There were several ways to structure an acquisition.
You could choose from stock purchase, asset purchase, business transfer, rger, and other various thods.
This ti, the acquisition of Vodafone Japan would take the form of purchasing 98% of Vodafone’s existing shares in Vodafone Japan.
Vodafone Japan was an unlisted company, and the remaining 2% of the shares were divided among Japanese companies.
Since all due diligence—legal, financial, accounting, HR, and everything else concerning Vodafone Japan—had already been completed before the price negotiations, the procedures after reaching an agreent would not take very long.
From this point on, there was nothing left for to do, so I decided to leave Japan with an easy mind.
“Let’s et again next ti.”
“Yes, President Kim.”
Despite his busy schedule, Masayoshi Son personally ca to the airport to see off.
“Ah, the elder asked to tell you he’d like you to visit again next ti.”
“Please tell him that if I co to Japan again, I’ll be sure to visit.”
“It seems he really took a liking to you. He’s not usually like that.”
A connection that went back to our grandfathers’ generation—of course he would.
I answered with a smile instead of words.
Then I turned to John, who was standing beside him.
“President John.”
“Yes.”
“Please help Chairman Son bring everything to a proper close.”
“Understood.”
After parting with them, I boarded the private jet and returned to Korea.
* * *
The day after I returned to Korea, I welcod guests from China and Hong Kong.
The guest from China was Baidu Chairman Baidu’s Robin Li.
The guest from Hong Kong was Chairman CK Hutchison Holdings’s founder, the man known as Hong Kong’s Superman, Li Kashing.
“Chairman Li Kashing, I’ve heard a great deal about you. They say you’re called the Warren Buffett of Asia.”
“Haha. Compared to Dream High, which is so deeply connected to you, it’s only a drop in the bucket.”
Li Kashing waved his hand modestly and extended it toward .
Though he denied it with humble words, he was always ranked first among Asia’s greatest business leaders by publications like Forbes and Ti.
“You’re too modest. I’ve wanted to et you at least once.”
“I wanted to et you as well, President Kim. I’d heard rumors that you were deeply involved in Dream High’s success, so I was curious.”
So the rumors had spread even this far.
I smiled and finished shaking his hand.
“Chairman Li Yanhong, welco as well.”
“Yes, President Kim. This is our first ti since Shanghai, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I hope we get a good result today. Please, have a seat first.”
We sat facing one another.
First, I asked why Li Kashing had personally co all the way to Korea.
“You want to distribute the iPhone in Hong Kong and Macau? Where did you hear that I hold the exclusive rights for China?”
“I found out while tracking Chairman Son’s movents. I learned that you hold the iPhone exclusivity for Korea, China, and Japan. So I was the one who first brought it up to Chairman Li Yanhong directly.”
When I looked toward Robin Li, he nodded and said,
“Haha. He ca to see already knowing. I suppose rumors spread while I was making quiet contact with the telecom companies in China.”
Earlier, I had asked Robin Li to quietly et with Chinese telecom companies and begin preliminary discussions.
Because all Chinese mobile carriers were state-owned enterprises, unlike Japan there was no way to acquire a telecom company itself and extract profits that way.
Even if the talks remained underground, soone of Li Kashing's stature could easily uncover them.
“I see.”
“If it offended you, I apologize.”
“Not at all. My holding the iPhone exclusivity is practically an open secret now.”
I looked back at Li Kashing.
“You only need Hong Kong and Macau, correct?”
“Yes. We won’t get approval on the mainland. Even so, I can assure you the iPhone will be even more successful in Hong Kong and Macau than on the mainland.”
It wasn’t a bad proposal for either.
“And what profit do I gain?”
“I’ll sell all of Hutchison Telecom’s treasury shares to you, President Kim. Roughly a 10% stake.”
“A stake in Hutchison Telecommunications...”
I knew Hutchison Telecom had recently listed on the Hong Kong exchange.
But I hadn’t expected him to offer that from the start.
