Chapter 126
Chapter 126
126.
Silent Urban Warfare (1)
The atmosphere at the table momentarily subsided.
Dorothy took a sip of wine and said to Shinwoo, "It's simple. Join hands with me."
"What's in it for me?"
Shinwoo's question remained nonchalant.
Dorothy looked at him with interest. "MH Electronics is having a hard time with LAOJIA in China these days, right? Of course, MH Electronics has come up with a surefire plan, so the outcome is obvious, but it's not a problem that will be resolved quickly."
TSF's Chinese branch had considerable influence in China. Shinwoo was well aware that she was offering help with that kind of power, so he was slightly intrigued.
"Are you saying TSF will take care of it?"
"That alone wouldn't be enough, would it? The same goes for MH Foods. I used to be in charge of the New York headquarters at the US headquarters. How about we take care of that together?"
It was a very unconventional offer.
But Shinwoo returned to his calm expression and asked, "Wouldn't that be directly related to the interests of MH Group, not me?"
"Either way, Baek Shin-woo, you're going to take over as chairman of MH Group, aren't you?"
Shinwoo could tell in what direction Dorothy was guessing his intentions.
"What makes you so sure I'm after that position? And right now, Myung In-chul is more likely to be the next chairman than I am."
He couldn't ignore the influence Myung In-chul had cultivated within the group for decades.
Of course, Dorothy was aware of the situation.
"Director Kwak Chi-young chose Myung In-chul over you, Mr. Baek. In fact, Director Kwak is the one who started this whole thing."
For a moment, Shinwoo's expression hardened as if he hadn't known that fact.
"Are you saying that Director Kwak planned the MH Electronics and MH Foods issues?"
Dorothy's smile deepened at Shinwoo's question, as he considered whether or not to take the bait.
"That's right."
"Aren't you in the same company as Director Kwak? I know there are no permanent allies or enemies, but is it okay for you to tell me such important information?"
"You like give and take, don't you? You have to give something to get something, right?"
Throwing out bait before the other party made an offer. It was similar to what Shinwoo had been doing.
Of course, he couldn't miss the meaning behind it.
She was trying to get him to trust her with the bait and then draw him into her fold.
"I do like it. So, I need to give you something in return for what you've told me."
"...I'm curious what you're going to give me."
Shinwoo looked at her with a very calm expression and replied, "Do you know a company called Zhaodong?"
"If you're talking about one of the top five online shopping malls in China, of course I know it."
"I'd advise you to get rid of any investments you have there as soon as possible."
Dorothy's expression hardened for a moment.
"What's the reason for that? Is it something like the Koga Pharmaceuticals situation in Japan?"
"Similar. I have information that something bad is about to happen."
"...What kind of thing?"
Shinwoo hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"The Ministry of Public Security has moved. However, public sentiment has been fierce since the recent Ray Sung Group incident, so an Embargo has been placed on it, and I only know that it's a situation that's bound to explode."
"Is MH Future Security spying on the Chinese judiciary?"
Shinwoo brushed off her question with a laugh.
"Of course not. I just have a little more information than others. And I'd like to recommend Baian, Hatulin, and Landtech for investment. If you handle them well, you can make at least 300% profit within a year."
Dorothy wasn't unconditionally happy with that kind of talk.
"What's the reason?"
"Baian is in talks with a company called Jafar, and Landtech is in talks with a company called Shaienbio for a large investment. Hatulin is a food delivery application with good growth rates. I heard that they are also receiving investment proposals from several companies."
Those were pieces of information that Dorothy, the head of TSF's Chinese branch, hadn't heard yet. Of course, she wasn't marking every company in China, but if a company was going to jump to 300% annual profit, there should have been some signs.
"How did you know that...? Ah, you're not going to answer anyway, are you?"
"I'm glad you know. I've been quite annoyed by people asking me that all the time."
Right now, Dorothy was itching to find out the situation of the companies Shinwoo had mentioned. But she tried not to show it as much as possible and said again, "I'll have to check if the information you gave me can be a deal. But even if it's true, I don't know if it'll be of equal value to what I told you."
That's because she had sold Kwak Chi-young's information. That was information that could be dangerous for Dorothy as well, so she emphasized that she needed more of Shinwoo's trust.
"Director McDaniel might be weighing me against someone else, just like Director Kwak Chi-young, right?"
Dorothy bit her lip slightly at that question.
"You're more suspicious than I thought."
"I can't help it."
Dorothy had no choice but to agree for now.
"I understand what you mean. Then I'll check what you said and ask for another meeting."
"Please do."
After that, the conversation continued with topics about the recent economy of China and Hong Kong.
* * *
The next day.
Luxury cars lined up and entered the Jincai Center building in the northern part of Hong Kong Island.
That was because the Baeseong Corporation Group's bidding, organized by DAX Investment Company, was scheduled to take place on the 28th floor.
Shinwoo entered the conference room where the bidding was scheduled to take place, accompanied by bodyguards.
Wei and Meian weren't with him. Wei had gone to the orphanage for a while, and Meian had been left in Weisuan's care.
The atmosphere inside the conference room was chaotic due to the many people.
