stock purchase, asset purchase, business transfer, merger, and other various methods.
This time, the acquisition of Vodafone Japan would take the form of purchasing 98% of Vodafone’s existing shares in Vodafone Japan.
Vodafone Japan was an unlisted company, and the remaining 2% of the shares were divided among Japanese companies.
Since all due diligence—legal, financial, accounting, HR, and everything else concerning Vodafone Japan—had already been completed before the price negotiations, the procedures after reaching an agreement would not take very long.
From this point on, there was nothing left for me to do, so I decided to leave Japan with an easy mind.
“Let’s meet again next time.”
“Yes, President Kim.”
Despite his busy schedule, Masayoshi Son personally came to the airport to see me off.
“Ah, the elder asked me to tell you he’d like you to visit again next time.”
“Please tell him that if I come to Japan again, I’ll be sure to visit.”
“It seems he really took a liking to you. He’s not usually like that.”
A connection that went back to our grandfathers’ generation—of course he would.
I answered with a smile instead of words.
Then I turned to John, who was standing beside him.
“President John.”
“Yes.”
“Please help Chairman Son bring everything to a proper close.”
“Understood.”
After parting with them, I boarded the private jet and returned to Korea.
* * *
The day after I returned to Korea, I welcomed guests from China and Hong Kong.
The guest from China was Baidu Chairman Baidu’s Robin Li.
The guest from Hong Kong was Chairman CK Hutchison Holdings’s founder, the man known as Hong Kong’s Superman, Li Kashing.
“Chairman Li Kashing, I’ve heard a great deal about you. They say you’re called the Warren Buffett of Asia.”
“Haha. Compared to Dream High, which is so deeply connected to you, it’s only a drop in the bucket.”
Li Kashing waved his hand modestly and extended it toward me.
Though he denied it with humble words, he was always ranked first among Asia’s greatest business leaders by publications like Forbes and Time.
“You’re too modest. I’ve wanted to meet you at least once.”
“I wanted to meet you as well, President Kim. I’d heard rumors that you were deeply involved in Dream High’s success, so I was curious.”
So the rumors had spread even this far.
I smiled and finished shaking his hand.
“Chairman Li Yanhong, welcome as well.”
“Yes, President Kim. This is our first time since Shanghai, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I hope we get a good result today. Please, have a seat first.”
We sat facing one another.
First, I asked why Li Kashing had personally come all the way to Korea.
“You want to distribute the iPhone in Hong Kong and Macau? Where did you hear that I hold the exclusive rights for China?”
“I found out while tracking Chairman Son’s movements. I learned that you hold the iPhone exclusivity for Korea, China, and Japan. So I was the one who first brought it up to Chairman Li Yanhong directly.”
When I looked toward Robin Li, he nodded and said,
“Haha. He came to see me already knowing. I suppose rumors spread while I was making quiet contact with the telecom companies in China.”
Earlier, I had asked Robin Li to quietly meet with Chinese telecom companies and begin preliminary discussions.
Because all Chinese mobile carriers were state-owned enterprises, unlike Japan there was no way to acquire a telecom company itself and extract profits that way.
Even if the talks remained underground, someone of Li Kashing's stature could easily uncover them. frёeωebɳovel.com
“I see.”
“If it offended you, I apologize.”
“Not at all. My holding the iPhone exclusivity is practically an open secret now.”
I looked back at Li Kashing.
“You only need Hong Kong and Macau, correct?”
“Yes. We won’t get approval on the mainland. Even so, I can assure you the iPhone will be even more successful in Hong Kong and Macau than on the mainland.”
It wasn’t a bad proposal for me either.
“And what profit do I gain?”
“I’ll sell all of Hutchison Telecom’s treasury shares to you, President Kim. Roughly a 10% stake.”
“A stake in Hutchison Telecommunications...”
I knew Hutchison Telecom had recently listed on the Hong Kong exchange.
But I hadn’t expected him to offer that from the start.
