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CH43 | Heir
🕑 Added 2025-03-23 03:30:05 +0000 UTC"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
President Hwang Young-chul repeatedly bowed his head.
For a small company, funding was always a problem.
But now, with a major corporation offering financial support, how could he not be overjoyed?
"You said you wanted to receive 100 million won in investment?"
"Yes. 100 million won is sufficient for development costs."
"Will 100 million won be enough? I'll invest 1 billion."
"Did you say 1 billion?"
"Is that too little?"
"Oh, no, not at all. It's an enormous amount…You’re not asking for full ownership of the patent in exchange, are you?"
What kind of person do you think I am?
I am someone who understands the basics of integrity.
I wouldn't take away the patent rights to an MP3 player for a mere 1 billion won.
"I'm not that shameless. I'm saying this because you’ll need at least 1 billion won to develop a proper product. We’ll also cover all costs from production to marketing."
"…The terms are so generous that I don't even know how to respond."
"But there is one more condition I’d like to propose."
President Hwang's expression instantly stiffened.
"What condition?"
"I'd like to purchase a portion of Digital Cast's shares. I don't just want to co-own the patent—I want to be a true partner in this venture."
"How much equity are you talking about?"
"2 billion won for 1% of the shares. I want 49%, so I’d like to invest an additional 98 billion won to acquire them. Naturally, all my shares will be friendly to you, and I promise I won't hold back on investment."
A staggering 100 billion won.
Of course, compared to what Silicon Valley startups receive, it was a small amount, but in Korea, there was no better deal than this.
"Our company doesn’t even have a proper product yet. I don’t understand why you’d spend 100 billion won to acquire shares."
"It's not about the technology or the product. What matters is that President Hwang, a visionary, is leading this company. I'm investing in you."
"C-Could I have some time to think about it?"
"Of course. Take as much time as you need. Separate from the equity purchase, I'll deposit the 1 billion won investment into your account today. And just to be clear, I have no interest in taking over Digital Cast’s management, nor do I intend to seize your patent rights."
President Hwang's face visibly tensed.
He looked so deep in thought that it almost seemed like steam was rising from his head.
"Thank you so much for your interest. But… do you really think MP3 players will become valuable products?"
"You proposed the investment to me because you believed they had value, didn’t you?"
"That’s true, but I’m not sure if it's worth selling 49% of my shares for 98 billion won."
"Of course, there’s always a chance of failure. But that doesn’t matter. Someone like you is bound to succeed eventually. If I can secure an eternal partnership with you for 98 billion won, it's a bargain."
President Hwang still didn’t fully grasp his own value.
Wouldn’t the creator of the world’s first MP3 player be worth at least 100 billion won?
"I've made my decision. I will sell 49% of my shares. However, I’d like a clause in the contract ensuring that your shares remain friendly to mine."
"Of course. Ah! I’ll also add a clause requiring mutual consent before selling any shares. And if you ever decide to sell your shares, I’d like to be given the first negotiation rights."
"I’m satisfied with those terms."
The contract was drawn up swiftly.
I didn’t sign it as the head of Taewoo Group’s technology research lab but under the name of SAVE Investment Company.
I had prepared an excuse in case that detail became an issue.
But perhaps due to the excitement of sealing such a major deal, President Hwang didn’t even seem to notice.
A golden opportunity just fell into my lap.
For just 100 billion won, I had secured the technology that would dominate the next decade.
See? Good things happen when you live an honest life.
***
April had begun.
For an entire month, Team Leader Han had been in Japan, negotiating with Japanese companies. Now, at last, the negotiations were over, and he was back in Korea.
"You worked hard. I didn’t expect the negotiations to take an entire month."
"The falling Japanese stock market helped a lot with the negotiations."
"They must have wanted to finalize the derivatives contracts before the market dropped any further. But what about the hyenas on Wall Street?"
Wall Street also held derivatives contracts—just as I had handed over some of mine to them.
"As expected, they’re gnawing everything down to the bone. They’ve been so aggressive that one Japanese bank has already collapsed. That actually made our negotiations much easier."
"They're called hyenas for a reason. The ones negotiating with us should consider themselves lucky."
I knew Wall Street's tendencies well.
That’s precisely why I had handed over part of my derivatives contracts to them.
The more chaos they caused, the better we would look.
"As soon as you return to SAVE Investment, start managing the battery company we acquired from TDK. Work with Professor Goodenough to develop secondary batteries."
"I'll also hire professional managers to ensure the company runs smoothly without any issues."
"By the way, have we heard anything from Dimon at Travelers?"
It was about time I made use of Dimon’s skills.
His expertise in restructuring companies and restoring them to stability would become invaluable once the financial crisis hit, but even now, there were plenty of places where his abilities could be put to use.
However, he was still with Travelers.
As long as he maintained a close relationship with his mentor, Travelers’ CEO Sandy Weill, recruiting him wouldn’t be easy.