Perhaps because it was such a large bid, there were many Korean business people, and they began to murmur as they saw Shinwoo enter.
"That guy... it's Baek Shin-woo, the CEO of MH Future Security."
"So it was true that MH Group was jumping in?"
"If they've already monopolized the system from Livio Soft domestically, shouldn't they be reasonable? What are other companies supposed to live on if they take over the logistics lines as well?"
Some people recognized Shinwoo because of MH Group's 40th anniversary party last time.
Meanwhile, Shinwoo went to one of the desks and sat down. The atmosphere around him remained chaotic. Then other people came into the conference room.
A familiar face. Myung Sung-chul, the president of MH Foods and Retail, was among the people.
'He's using a fund, but he came all the way here himself?'
As Shinwoo was thinking, Myung Sung-chul, who had walked inside, approached Shinwoo with his secretary next to him.
"Long time no see."
Even though it was a public setting, Myung Sung-chul's words were short.
In response, Shinwoo slightly raised his head and looked up at him.
"Indeed."
Perhaps because he answered too casually, a vein popped out slightly on Myung Sung-chul's forehead.
"Do you think you have a chance in today's bidding?"
"I don't think I'll fail."
"You must have prepared quite well."
Shinwoo stared intently at Myung Sung-chul at that question.
"I guess you've prepared well too, President Myung Sung-chul."
It was a question asked with a somewhat (?) pure intention.
But Myung Sung-chul didn't take it that way.
"You're very confident."
"Rather than that, it looks like the bidding is about to start, so why don't you take a seat. Unless you're planning to stand."
"......"
Myung Sung-chul frowned deeply and moved to the opposite side with his secretary and bodyguards.
Meanwhile, one of DAX's public bidding officials, who had entered, went to the front of the platform and said in English.
"Thank you for coming to this event today. My name is Zhi Wipan, and I'm in charge of conducting this public bidding for the Baeseong Corporation affiliate."
Following the introduction, an explanation of the bidding process followed.
The items up for public bidding were all the affiliates except for the headquarters.
Baesung Distribution, Baesung Cement, Baesung Super. The rest were subsidiaries, so if they just received the bid, they would all come along.
Of course, the bidding price was set at a minimum of 200 billion to a maximum of 800 billion or more per affiliate, so the question was how much higher it would go from there.
"The process is simple: the acquisition will be decided by the place that submits the highest bid, and the contract will be signed within a week along with the documents that were specified in advance as soon as the bid is decided. Do you have any questions?"
At that question, a man on one side casually raised his finger.
"Where are you from?"
"KD International, Lee Sang-man."
People around him buzzed at the man's introduction.
That was because he was the husband of Bae Min-sook, the eldest daughter of Baeseong Corporation Chairman Bae Young-cheol, who had aimed for the chairman's position, and the executive director of KD International, as well as the cousin of the chairman of KD Group.
Frankly, he was only an executive director in name, but he was called the real power in KD International.
"Please speak."
"Is there a reason why Baeseong Corporation wasn't put up for public bidding?"
Only affiliates were listed in the bidding options.
"There has been no internal decision regarding Baeseong Corporation."
"I contacted you through KD Group before. It was the same then, but is there a company that has been pre-determined for acquisition?"
With this question, one could see how far Lee Sang-man's goal was.
At the same time, the small voices that had been ringing out merged and echoed loudly in the conference room.
Shinwoo was quietly listening to those things. Of course, he had known in advance that KD International would participate in the bidding.
'Did he come to poke at something he couldn't eat?'
There had been signs that KD Group itself was trying to create a distribution affiliate for a long time. Naturally, Lee Sang-man had tried to take over Baeseong Corporation using Bae Min-sook for that purpose.
But when Bae Min-sook tried to become chairman herself, she broke up with her husband, Lee Sang-man, and they were in the middle of a divorce lawsuit now that Baeseong Corporation had collapsed.
Meanwhile, Zhi Wipan looked at Lee Sang-man and answered, "I was only in charge of this bidding, and I don't know the details you just mentioned. Are there any other questions?"
No other questions were asked.
In the quiet atmosphere, Zhi Wipan led the situation again.
"The bidding will be conducted all at once. Participating companies can put the previously distributed forms in an envelope and put them in the box in front."
Each company had determined the acquisition price in advance according to the bidding schedule.
But because they had confirmed that KD International, as well as MH Group's Myung Sung-chul and Shinwoo, had jumped into the acquisition battle, the atmosphere was unusual.
Everyone was wavering about whether to submit at the price they had determined in advance.
At that time, Mark Freeman, who had been standing next to Shinwoo, walked out. And with a nonchalant expression, he put the envelope he had been holding from the beginning into the box labeled 'BAESUNG Distribution'.
'Is Myung Sung-chul starting to worry now?'
Everyone hadn't prepared just one document. They had set their own maximum lower and upper limits in case there were any variables, and they were wondering what to submit.
In the meantime, Woo Nam-yong, Myung Sung-chul's secretary, who had been quiet, put the document in the box and returned, just like Mark Freeman.
'Did Myung Sung-chul put in all the funds he had prepared?'
Shinwoo thought so and quietly waited for the bidding to close