Chapter 844: Chapter 844

That’s why Yoo-hyun answered more sincerely.

“Yes. I’m confident that we can succeed if you join me.”

“I trust your intuition. And I won’t disappoint you. I’ll stake everything on it.”

Yoo-hyun showed his strong will, and Son Jeongui’s lips slightly curved up.

“I told you before, right? There is no limit as long as you don’t give up.”

“Actually, that’s what I’ve always kept in my heart. I never told anyone, though.”

The words that inspired Yoo-hyun back then came back to him.

From the bottom to the top, Son Jeongui’s eyes had always been the same, but they sparkled now.

“In that sense, I’ll bet on your limit.”

“I’ll make sure you won’t regret your choice.”

“Of course you should.”

The two people smiled as if they made a promise, looking into each other’s eyes.

Son Jeongui made up his mind and returned to Japan.

His determination was evident from the news that came out the next day.

Softbank wanted to acquire ARM to dominate the IoT (Internet of Things) market.

Many people were worried about his reckless move because it was such a huge amount, but Son Jeongui declared that he would invest for the future.

But Son Jeongui unexpectedly changed his mind.

He bet more on the possibility of Reverb than on acquiring ARM.

It wasn’t just Softbank.

Alibaba, Meruson AB, Y Combinator, Hansung, Ilsung, etc.

The big companies that were demanding to invest in the global market temporarily suspended their investments and secured cash.

Yoo-hyun was behind this event, which had no apparent reason.

It was almost time to get ready.

Park Young-hoon’s voice echoed in the main office of Mirinae Securities on Wall Street.

“Yes. Yes. I’ll do that. Yes. Okay. I’ll make sure there are no mistakes. Absolutely.”

He was confident in front of the board members of Hansung Electronics, but he was very careful throughout the call.

He stood up and answered politely.

He slumped on the sofa as soon as he hung up the phone.

“What’s with the sigh?”

Yoo-hyun, who was sitting across from him, asked, and Park Young-hoon shook his head.

“I don’t know. Every time I hear the new president’s voice, I feel drained.”

“You said you were fine.”

“It was more creepy when I met him in person. How can a person be so cold?”

The person who talked to Park Young-hoon was Shin Kyung-soo of Seven Investment.

Yoo-hyun chuckled, looking at him who had conspired with Shin Kyung-soo twice.

“That’s why it’s scarier. He must have a grudge.”

“So what? You’re the boss now.”

Mirinae Securities bought a large stake in Seven Investment as a condition of investment.

Park Young-hoon became the major shareholder of Shin Kyung-soo’s company.

Still, Park Young-hoon waved his hand as if he was fed up.

“The new president is not like a subordinate. I feel like I’m shrinking when I face him.”

“Don’t exaggerate. What do you mean?”

“What do you mean? Stop beating around the bush and start already.”

“Of course. The preliminary work should be done by now.”

It was the moment when Park Young-hoon answered.

Kim Sang-woo, the manager, opened the door and came in with a knock.

He, who had drunk with Yoo-hyun several times, adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses and reported.

“President. We secured 3 percent of the shares of Icahn Goldenway.”

“Good job. It must have been hard, but you did it quickly.”

“It’s for the country. We have to do whatever it takes.”

Yoo-hyun was dumbfounded by Kim Sang-woo’s bold answer, but he also understood it.

-I was fired from the company I barely got into because of Carl Icahn during the IMF era, and I barely got into Mirinae Securities after all kinds of hardships. And the bad luck continued.

Kim Sang-woo gave up his major and joined Mirinae Securities to survive.

He did all kinds of things to barely make it.

But six years later, Carl Icahn visited Korea again and swung his sword at the Korean securities industry, and he was fired again.

When he finally returned to work, Mirinae Securities had fallen to the bottom of the industry.

‘Now we’re at the top of the industry.’

He couldn’t even tell how much he had suffered in the meantime.

Most of the people who stayed at Mirinae Securities had similar stories.

They were loyal to the company, and they were full of hostility towards Carl Icahn.

Park Young-hoon, who empathized with the employees’ feelings even though he didn’t experience it directly, nodded.

“That’s a good attitude. In that sense, I’m going to send a public shareholder letter.”

“Huh! You mean what Carl Icahn did to us…”

“Yes. That’s right. We have to pay back what we received. Do you remember the words that Carl Icahn said when he sent the shareholder letter?”

“Of course. How can I forget?”

“Please tell me. I’ll refer to it when I write the letter.”

The shareholder letter is a kind of letter that a shareholder sends to the company management.

Mirinae Securities had the right to send a shareholder letter containing the management requirements as a major shareholder and institutional investor who owned 3 percent of the shares of Icahn Goldenway.

It was Carl Icahn’s style to publicly disclose it to the media and pressure the management.

Kim Sang-woo’s eyes widened, as if he was surprised.

“This… The director is here, too. I don’t know if it’s okay.”

What’s the matter with him?

“Don’t worry. Just ignore me.”