“If the iPhone launches exclusively in Hong Kong and Macau, Hutchison Telecom’s stock price will absolutely rise.”
“That would certainly be true.”
I considered it for a mont, but no matter how I looked at it, Hutchison Telecom’s shares were not especially tempting.
“Does it not interest you?”
Instead of answering, I simply looked at Li Kashing.
For him, this was likely a carefully considered proposal, but to it held little significance.
After a low hum of thought, Li Kashing asked in a asured voice,
“Is there sothing you want?”
“Please give a 10% stake in Hutchison Whampoa.”
“What? Hutchison Whampoa?”
“Yes.”
Hutchison Whampoa was a subsidiary of Cheung Kong, but its market capitalization was larger than the parent itself.
The reason I wanted Hutchison Whampoa’s stake was because it would later rge with the group.
“Hmm...”
“I’ll acquire the 10% stake through a third-party allocated paid-in capital increase. What do you think? In truth, I’d like to ask for Cheung Kong’s shares, but I know you’d never agree to that. Since Cheung Kong already owns 49% of Hutchison Whampoa, your managent control won’t be threatened.”
“Do I need to give you an answer right now?”
“No. Take all the ti you need to think and decide.”
After a long mont of contemplation, Li Kashing nodded.
“Understood. Then I’ll give it serious thought.”
Just then, there was a knock on the office door.
“Boss. President Park Hyunseong has arrived.”
“Send him in.”
Soon the door opened and Hyunseong entered.
“Welco.”
When I greeted him warmly, he smiled and returned the greeting.
“This is President Park Hyunseong of HS Venture Capital.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Robin Li.”
“I’ve heard a lot as well. Park Hyunseong.”
The reason Robin Li had co to Korea was to distribute the gas from the ga companies Hyunseong had invested in throughout China.
“I’m Li Kashing. A pleasure.”
Li Kashing also extended his hand toward Hyunseong.
Seeing that hand, Hyunseong’s eyes widened slightly.
“Could you perhaps be Chairman Li of Cheung Kong Group?”
“You know ?”
“What investor could possibly not know you, Chairman?”
After shaking Li Kashing's hand, Hyunseong kept studying him in amazent, even letting out small gasps.
For soone as expressionless «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» as Park Hyunseong to react like that, it ant he was genuinely stunned.
“President Kim did the sa thing, and now President Park is gilding my face as well. I’ve also heard much about you.”
“....”
“I don’t say that lightly. I wanted to et you today, and here we are. I had no idea you and President Kim knew each other.”
In place of the silent Hyunseong, I answered.
“President Park and I are old friends.”
“Is that so? President Kim truly surrounds himself with capable people. President Jas in Arica, Director Eva in Hong Kong, and now President Park in Korea as well.”
After finishing the handshake, Li Kashing turned to .
“I’ll think it over and contact you again. I should be going now. Chairman Li Yanhong, let’s et again later. President Park, I hope we et again as well.”
After greeting everyone, Li Kashing left first.
Once he was gone, Hyunseong asked,
“What was Li Kashing here for? Didn’t you say only Chairman Li Yanhong was coming today?”
“I only found out today myself. Sit down first. We’ll talk about that later—for now, we need to focus on business with Chairman Li Yanhong.”
As if regaining his senses, Hyunseong quickly nodded and sat beside .
“Chairman Li Yanhong, you’ve made your decision, correct?”
“Yes. I plan to enter ga publishing. If we can simply bring Korean gas into China, success is practically guaranteed.”
“The gas Tencent took were all from studios President Park invested in.”
“I’ve already heard.”
“Then let’s discuss it first. Hyunseong, you brought the list of ga companies that want to enter China, right?”
Hyunseong opened the docunt bag he had brought and pulled out the papers.
“We prepared four in total: three gas already running paid services in Korea, and one ga that hasn’t launched yet. Chairman Li Yanhong, please review them.”
After the short introduction, Hyunseong handed the docunts to Robin Li.
“Thank you. I’ll review them first.”
