Genius Grandson of the Loan Shark King

The fight we've fought must be accepted

George Soros's entry into the Dow Johnson takeover bid meant he was letting go of his hand with Dream High.

"What is the acquisition amount?"

― They offered $50 a week. They guaranteed editorial independence like the New York Times······.

"Isn't the current stock price over $50?"

- It's exactly 52 dollars.

Although he proposed a lower acquisition price than the current stock price, the situation was not favorable for Murdoch, who proposed a higher price.

"Things are taking a strange turn."

― Buffett's inspiration has already given up, and the Bancroft family is currently divided into two and in conflict.

"The elders will argue that it should be handed over to the Sulzberger family, who own the New York Times, and the younger ones will argue that this is an opportunity to raise the price."

― That's right. Until a few days ago, the atmosphere was almost in our favor, but then the Sulzberger family suddenly got involved. It's driving me crazy.

Han Kyung-young, who had been mumbling gloomily, let out a sigh.

― I thought it would be easy, but I never expected it to be like this. I had already considered all the variables and made my move······.

"There's nothing I can do. As long as you're in this world, there will always be new variables. For now, I'll go to the US. There's a presidential election coming up soon."

- Are you okay? We're at war with China, right?

Han Kyung-young asked with a worried voice.

"I think this incident is an extension of the same incident. It seems like Baltic is behind it."

― Balticera······. You mean the European aristocrats?

"That's right. The reason China is pressuring us, and the sudden move of George Soros and the Sulzberger family, all seem to be attacks on me. Let's go to the US and talk about the details first."

- Okay. We'll come up with our own countermeasures and respond accordingly.

"Okay, just endure it a little longer."

After finishing the call with Han Kyung-young, I called Director Ma.

"Sir, please prepare in advance for me to go to America. Also, contact Black Bear and find out about the major members of the Sulzberger family, their family relationships, and their weaknesses."

"Yes, boss."

My head was spinning because work was constantly piling up.

After Director Ma left, I took out some headache medicine from the drawer and put it in my mouth.

"······There are too many variables."

The acquisition of the Wall Street Journal was not entirely my plan.

However, if they were pushed out in the takeover battle, they would be pushed out by them.

"You insist on antagonizing me at this point······. As expected, the dogs of Wall Street repay kindness with enmity."

The amount of money lost during the Asian financial crisis was used to help Japan recover to some extent.

Since then, Dream High and Wall Street have maintained a good relationship.

I shook my head from side to side to clear my mind.

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"Well, no matter what the circumstances, I have to accept the fight I have started."

* * *

Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. enters the Bancroft family home with George Soros.

"It's been a while since I've been here."

Sulzberger Jr. muttered as he looked around.

"I guess you've been here before."

George Soros, standing nearby, asked.

"I came here when I was young. Since we were from the same family, we had a lot of contact with each other."

As George Soros nodded, Sulzberger Jr. chuckled and added:

"Well, there hasn't been any contact since my father stepped down."

While they were talking, the butler of the Bancroft family, who had been waiting to greet them, took them inside.

"Haha, Sulzberger Jr. It's been a while."

John Bancroft welcomed Sulzberger Jr.

"Uncle John. It's been a while. You've aged quite a bit."

"Yes, that's right. I think it's time for me to step down now. Still, it's nice to see your face after such a long time."

John smiled sheepishly. He seemed genuinely pleased with Sulzberger Jr.

"Me too. We need to have exchanges between families again."

John nodded at Sulzberger Jr.'s words and lightly patted his shoulder.

Then he looked at George Soros, who was standing next to him, and held out his hand.

"Who is this? Isn't this the legend of Wall Street, George Soros!"

"Haha. That's too kind of you."

"What about the compliments? Even though they were pushed back by Dream High a few times, didn't they still create legendary achievements?"

At John's words, George Soros's expression hardened as he shook hands.

George Soros, who had forced his lips to curl upward, was the first to let go.

"Please sit down. Everyone is waiting."

As everyone sat down, the real negotiations began.

"You're interested in Dow Johnson? Tell me what the conditions are."

Sulzberger Jr. began to state his terms.

"If we were to acquire Dow Johnson, we would guarantee the employment of the current editorial staff and reporters, and ensure editorial independence."

"Well, Murdoch has already made the same offer. What about the acquisition price?"

"The best we can offer is $50 per week."

"Did you know that the current stock price is $52?"

Not only is it less than Murdoch's offer, it's also lower than the current stock price. John asked, frowning.

"I know. But that's just the amount of money that was expected after Murdoch made his press conference to buy it, not the value of Dow Johnson. And what we're buying is not the Class A shares listed on the stock market, but the Class B shares held by you and the trust company. The price is not an issue at all."

"Hmm."

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"George Soros here and Wall Street analyzed that the fair stock price of Dow Johnson is $30. If you include the management premium, $50 is a sufficient premium. And······."

Sulzberger Jr. looked around with a muffled voice and raised the corners of his mouth.

"I don't think everyone here would want to hand over the Wall Street Journal to a yellow journalist like Murdoch, even if the New York Times is their competitor. If money was the goal, they would have accepted Murdoch's offer without a second thought. Am I wrong?"

"······."

"I'm not interested in running the Wall Street Journal. The New York Times is good enough. What I'm giving everyone here is a chance to save their pride. Not money, but family pride."