"David has been keeping in touch, but it doesn’t seem like he has any intention of leaving Travelers."
"That’s unfortunate. Keep maintaining a good relationship with him."
"Oh! And let David know that he needs to make a trip to Germany."
"Germany? Where exactly?"
"He needs to visit the Fraunhofer Institute. I’ll draft the details and send them to SAVE."
If we were going to enter the MP3 player business, we had to do it right.
The first MP3 format was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute.
Since MP3 players hadn’t hit the mainstream yet, the technology wasn’t widely recognized. But once MP3 players became widely used, massive royalties would have to be paid to Fraunhofer.
So, I needed to act first.
If I could secure both the MP3 player patent and the MP3 patent itself…
I wouldn’t even have to manufacture a product—money would simply roll in on its own.
***
A few days later.
David called with an excited voice.
[They've already transferred the MP3 patent.]
"They transferred it from the Fraunhofer Institute? To where?"
[It was sold to a French home appliance company, Thomson Multimedia.]
"Thomson Multimedia?"
[It’s quite a well-known company in the European market. Though, it's been struggling a bit lately.]
Of course, I knew about Thomson Multimedia.
It was a massive French state-owned enterprise with a long history dating back to the late 1800s.
But something felt strange.
I was sure I had heard about Thomson Multimedia somewhere before.
It seemed like my grandfather had mentioned it at some point.
To clear up my suspicions, I left work early that day.
***
Back at the mansion, I sipped on a cup of coffee while waiting for my grandfather to return.
Just as I finished my coffee, my grandfather arrived home from work. With a cheerful face, I took his jacket.
"You’ve worked hard today."
"What brings you home so early? Isn't this a busy time for you?"
"No matter how busy I am, I should still see you, Grandpa. Oh! By the way, do you know anything about Thomson Multimedia?"
"I knew there had to be a reason you left work early. I'm actually planning to acquire Thomson Multimedia. It’s a highly confidential matter, yet somehow, it’s already reached your ears."
As expected!
I knew I had heard about it somewhere—it had been on my grandfather’s shopping list of acquisitions.
But acquiring Thomson Multimedia?
Taewoo Electronics was a fairly large company, but Thomson Multimedia held a significant presence in the European market.
It was like a shrimp trying to swallow a whale.
Whether he had the money or not, my grandfather was always eager to expand the company.
"You're planning to acquire Thomson Multimedia? Wouldn't that require a huge amount of capital?"
"If money were an issue, I wouldn't have considered it. But I heard we could acquire it for just 1 franc."
"One franc? That’s only about 100 won, isn’t it?"
"That's right. An opportunity to acquire it for just 100 won has come up—how could I possibly let that slip away?"
Who in their right mind would sell a company for 100 won?
There must be some serious issues, and they were probably trying to get rid of it by force.
"You're not planning to acquire Thomson Multimedia under the condition of taking on its debt, are you?"
"Oh! You’ve figured that out? They do have about 2.6 trillion won in debt, but debts can be repaid over time, can't they? This is an opportunity to make Taewoo Electronics the biggest company in the world—I can't just let it slip away."
Oh, my head…
Did he just say 2.6 trillion won in debt?!
Here I was, stressing over reducing the debt of the Changwon factory, and now that felt like child's play.
But I wasn’t too worried.
Taewoo Electronics wasn’t actually going to acquire Thomson Multimedia.
For some reason, the deal would eventually fall through.
If the acquisition had happened, there was no way I wouldn’t have known about it.
"Thomson Multimedia is the largest electronics company in France. Do you really think the government will just stand by and watch?"
"Think about it. Thomson Multimedia is a state-owned enterprise. Of course, the acquisition wouldn’t even be on the table without the French government's approval. But this time, it was actually the French government that approached Taewoo Electronics with the offer."
"So you're saying the French government is the one pushing for this?"
If that was the case, why didn’t the deal go through?
Then again, France was known for its strong public voice.
Selling off a state-owned company that was practically a symbol of national pride? That must have caused an uproar.
"If negotiations with the French government go smoothly, Thomson Multimedia could become a Taewoo Group subsidiary as early as next year. And if that happens, companies like Samsung and Sony will all be playing under Taewoo Electronics."
"I see. Well, I hope it works out."
"You're not going to try and stop me?"
"How could I stop you from doing what you want, Grandpa? I'll just focus on the mobile phone business."
"Haha, hearing your support gives me even more energy. I’ll make sure this deal is a success!"
I massaged my grandfather’s shoulders before heading up to my room.
Then, I immediately called David again.
"Go to Thomson Multimedia in France. Secure the MP3 patent at all costs. I don't care how much money it takes."
Thomson Multimedia was in such bad shape that they were on the verge of selling the company itself.
In this situation, if someone offered a high price for their patent, wouldn’t they have to sell it?
And with David’s natural ability to build relationships, he’d find a way to get that patent, no matter what.
