Improper Solicitation (3)
They just hadn’t announced it yet.
The merger was effectively dead already. If they pushed ahead now, they would only end up losing at the shareholder meeting.
With the dispute no longer hanging over the company, the stock that had climbed to nearly ₩100,000 had fallen more than 15 percent and was now trading in the ₩80,000 range.
Even so, it was still more than twice the price it had been when the merger proposal was first announced.
“Wow! So they really killed the merger in the end.”
Senior Dong-ho’s expression was an odd mix of relief and disappointment. It was good that the merger had fallen through, but a drop in the share price was hardly welcome news.
“Ah! I should’ve sold right before the article came out, huh?”
I had already stopped him from selling.
Sara gave a light clap.
“You really made the merger collapse. That’s impressive.”
Her face made it clear she wasn’t just being polite; she was genuinely amazed.
And no wonder. This was something even KSGI, the biggest activist hedge fund in Korea, and Elliott Management, infamous around the world as a ruthless speculator, had failed to pull off.
Sara looked at me and asked, “So, are you going to exit now?”
A private equity fund searched for companies worth buying, raised money from a small circle of investors, and acquired the target. After that came restructuring or investment to raise the company’s value, then a sale to recover the principal and the profit. That final step was the exit.
Of all those stages, exit was the hardest and most important.
No matter how much the company’s value rose, it was still just a number on a balance sheet. Until the money came in from an actual sale, it wasn’t really mine.
What use was a valuation of more than a trillion won if there was no one willing to buy?
That was why you had to build your exit strategy from the very beginning. If the ending was good, wasn’t everything good?
The stake Continue Capital had bought, including the shares held through nominees, was 9.2 percent.
The ₩330 billion I’d invested had already become ₩670 billion.
Some people might say that was only a little over double, but when you calculate returns, the next most important factor after the amount is the holding period.
The investment period had been only about a month.
Annualized, that came out to more than 1,000 percent.
So was that enough?
“It’s not over yet.”
Sara blinked in confusion.
“Not over? You’re not saying you’re going to try the merger again, are you?”
“No, that’s not it.”
For the time being, they wouldn’t dare touch corporate restructuring. They would just stay put and watch the mood.
“Then what are you planning?”
I wrote numbers on the whiteboard as I spoke.
“Think about it. With the suspicion of improper solicitation hanging over them, the National Pension Service can’t exercise its voting rights for the time being. On top of that, the minority shareholders have turned their backs, and this failed merger proved that the founding family’s grip on the group is weaker than everyone thought. It also showed that they’re willing to trample other shareholders’ interests whenever it suits the family. From the shareholders’ point of view, it’s only natural to start wondering whether they can still trust this management team. And even if the stock rose because of the dispute, Hanjeong Mulsan still has a lot more assets than its share price reflects. In other words, there’s still plenty left to strip out.”
Senior Dong-ho looked baffled. “What do you mean by that?”
“You really thought we’d just take a tiny bite out of such a great setup and walk away?”
“Hold on. Don’t tell me—”
Realizing what I meant, Senior Dong-ho and Kim Beom-seok both gaped, while Sara’s already large eyes went even wider.
I set down the marker and said, “Yes. We’re going to take Hanjeong Group’s control away from them this time.”
Even inside Hanjeong Group, people had already started speaking as if the merger were dead and buried.
The merger between Hanjeong Mulsan and HJ Logics had been pushed through with everything they had, right up to the last second, while ignoring the backlash and concerns from shareholders.
But because of everything that had happened, minority shareholders had turned away, and even the National Pension Service could no longer cast its vote.
On top of that, a fierce political battle had erupted over the allegations of improper solicitation.
Under those circumstances, pushing the merger any further would only invite a stronger backlash. But they couldn’t just pretend none of it had happened and sweep everything under the rug either.
Someone had to take responsibility.
Chairman Ju Min-jae held a press conference at headquarters.
It was extremely rare for him, having mostly stepped back from day-to-day management, to appear before the press.
With domestic and foreign reporters gathered before him, Chairman Ju Min-jae stepped up to the podium.
He bowed deeply toward the dozens of cameras aimed at him.
“I sincerely apologize to the public for the concern this has caused. This is entirely my fault for failing to raise my son properly. I also offer my deepest apologies to the chauffeur who was harmed. Director Ju Hyeon-jin has resigned from all of his positions and will face the proper punishment under the law. As a father, not as chairman, I will also do everything I can to ease the pain of the victim, even if only a little.”
The whole mess had started with the chauffeur’s exposé of Director Ju Hyeon-jin’s abuse of power.
Some media outlets had tried to spin follow-up coverage by bringing up the chauffeur’s drunk-driving incident and past assault record, suggesting it was a shakedown aimed at extracting a settlement. But just then the improper-solicitation story had exploded, and the public had barely paid any attention.
While Chairman Ju Min-jae paused, the only sounds in the room were the rapid clicking of camera shutters and the tapping of laptop keys.
There was no way the chairman of Hanjeong Group had called a press conference just to apologize for his son’s misconduct.
The real point came next.
Chairman Ju Min-jae continued in a calm voice.
“At present, a number of baseless speculations and allegations unrelated to the facts are swirling around this merger. Since I believe it is impossible to proceed until all of these rumors and suspicions are completely cleared up, I will suspend the merger between Hanjeong Mulsan and HJ Logics. I will also take responsibility for this series of events by stepping down from my position as chairman of Hanjeong Group, as well as from my directorship and every other post I hold.”