“If the iPhone launches exclusively in Hong Kong and Macau, Hutchison Telecom’s stock price will absolutely rise.”
“That would certainly be true.”
I considered it for a moment, but no matter how I looked at it, Hutchison Telecom’s shares were not especially tempting.
“Does it not interest you?”
Instead of answering, I simply looked at Li Kashing.
For him, this was likely a carefully considered proposal, but to me it held little significance.
After a low hum of thought, Li Kashing asked in a measured voice,
“Is there something you want?” freewёbnoνel.com
“Please give me a 10% stake in Hutchison Whampoa.”
“What? Hutchison Whampoa?”
“Yes.”
Hutchison Whampoa was a subsidiary of Cheung Kong, but its market capitalization was larger than the parent itself.
The reason I wanted Hutchison Whampoa’s stake was because it would later merge with the group.
“Hmm...”
“I’ll acquire the 10% stake through a third-party allocated paid-in capital increase. What do you think? In truth, I’d like to ask for Cheung Kong’s shares, but I know you’d never agree to that. Since Cheung Kong already owns 49% of Hutchison Whampoa, your management control won’t be threatened.”
“Do I need to give you an answer right now?”
“No. Take all the time you need to think and decide.”
After a long moment of contemplation, Li Kashing nodded.
“Understood. Then I’ll give it serious thought.”
Just then, there was a knock on the office door.
“Boss. President Park Hyunseong has arrived.”
“Send him in.”
Soon the door opened and Hyunseong entered.
“Welcome.”
When I greeted him warmly, he smiled and returned the greeting.
“This is President Park Hyunseong of HS Venture Capital.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Robin Li.”
“I’ve heard a lot as well. Park Hyunseong.”
The reason Robin Li had come to Korea was to distribute the games from the game companies Hyunseong had invested in throughout China.
“I’m Li Kashing. A pleasure.”
Li Kashing also extended his hand toward Hyunseong.
Seeing that hand, Hyunseong’s eyes widened slightly.
“Could you perhaps be Chairman Li of Cheung Kong Group?”
“You know me?”
“What investor could possibly not know you, Chairman?”
After shaking Li Kashing's hand, Hyunseong kept studying him in amazement, even letting out small gasps.
For someone as expressionless «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» as Park Hyunseong to react like that, it meant he was genuinely stunned.
“President Kim did the same thing, and now President Park is gilding my face as well. I’ve also heard much about you.”
“....”
“I don’t say that lightly. I wanted to meet you today, and here we are. I had no idea you and President Kim knew each other.”
In place of the silent Hyunseong, I answered.
“President Park and I are old friends.”
“Is that so? President Kim truly surrounds himself with capable people. President James in America, Director Eva in Hong Kong, and now President Park in Korea as well.”
After finishing the handshake, Li Kashing turned to me.
“I’ll think it over and contact you again. I should be going now. Chairman Li Yanhong, let’s meet again later. President Park, I hope we meet again as well.”
After greeting everyone, Li Kashing left first.
Once he was gone, Hyunseong asked,
“What was Li Kashing here for? Didn’t you say only Chairman Li Yanhong was coming today?”
“I only found out today myself. Sit down first. We’ll talk about that later—for now, we need to focus on business with Chairman Li Yanhong.”
As if regaining his senses, Hyunseong quickly nodded and sat beside me.
“Chairman Li Yanhong, you’ve made your decision, correct?”
“Yes. I plan to enter game publishing. If we can simply bring Korean games into China, success is practically guaranteed.”
“The games Tencent took were all from studios President Park invested in.”
“I’ve already heard.”
“Then let’s discuss it first. Hyunseong, you brought the list of game companies that want to enter China, right?”
Hyunseong opened the document bag he had brought and pulled out the papers.
“We prepared four in total: three games already running paid services in Korea, and one game that hasn’t launched yet. Chairman Li Yanhong, please review them.”
After the short introduction, Hyunseong handed the documents to Robin Li.