While Robin Li reviewed the papers, I spoke with Hyunseong.
“No major issues with work?”
“We recovered the investnt from every company that went public last year, and now we’re looking for new companies to invest in. But there aren’t as many worthwhile targets as before.”
“Really? Nothing catches your eye?”
“Lots of people co to pitch, but more than half are frauds. Frauds, all of them. They only talk about absurd futures. Sigh.”
Hyunseong let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
Given the state of the market, it was only natural for fraudsters selling grand dreams to be everywhere.
I decided to give the worried-looking Hyunseong a hint.
“Then pay attention to smartphone app developers. Especially ssenger apps and mobile ga studios.”
“Because of the iPhone?”
“Yeah. The iPhone is only the beginning, and latecors are already preparing Android smartphones. I heard even Google is making a smartphone.”
“Google is making a phone?”
At his doubtful tone, I spoke firmly to plant certainty.
“Even so, don’t expect anything with the sa level of polish as the iPhone. At least for a few years, the iPhone will dominate alone.”
“You really rate the future of smartphones highly. I still don’t know. I activated one and started using it myself, but I still don’t quite see what’s so great about it.”
By now, had Kim Cheolsu already stepped down as CEO of NEX?
Because the iPhone had launched earlier than in my previous life, I was curious how his path might change too.
“You know CEO Kim Cheolsu, right?”
“The NEX CEO?”
“Yeah. Is he still there?”
“I think he’s been transferred to the U.S. He was appointed head of the Arican subsidiary and is overseeing the U.S. business.”
“Really? Keep an eye on his movents.”
“Why? Sothing coming?”
“He’ll hand in his resignation soon.”
Hyunseong frowned as if he couldn’t understand it at all.
“He’s leaving the company he built? Why?”
“Power struggles. What other reason would there be?”
“I should contact him. I don’t think I’ve seen him in over a year.”
“So you know him?”
“We’ve had als together a few tis. I invest in a lot of ga companies, rember? That’s how he got in touch.”
That was news even to .
Was he carving out his own route, or was it sothing else?
“Try contacting him. See what he’s doing.”
“Got it.”
If Kim Cheolsu entered the ssenger business like before, the timing was perfect.
If Hyunseong joined as an early investor, the profits would be enormous.
And if not, I could simply hire developers and build the ssenger myself.
“The three gas already in service are exactly the ones I had in mind. Will all three studios sign with us?”
At that mont, Robin Li finished reviewing the docunts and asked.
Hyunseong answered.
“Yes. We’ve already concluded the discussions. The terms still need to be adjusted, but Baidu is the preferred bidder as the China service partner.”
“Ah, that’s a relief. Since this is our first ti in ga services, I was worried the studios would react negatively.”
“Baidu’s standing in China is already famous. At first we approached Tencent, but the negotiations broke down.”
Robin Li looked at , and I gave a small nod.
“I told them I was severing ties with Tencent. So the discussions ended there.”
“I heard Chairman Pony Ma has been running around eting senior Communist Party officials.”
“That’s the only survival path left for him. But the Communist Youth League faction and the princeling faction won’t side with them. And the Shanghai clique doesn’t have the bandwidth to care about companies right now.”
“We’re also internally developing a ssenger to compete with QQ.”
This was news even to .
“A ssenger?”
“Yes. Since we’ve already decided to enter the sa business Tencent is in, we need to take a piece of the pie they currently hold. While launching the Korean gas, we also plan to launch the ssenger service at the sa ti.”
Baidu had never entered the ssenger business before.
This too was a future changed because of .
“You’ve chosen a difficult road. QQ already has the first-mover advantage and dominant market share.”
“ssenger developnt itself isn’t difficult. Alongside the ga launch, we’re preparing linked promotional events. If the gas succeed, I think we can pull users over. Internally, the review is already complete.”
That ant Baidu had fully committed to invading Tencent’s territory.
In this life, it seed Tencent would never grow into the giant it once beca.
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