Beryl, the co-manager of the Waggoner Ranch, was relentless.
He expressed a desire to invest not only the $350 million he earned from the ranch sale but also the remaining $100 million his investment company held.
We barely managed to calm Beryl down, who seemed ready to follow us all the way to the hotel.
Mr. Han shook his head in disbelief at Beryl's persistence and downed a beer.
"People from Wall Street are usually ruthless, but I've never seen anyone cling like Beryl just to get their investments accepted."
"Have you looked into the investment company Beryl runs?"
"It's a firm called Cannon Investments. It recorded negative returns for three years. Most of the funds have already been withdrawn, and it seems he's trying to make one last big move with the remaining $100 million and the $350 million he just received."
After the Lehman collapse, half of Wall Street's investment firms went under. Naturally, Beryl's firm must have been struggling as well.
"He's not entirely incompetent, though. He may have suffered losses, but he survived the Lehman crisis."
"Can you really say someone is alive if they're brain-dead and on a respirator? That's exactly the state of Beryl's company."
"Still, he doesn't seem like someone who would stab others in the back. Just seeing how stubbornly he clings to us makes me think he knows how to survive in this business."
Through Beryl's expression, I could see detailed information. I confirmed that he possessed decent abilities.
"Do you plan to accept Beryl's investment? Unless he joins the fund through Taewoo Securities, there's no need to take direct investment."
"I actually had a business I wanted to pursue with someone else's help, but since Beryl approached me first and offered his hand, it doesn't seem bad to accept it."
The mention of a new business caught Mr. Han's interest.
Shale gas, the Bobcat acquisition, insulin production rights, acquiring shares of Robo Nordisk — we had been moving from one major venture to another, so Mr. Han looked slightly concerned.
"Is this a large-scale business? If so, you must work with someone even more trustworthy."
"The investment required is small. I plan to start a co-working office business."
We had already begun shared ventures — shared bicycles and scooters.
In the U.S., Korea, and Europe, tens of thousands of bikes and scooters had already been deployed, managed diligently by Captain Kang and professional executives.
"By co-working office business, do you mean subleasing offices or small office spaces?"
"Similar, but in a way, completely different. It's about creating offices that can be used by unspecified groups, enabling communication and collaboration."
"Those are words investors love: communication and collaboration."
"If SNS enables communication online, co-working offices enable communication offline."
"Very good idea! Simply renting offices would be considered a real estate business, but adding communication and collaboration could classify it as an IT business. IT companies love communication and collaboration above all else!"
Mr. Han seemed to like the co-working office idea and raised his voice in excitement.
But soon after, he pulled out a calculator and began analyzing its profitability on his own.
"Does this look like a business that can make money?"
"If we expand to the U.S., Europe, and Asia, it could become a mega-corporation. Even if it doesn't become as huge as Amazon, the growth potential is limitless."
If even Mr. Han responded this way, then investors in Wall Street or Silicon Valley would likely react positively.
No, I could be certain — many investors had already invested in co-working office businesses before the recession.
"If we complement Beryl's $450 million with about $500 million from us, we could lease a large number of offices in Silicon Valley, New York, San Francisco, and so on."
"This seems like a business that requires the economies of scale you've always emphasized, Chairman. By investing more funds or taking loans to lease more offices, we can dominate the co-working market completely and prevent competitors from emerging."
It seemed Mr. Han really liked the co-working office business.
The fact that he suggested increasing investment — something he rarely said — was proof enough.
"This isn't a business that will turn a profit immediately. The losses will likely continue for quite some time."
"All businesses are like that, aren't they? Compared to the rocket business Taewoo Trading operates, the losses here don't seem that big. But why go through Beryl for this project? Wouldn't it make more sense to run it directly through a Taewoo Group affiliate, like Taewoo Construction?"
Mr. Han judged that the co-working office business would benefit Taewoo Group.
If it truly benefited the group, why would I bother going through Beryl instead of doing it directly under Taewoo Group?
"A shiny apricot — it's the perfect proverb for the co-working office business."
"Are you saying it's a doomed business?"
"It's an ideal item to attract investors, but the chances of real success are very low."
After all, the co-working office business was essentially a real estate business.
You could package it nicely as an IT venture, but in the end, it's about leasing office spaces to generate profit.
"Right now, in a low-interest era, you might make a profit from co-working offices. But if interest rates rise even slightly, the business would take a huge hit. And U.S. interest rates are expected to keep rising for the foreseeable future."
"Then why not run the business without loans, using funds Taewoo Group already owns, so you aren't affected by interest rates?"