“Thank you. I’ll review them first.”
While Robin Li reviewed the papers, I spoke with Hyunseong.
“No major issues with work?”
“We recovered the investment from every company that went public last year, and now we’re looking for new companies to invest in. But there aren’t as many worthwhile targets as before.”
“Really? Nothing catches your eye?”
“Lots of people come to pitch, but more than half are frauds. Frauds, all of them. They only talk about absurd futures. Sigh.”
Hyunseong let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
Given the state of the market, it was only natural for fraudsters selling grand dreams to be everywhere.
I decided to give the worried-looking Hyunseong a hint.
“Then pay attention to smartphone app developers. Especially messenger apps and mobile game studios.”
“Because of the iPhone?”
“Yeah. The iPhone is only the beginning, and latecomers are already preparing Android smartphones. I heard even Google is making a smartphone.”
“Google is making a phone?”
At his doubtful tone, I spoke firmly to plant certainty.
“Even so, don’t expect anything with the same level of polish as the iPhone. At least for a few years, the iPhone will dominate alone.”
“You really rate the future of smartphones highly. I still don’t know. I activated one and started using it myself, but I still don’t quite see what’s so great about it.”
By now, had Kim Cheolsu already stepped down as CEO of NEX?
Because the iPhone had launched earlier than in my previous life, I was curious how his path might change too.
“You know CEO Kim Cheolsu, right?”
“The NEX CEO?”
“Yeah. Is he still there?”
“I think he’s been transferred to the U.S. He was appointed head of the American subsidiary and is overseeing the U.S. business.”
“Really? Keep an eye on his movements.”
“Why? Something coming?”
“He’ll hand in his resignation soon.”
Hyunseong frowned as if he couldn’t understand it at all.
“He’s leaving the company he built? Why?”
“Power struggles. What other reason would there be?”
“I should contact him. I don’t think I’ve seen him in over a year.”
“So you know him?”
“We’ve had meals together a few times. I invest in a lot of game companies, remember? That’s how he got in touch.”
That was news even to me.
Was he carving out his own route, or was it something else?
“Try contacting him. See what he’s doing.”
“Got it.”
If Kim Cheolsu entered the messenger business like before, the timing was perfect.
If Hyunseong joined as an early investor, the profits would be enormous.
And if not, I could simply hire developers and build the messenger myself.
“The three games already in service are exactly the ones I had in mind. Will all three studios sign with us?”
At that moment, Robin Li finished reviewing the documents and asked.
Hyunseong answered.
“Yes. We’ve already concluded the discussions. The terms still need to be adjusted, but Baidu is the preferred bidder as the China service partner.”
“Ah, that’s a relief. Since this is our first time in game services, I was worried the studios would react negatively.”
“Baidu’s standing in China is already famous. At first we approached Tencent, but the negotiations broke down.”
Robin Li looked at me, and I gave a small nod.
“I told them I was severing ties with Tencent. So the discussions ended there.”
“I heard Chairman Pony Ma has been running around meeting senior Communist Party officials.”
“That’s the only survival path left for him. But the Communist Youth League faction and the princeling faction won’t side with them. And the Shanghai clique doesn’t have the bandwidth to care about companies right now.”
“We’re also internally developing a messenger to compete with QQ.”
This was news even to me.
“A messenger?”
“Yes. Since we’ve already decided to enter the same business Tencent is in, we need to take a piece of the pie they currently hold. While launching the Korean games, we also plan to launch the messenger service at the same time.”
Baidu had never entered the messenger business before.
This too was a future changed because of me.
“You’ve chosen a difficult road. QQ already has the first-mover advantage and dominant market share.”
“Messenger development itself isn’t difficult. Alongside the game launch, we’re preparing linked promotional events. If the games succeed, I think we can pull users over. Internally, the review is already complete.”
That meant Baidu had fully committed to invading Tencent’s territory.
In this life, it seemed Tencent would never grow into the giant it once became.