Chairman Ju Min-jae was a titan of the Korean economy, a man who had led Hanjeong Group for nearly forty years after taking the reins from his father.
The reporters couldn’t hide their shock at his declaration of retirement.
“I sincerely thank the public for the support you’ve shown Hanjeong Group all these years. And as for the groundless suspicions and rumors, we will respond firmly—”
As the chairman continued speaking, a murmur began to spread among the reporters.
Everyone was looking down at their laptops or phones, clearly rattled.
It wasn’t because Chairman Ju Min-jae had announced his retirement. It wasn’t because the merger had fallen through, either. It was for another reason entirely.
What the hell is going on?
When Chairman Ju Min-jae realized the reporters were no longer paying attention to him, he stopped speaking.
At that moment, one reporter raised a hand and asked, “Are you familiar with a company called Continue Capital?”
That question opened the floodgates, and the reporters began firing off questions one after another.
“Is it connected to Hanjeong Group in some way?”
“Were you aware of the disclosure in advance?”
“Is there any connection between today’s press conference and the filing?”
The sudden shift left Chairman Ju Min-jae flustered. Executive Director Park Un-yong rushed up to the podium and showed him a tablet with the article on it.
It was nothing more than a one-line headline, with no real body text at all.
“What the—”
The moment he saw the article, it was as if his mind stopped working for a second.
Continue Capital?
He had heard that name before.
It made sense. It was the private equity fund that had recently been making headlines everywhere.
Chairman Ju Min-jae had been thinking that some unknown force had been working behind the scenes in everything that had happened recently.
There was no evidence, but it felt almost certain.
You could call it the instinct of a man who had led companies for decades.
And as it turned out, his instinct had been right.
So these bastards were behind all of this?
If they had been hiding in the shadows and manipulating the situation all along, why had they suddenly shown themselves now, at the very moment he was announcing the merger’s suspension?
Why had they bought 9.2 percent of the stock?
Don’t tell me…
The instant the truth dawned on him, it felt as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his head.
His vision went white, and his mind drifted away.
“Gah—!”
Chairman Ju Min-jae’s body toppled backward.
Startled, Executive Director Park Un-yong caught the chairman and shouted, “A doctor! Get a doctor here, now!”
Thrust into the sudden chaos, the reporters scattered and moved in every direction.
“What the hell is going on?”
“This Continue Capital—that’s the same one, right? The one that bought Snow Crash recently.”
“Did CEO David Lockhart do something else?”
“Where did they get the money to make this investment?”
“Can we get KSGI on the line right now?”
“Call Hanjeong Group’s PR team and ask them what’s going on.”
“How is Chairman Ju doing?”
“Who’s on the way to the hospital?”
The reporters rushed everywhere, trying to figure out what Continue Capital actually did, how it had raised the money, and what its objective was.
News Trigger’s office, the one that had published the first article, was strangely quiet.
Min Hong-soo had received the information even before the disclosure was filed, which was why he had been able to break the story first.
Ahn Hyun-cheol stared at Min Hong-soo with a dazed expression and asked, “You said Han Miru gave you the information?”
“Yes.”
“Then that means Continue Capital is connected to Han Miru, right?”
“I suppose so.”
Ahn Hyun-cheol blinked.
“Just what the hell is he?”
“Honestly? I have no idea either…”
Only a few months ago, Han Miru had been an ordinary office worker.
And yet after blowing up the next chairman of DA Financial Group and walking away from the company, he had exposed the Cobalt Gate scandal, and now he was shaking up not just the political world but Hanjeong Group as well.
Was that even supposed to be possible?
And yet impossible things kept happening.
Thinking of Han Miru, Min Hong-soo wondered, What are you really?
Watching Chairman Ju Min-jae’s press conference, Heo Min-woong sprayed coffee across the table in shock.
“Pfft!”
“Ah! Are you all right, sir?”
The secretary beside him hurriedly pulled out some tissues and handed them over.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
His expensive dress shirt was soaked through, but that was the least of his concerns.
“Why the hell are you showing up here?”
“Pardon? Who’s showing up?”
“Oh, never mind.”
But the shock refused to settle.
So Continue Capital was involved in the battle for control of Hanjeong Group.
The moment the name Continue Capital appeared, everyone would have thought of David Lockhart.
But Heo Min-woong knew there was someone even more important standing behind it. He thought of the Korean young man he had met in the United States, the man who had been as good as a savior to him.
If it hadn’t been for him, Heo Min-woong might not even have been sitting here right now.
He frowned in confusion.
If the goal had only been to sink the merger, they could have sold quietly and walked away. Why disclose the stake at the very moment they were announcing the abandonment?
Don’t tell me they’re after control?
The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately shook his head.
“No way. Even if they are, that’s impossible.”
Maybe it would be possible for a mid-sized chaebol, but never for one of the top ten conglomerate groups to lose control of itself. It had never happened before.
If anything, the group would rather go under than surrender control in the end. That was how chaebols operated.
“Wait a second.”
And yet their opponent was the kind of person who could do the impossible without even blinking. Hadn’t he turned a company worth more than ₩4 trillion into something practically worthless last time?
He had even bought a startup valued at more than ₩10 trillion on the market.
“Now this is getting interesting.”