"The current real estate prices in the U.S. are at their lowest point. To succeed, we'd need to purchase hundreds of buildings. Buying the buildings itself isn't easy, and it requires astronomical amounts of capital."
As I explained it in detail, Mr. Han finally seemed to grasp the situation.
He immediately returned to his calculator and recalculated, factoring in rising interest rates and real estate prices.
"If the economy shifts as you say, the profitability of co-working offices turns negative."
"Even if interest rates remain stable and real estate prices don't rise significantly, there are still many variables that can affect this business."
"Then why bother starting such a risky business?"
"For investors who would love this kind of venture. There are people willing to pay handsomely for a shiny apricot. And if it's an IT business like this, the right buyers are in Japan."
Three hints: IT industry, investors, and Japan — and Mr. Han immediately understood.
"You mean Masayoshi Son of SoftBank in Japan?"
"Yes. There's an asset among SoftBank's holdings that I like. It would be perfect to swap it for the co-working office business, don't you think?"
There were things money couldn't buy.
Especially people like Masayoshi Son, who made a fortune through value investing — they rarely give up their assets to others.
So bartering was the only option.
The co-working office business was nothing more than bait to trade for SoftBank's assets.
"So you chose the co-working office business as fishing bait."
"Yes. We'll have to leave the bait in the water for quite some time. If it's too short, maybe one year; if long, up to three years before the fish even show interest. There's no need for us to hold the fishing rod all that time ourselves."
Mr. Han, for the first time, fully understood my plan.
He put down his calculator and leaned back on the sofa.
"SoftBank has a lot of tempting assets. Over a hundred IT companies alone, plus mobile, electronics, finance — all highly attractive."
"I'm most interested in the internet backbone. Essentially, the Korean internet extends to the world through Japan, and SoftBank owns that critical gateway."
I didn't like variables.
Taewoo Group was growing based on IT businesses, and if we could own the backbone network that SoftBank controlled, many potential variables would simply disappear.
"I'll meet with Beryl soon to discuss the business."
"From Beryl's perspective, this isn't a losing deal either. He could easily make five times the profit. During the process of transferring the entire business to SoftBank, an enormous amount of 'crumbs' will fall his way."
Opportunities are something you create for yourself, aren't they?
Beryl had persistently reached out to us, and as a reward, he could become the central figure in the co-working office business.
The next day.
David came to the hotel.
"Boss! The talks with Chesapeake Energy went smoothly. They've agreed to partner with us for shale gas development in Texas."
"Good work."
"They're not one of the Big Three U.S. oil companies, but it's a company with a long history. Especially in shale gas, they possess unrivaled technical expertise."
Taewoo Group couldn't carry out the shale gas project alone.
We had to partner with an American oil company, and I chose Chesapeake Energy.
"We'll need to visit Chesapeake Energy soon to sign the collaboration agreement."
"We'll make sure all procedures are completed within this week," David said.
"Boss, however, Chesapeake's financial liquidity isn't particularly strong. If we expand the business too aggressively, it could destabilize them,"
Mr. Han expressed his concern.
Although it was a long-established company with tradition, compared to the Big Three U.S. oil companies, Chesapeake Energy's profit structure was weaker.
"That's exactly why I chose Chesapeake Energy. The Big Three could weather instability no matter what. But Chesapeake? Once it starts to falter, it could even go bankrupt."
"So you're willing to proceed with collaboration knowing the possibility of bankruptcy?"
"Taewoo Group has no way to acquire the Big Three. But Chesapeake Energy? We could definitely acquire it. And if it's on the brink of bankruptcy, acquisition becomes even easier."
I didn't want the shale revolution to be just a feast for the American oil giants.
If we wanted to join the feast, we needed to acquire at least one American oil company — and Chesapeake Energy was the perfect target.
"So this collaboration is actually just a preliminary step toward acquiring Chesapeake Energy?"
"I plan to add one condition to the collaboration agreement: a preemptive right to acquire shares. And if the company reaches the brink of bankruptcy, don't you think the U.S. government will be the first to offer it to us?"
"If that happens, they might even forgive the debt and hand it over to us. But do you think Chesapeake Energy's profits will improve if we acquire it?"
"After the IT bubble burst, how did IT company stock prices behave? They hit bottom and then soared endlessly. Chesapeake Energy will follow the same path."
All the losses would be borne by Chesapeake Energy and the U.S. government.
We would simply enjoy the fruits.
Everything happening now was merely preparatory work to reap those fruits.