Yoo-hyun waved his hand, and Kim Sang-woo, who was looking around, suddenly rolled up his sleeves and scowled.

Then he shouted, waving his fist in the air.

“Hey! You’re running the company , and the stock price is this shape, this mess! Before I call a board meeting and fire you right away, sell this, split this, and pay dividends. Huh?”

“Ahem. It’s something .”

Park Young-hoon blinked his eyes as he looked at Kim Sang-woo, the director who hastily wrapped up the situation.

“So… that’s how it is. But did Carl Icahn say anything like that?”

“He didn’t say it, he wrote it.”

“So you mean it’s in an official document?”

“Well, of course, there was a lot of subjective interpretation involved. But the people who received it were not lacking, if anything, they were more than enough. That kid is totally evil. How bad is he? Well…”

Kim Sang-woo, the director, poured out his words with an excited expression.

It contained all the misdeeds of Carl Icahn after he sent the open letter.

That’s what he always said when he was drunk.

Yoo-hyun and Park Young-hoon shrugged their shoulders as if they had made a promise when they met eyes.

Park Young-hoon wrote a shareholder letter based on Kim Sang-woo’s words.

It contained criticism of the management’s incompetence, demands for dividend increase and shareholder-friendly policies, and measures to be taken if they did not comply.

Of course, he removed the vulgar words and kept the dignity.

It was a bit provocative, but in a normal case, it would have been ignored.

There seemed to be no one who would pay attention to the shareholder letter sent by Mirinae Securities, a remote company.

But the opponent was Icahn Goldenway, who stood at the top of Wall Street.

This difference turned the whole situation upside down.

Just by throwing a stone at the sacred area, related articles poured out.

The quiet Icahn Goldenway’s shareholder board heated up for the first time in a while.

-Where is Mirinae Securities? What are they doing with 3 percent?

-They are the number one investment company in Korea, right? The CEO is the guy who made With Messenger. He has quite a lot of assets.

-Even so, that’s ridiculous. A company in the boonies is challenging a market cap of 200 billion dollars (240 trillion won)?

-But it’s true that the stock price is too stagnant. It would be nice if it normalized this time.

-The situation is interesting. If Mirinae Securities really buys more shares, Carl Icahn will be in trouble, right? He doesn’t have much stake.

What if Mirinae Securities owns 33 percent of Icahn Goldenway’s shares?

They would have the power to block the board’s special resolution alone.

Carl Icahn, the major shareholder, had 20 percent of the shares, and the equity structure did not look so solid on the surface.

How would Carl Icahn react?

Yoo-hyun was lost in thought as he watched the fluctuating stock price.

Meanwhile, Carl Icahn sneered as he checked Park Young-hoon’s open letter.

“How dare you copy my method? You’re funny guys.”

“The fund size is quite large. Softbank, Meruson AB, Y Combinator, Hansung, Ilsung, etc. have secured cash, so there is a high possibility that they have formed an alliance.”

The vice president of Icahn Goldenway reported, and Carl Icahn waved his hand.

“No. That’s not possible.”

“Mirinae Securities is also Steve Han’s company. He has global connections, including Paul Graham.”

“It’s not that they didn’t form an alliance, but that they don’t plan to acquire our shares. That’s impossible from the start.”

Only 20 percent of Icahn Goldenway’s shares were circulating in the market.

The rest were all kept by the leaders of the activist fund, the allied forces, and it was impossible to lure them away.

No matter how fearless the rookie was, he wouldn’t have rushed in without knowing this fact.

The vice president nodded as he understood.

“Then this operation is a smokescreen.”

“Yeah. They probably want to hit us from behind while pretending. Prepare accordingly.”

“Huhu. I’ll show you what it means to mess with me.”

A wicked smile appeared on Carl Icahn’s lips.

Yoo-hyun was sitting on the sofa in the director’s office of Mirinae Securities, looking at the screen on the wall.

The world map on the screen showed the companies that Icahn Goldenway had secured shares in blue dots.

From IT companies such as PayPal, Amazon, and Google, to retail businesses like Coca-Cola and media companies like Fox.

The portfolio was diverse, and the proportion of shares varied.

The value of these companies, mostly belonging to the United States, meant the market capitalization of Icahn Goldenway.

These shares of Icahn Goldenway were shared by the six members of the activist fund.

It was a group created by Carl Icahn, who specialized in plundering companies and making short-term profits.

Each of the members belonged to a famous investment company that Wall Street demanded, and one of those investment companies was Elliott, who had once harassed Hansung Electronics.

-The activist fund members have cross-secured the shares of the companies they own. That’s why their relationship is strong. But I think there is a gap here.

The activist fund members were known as ruthless pragmatists.

Natalie Miller claimed that if she could offer them a bigger profit, she could easily lure them away.

As she said, if they could capture each person and secure their shares, it would not be impossible to collapse the solid Icahn Goldenway.

Yoo-hyun agreed with this and tried to push it as the main strategy.

But this plan was completely scrapped after meeting Shin Kyung-soo.

He had no choice but to do so.

He found out that they were not just tied by capital.