Salman was currently living as a temperate and composed royal.
But did that an he had no desire to beco king?
Understanding his ambitions, I presented him with Peter the Great's sword as a gift. Salman accepted the sword, carefully concealing his desires.
"Haha, you've brought a very precious gift. It must not have been easy to obtain."
"How could I bring an ordinary gift when eting you, Lord Salman? I chose Peter the Great's sword because I believed it was the most fitting gift for you."
Obtaining Peter the Great's sword was no simple task.
In a way, it was possible thanks to David's connections.
For years, I had been supporting Putin, who was gradually ascending to power in Russia.
Now, he had beco one of the most influential figures in the country.
Through him, I was able to acquire Peter the Great's sword.
Compared to the amount I had invested in supporting Putin, the sword was not an expensive acquisition.
"You believe Peter the Great's sword suits best? May I ask why?"
"Peter the Great was Russia's greatest ruler. I believe you are soone of the sa caliber, Lord Salman."
"Haha, you're certainly flattering ."
Salman unsheathed the sword forged from a teorite.
It was faint, but for a brief mont, desire flickered in his eyes as he gazed at the blade.
"Ahem, I heard from Chairman Kim that you've beco the head of a company now? And that you graduated from a university in the United States?"
"I am currently the president of Taewoo Electronics. During my ti in the U.S., I made many valuable friends, and I would like to introduce one of them to you."
I pushed David forward, who had been standing idly like a borrowed sack of rice.
Though the situation could have been awkward, he smoothly greeted Salman with impeccable manners.
"I am David from SAVE Investnt. It is an honor to et a mber of the Saudi royal family."
"So, you're from Wall Street? I used to oversee the Saudi sovereign wealth fund for a ti, so I am quite familiar with Wall Street."
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund managed assets worth hundreds of trillions of won.
Even though Wall Street was overflowing with money, when it ca to a single fund, none wielded more capital than the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
"I am well aware of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. I understand it primarily focuses on investnts for the country's dostic developnt."
"If you co across a good investnt opportunity, do let know. Haha."
Was it thanks to Peter the Great's sword?
We continued our conversation in a warm and amicable atmosphere, and I used this opportunity to strengthen my relationship with Salman even further.
***
Two days later
I returned to Korea from Saudi Arabia.
The trip had been worthwhile, yielding significant rewards, and in my absence, Dimon had been diligently executing the plan to acquire Taewoo Heavy Industries.
"Sir, all preparations are now complete. Today, we will proceed with the hostile takeover of three subsidiaries, including Taewoo Precision Components."
"Have we secured enough shares?"
"The subsidiaries are relatively small, so their share structures were quite fragile. There was no need for a public tender offer. We gathered the scattered shares into one entity and are now preparing to make the official announcent."
Shares alone were not enough.
We had to replace the managent through a shareholder eting, secure the agreent of minority shareholders, and obtain governnt approval.
"It's fine if we don't acquire the company itself, but we must secure the shares of Taewoo Heavy Industries held by the smaller subsidiaries."
"Leave it to . We've enlisted the help of a well-known activist fund from the U.S. While the situations in Korea and the U.S. are different, I don't foresee any major obstacles."
Activist funds focus on maximizing shareholder value.
Simply put, they argue that the company's stock price is underperforming due to poor managent and that they can boost its value if given control.
And what shareholder wouldn't want their stock price to rise?
But there was one thing he hadn't considered.
"Korea's situation is very different. Korean citizens have a strong sense of patriotism. They do not like to see their companies fall into foreign hands."
"You an shareholders would act out of patriotism?"
"Korea has a long history of foreign invasions, which has ingrained a deep nationalistic sentint. So, use the activist fund strategically but attach the condition that the company will be sold to a Korean firm rather than a foreign one."
As long as we didn't provoke patriotic sentints, it wouldn't be an issue.
We could raise the stock price while ensuring that the company remained in Korean hands.
Of course, if a financial crisis hit, many companies would inevitably be sold to foreign investors, but for now, this was the best approach.
"I will make sure that condition is included."
"So, when is the shareholder eting scheduled?"
"We plan to hold it by this Friday at the latest. The longer we delay, the more variables may arise."
"Once the acquisition of the smaller subsidiaries is complete, proceed imdiately with the takeover of the heavy industries division."
"As soon as we secure the necessary shares, we'll move forward. If all goes well, we may have good news for you by next week."
Dimon spoke with confidence.
However, things would not unfold as smoothly as he expected.
Korean business leaders had long been funneling money into political circles precisely to prepare for situations like this.
***
Dimon acted swiftly.
SAVE Investnt publicly announced its status as the largest shareholder in three of Taewoo Group's smaller subsidiaries.
It then leveraged an activist fund to steer the shareholders' eting in its favor.
I rely observed from the sidelines.
Even at ho, I could do nothing but watch as my grandfather seethed with rage.
"Those damn bastards! How dare they set their sights on our company? Tearing them apart wouldn't be enough!"
"Grandpa, please drink so water first."
He gulped down the water in one go.
Then—bang!—he slamd the glass onto the table with such force that it was a wonder it didn't shatter.