John bit his lip hard.

It was a blow to pride to hear such words from the rival Sulzberger family.

Then, George Soros, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

"If we were to acquire Dow Johnson, it would make the Wall Street Journal even more influential. We would be looking to expand our European and Asian editions. It would also give us an opportunity to enter the Chinese market."

"The Chinese market? That place······."

John's face crumpled again at the mention of China.

China was a country that banned overseas media outlets from publishing Asian editions and even blocked Internet news.

"Articles on finance and economics can be published in China, of course, subject to censorship."

Nevertheless, there was a reason for setting eyes on the Chinese market, which is practically a graveyard for journalists.

China was a market of such attractive size that it could not be ignored.

"The New York Times covers a lot of political issues, so it may be difficult to enter, but the Wall Street Journal will have no problem. There are already discussions with the Chinese government. Then, the Wall Street Journal will be able to turn a deficit into a surplus."

Entering the Chinese market. This was the bargaining chip that George Soros had in his hand.

"And besides······."

George Soros continues to make attractive offers.

* * *

After finishing all the urgent work in Korea, I arrived in the United States.

The person who greeted us when we arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport was Han Kyung-young.

"Muhyeok. It's been a while."

"Your face looks really hurt, hyung. Are you sleeping well?"

"Did you sleep well? This is really driving me crazy. They are even negotiating by pulling out the Chinese market entry card."

"Really? I knew it. So it was related to this incident."

"It's not something you can talk about so casually. Let's go for now."

Han Kyung-young took a deep breath and led me out of the airport.

We went to Dream High Investment headquarters using a pre-arranged vehicle.

During the hour-long ride to headquarters, I had a long conversation with Han Kyung-young. As the topic changed, the atmosphere in the car naturally became heavy.

As soon as we got out of the car, we walked straight to the conference room.

As I entered the conference room, Rufus Murdoch, Eric Clarke, and several others were waiting.

"Charlie."

After exchanging greetings with Murdoch, he extended his hand to Eric.

"President Eric. Congratulations on being appointed president this time."

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"Haha. James made me the president. It would have been easier to be vice president."

Eric smiled and took my hand, and Han Kyung-young added from the side.

"Now that Blackbear has grown to the point where it doesn't need a face madam, it's only right for Eric to take over as president."

It was something I already knew from hearing reports, but hearing it directly was something else.

"Now that we're all here, let's discuss countermeasures."

I naturally sat down in the empty seat.

"I have roughly relayed the entire story to James. What is the biggest obstacle to the current Dow Johnson acquisition plan?"

Eric Clark opened his mouth.

"The biggest problem is not the acquisition price, but the lack of trust in Rufus Murdoch and News Corporation. The unions are also supporting the Sulzberger family."

"Is that such a big deal? Chairman Murdoch has already guaranteed the employment succession of the editors and journalists, and has also agreed to the establishment of an independent editorial oversight board."

"Still, the current mood is that it is unbelievable."

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the absurd remark.

"What is more important than money in America? The Wall Street Journal is the best business newspaper in America. And those writers are turning down a better offer and deciding to sell for a lower price?"

At that moment, when no one was able to answer my question, Murdoch met my eyes.

"Charlie, I got a call from John this morning. He made me a counteroffer. But I have no intention of accepting it."

Murdoch's face was filled with anger, as John's proposal was so humiliating.

"I asked you to agree to let the Bancroft family run the business even after I took over. How can you say that I'm out and they, who only have a small stake left, will run the business?"

Murdoch clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"They said they would sell it, but they would continue to manage it as before······. They are too greedy."

"I'm not going to throw $6 billion away. My offer wasn't bad. I gave up a lot because it was my dream. But they're not giving up anything, and they're being greedy. They're using the cheap trick of saying, "I'll pay for it, but they'll take the fame!"

Eventually, Murdoch raised his voice. But the listeners nodded silently, as if they thought his anger was justified.

I nodded and asked Han Kyung-young next to me.

"What does Representative James think?"

Because it was an official setting, I asked politely, and Han Kyung-young also spoke politely to me.

"The acquisition price we proposed is more than 40 times the current operating profit of Dow Johnson. Even if News Corporation acquires it, most people are negative about whether it will be able to achieve that level of synergy."

"That's true. But we have to keep in mind that this is a takeover proposal in which external factors play a greater role."

"But it's still negative. That's why George Soros offered $50 a share. He probably thought there was no merit in giving more than that."

"What if we offer you $70 a share?"

"Seventy dollars a week? That's crazy."

Han Kyung-young shook his head in disagreement.

"The $60 per week figure is also a price set for the purpose of setting the table. Media companies are not a profitable business. It's different for the media companies owned by Chairman Murdoch, but most of them are like that."

"As CEO James said, media companies are not a money-making business. Even considering that this acquisition is not a business to make money, $70 per share is too much."

Murdoch also expressed his opposition.

But once the Sulzberger family showed their intention to acquire, they could never win unless there was a significant difference in the acquisition price.

"This is not a business problem. They have declared war on us. In this case, we must take over unconditionally, even if it means taking a loss."

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Let's speak decisively, everyone's eyes were focused on me.

"If you reject our offer, we can offer you an amount you absolutely cannot refuse."

< The fight we have fought must be accepted > End

< I received the gift properly >