"You've worked on Wall Street, so you must have heard of Ackman. Taewoo Financial ntioned that he's one of those so-called activist investors."
"Yes, I've heard of him a few tis. He has a fearso reputation. Definitely not soone to take lightly."
"At the end of the day, he's just another money player. Maybe his tactics work in the U.S., but do you really think they'll fly here in Korea?"
In this operation, Ackman was the sacrificial pawn.
His fund was at the forefront of the controversy, while SAVE Investnt remained in the background.
If my ties to SAVE were ever exposed, Ackman was positioned as the shield to take the blow.
"From what I know, Ackman's fund doesn't make a move unless they have sothing solid in hand."
"What do you an by 'sothing solid'?"
"They either acquire more shares than the major shareholder or dig up dirt—like embezzlent or corruption—to use as leverage. In many cases, they have both."
"..."
My grandfather fell silent for a mont.
He was likely running through his past dealings in his mind, considering whether there was anything that could be used against him.
After all, embezzlent and corruption often ca down to interpretation—what was overlooked in the past could easily beco an issue with ti.
There were probably more than a few incidents that ca to mind.
"To be honest, I'd rather negotiate with Ackman and resolve this issue smoothly than engage in a full-on battle."
"I would too, but they've already held the shareholders' eting, ousted the CEO of Taewoo Precision, and installed their own man in his place. If they were open to negotiations, they wouldn't have made such aggressive moves."
"So what's your plan? Do you have a way to handle this?"
"We need to get the governnt involved. Besides, thanks to you, we've already made them indebted to us."
He was referring to the departnt store collapse.
I had mobilized Taewoo Construction to handle the aftermath, ensuring that the governnt did not nd its relationship with the Hyunjae Group.
That way, Hyunjae Group would continue to face regulatory pressure, making it impossible for them to secure loans from banks.
But that decision had unintended consequences.
The further Hyunjae Group distanced itself from the governnt, the closer Taewoo Group beca.
My grandfather had already maintained strong connections with governnt officials, and after managing the departnt store crisis, those ties had only grown stronger.
"Isn't it excessive to involve the governnt just to save a small subsidiary like Taewoo Precision?"
"Are you saying it's like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? No matter how small Taewoo Precision is, it's still a company I built with my own hands. If soone is trying to steal what's mine, I'll borrow whatever hand I need to take it back."
I felt genuinely sorry for my grandfather.
Because right now, I was playing the role of a spy.
I was tracking his every move and feeding the information to Dimon, helping him devise counterasures.
"When you say governnt support, which departnt are you referring to?"
"It would be ideal if the president intervened, but that's unlikely. We'll have to turn to the Economic Planning Board. The Deputy Pri Minister also serves as the head of the board, so even Wall Street's hyenas won't be able to act recklessly."
So, he planned to leverage the Economic Planning Board?
For , this wasn't a bad developnt.
If my grandfather sought governnt assistance, he might be able to reclaim Taewoo Precision.
But by then, Dimon would have already liquidated Taewoo Precision's stake in Taewoo Heavy Industries.
And once that happened, my grandfather would find it difficult to seek further governnt support for the real battle—the acquisition of Taewoo Heavy Industries.
The governnt wouldn't extend its help twice in a row.
In other words, we'd strip Taewoo Precision of its valuable assets, hand back the empty shell to my grandfather, and secure Taewoo Heavy Industries for ourselves.
"But the Ackman Fund has already taken over Taewoo Precision's managent. I hear they're aggressively pushing restructuring and reform. Are you sure about this?"
"We still have to take it back. Once we regain control, we can just restore everything to the way it was."
"If it were up to , I'd rather sell the Taewoo Precision shares you own at a high price to Ackman. With that money, you could acquire a better company or build a new factory."
"Money can be found anywhere. But building a company from scratch takes ti and effort."
Of course, persuading my grandfather wasn't going to be that easy.
Not that I had any real intention of convincing him.
Whether those minor subsidiaries survived or not didn't concern .
My goal was to sell off Taewoo Heavy Industries.
***
The next day
I relayed my grandfather's plans to Dimon in full detail.
"As expected, he's planning to use the governnt. I've heard Korean corporations have close ties with the governnt, but to interfere in a legitimate acquisition like this…"
"As long as we secure Taewoo Heavy Industries' shares, it doesn't matter if we return the company. Of course, fully acquiring it would be even better."
"With the dirt on Chairman Kim that you provided, I believe we can take complete control of Taewoo Precision. If we leak it to the dia, it would be quite damaging."
"Korean dia is corporate-friendly. It won't be easy to get them to publish it."
"Then why not use Arican dia as a threat? For the upcoming negotiations, I plan to bring in a few Arican journalists. David has quite a few connections in that field."
When it ca to my grandfather's corruption, I probably knew more than anyone else.
In my past life, I had spent nearly twenty years investigating Taewoo Group and my grandfather.
I had every detail of the scandals that the prosecution and tax authorities would eventually uncover stored in my mory.
However, I hadn't given Dimon the most incriminating evidence just yet.
It was far too valuable to waste on sothing as minor as acquiring Taewoo Heavy Industries.
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