Seok-won sat with one leg crossed, flanked on the sofas by Executive Director Yoon Kihoon, CFO Eom Taejun, and Division Head Yoo Hyunseok.
Placing the approval document on the coffee table, Yoon said,
"This is the final bid amount calculated by the TF team."
[￦ 2,100,000,000,000]
Seok-won picked up the document, checked the number, and spoke.
"2.1 trillion won… That's 100 billion won more than the minimum bid amount the government requested."
Yoon, leading the acquisition TF team, calmly explained the basis for the calculation.
"In preparing the bid, we re-evaluated the assets held by Minguk Life. The result showed only 1.7 trillion won, significantly less than the amount previously assessed by the Financial Supervisory Commission."
"I thought they owned quite a few prime properties, including the 63 Building in Yeouido. Only that much?"
"Yes. As you know, due to the lingering effects of the foreign exchange crisis, real estate prices have dropped sharply, so the valuation decreased accordingly."
In the midst of the ongoing IMF crisis, companies running low on liquidity had few fast and easy ways to raise cash other than selling off assets.
As a result, from factory sites to office buildings, a flood of properties hit the market, driving domestic real estate prices steadily downward.
'Even a landmark like the 63 Building in Seoul can't escape the effects of a collapsing market.'
Taking advantage of this, Bluehole Construction's CEO Jeong Gyu-cheol, generously backed by Seok-won's funds, was scooping up prime real estate in Seoul at bargain prices.
'Not long ago, he was negotiating to acquire both the Seoul Hilton, owned by Daekwang Group, and the Busan Suyeongman reclamation site.'
Seok-won quietly smiled at the image of Jeong, who had moved from cautious dealings to gleefully collecting buildings and land like pieces on a Monopoly board, before returning his attention to Yoon's explanation.
"Even if the domestic real estate market is expected to hit bottom and rebound in the future, we didn't factor that in. We don't know if it will happen next year or several years from now, so it wasn't included in the valuation."
Unlike Seok-won, who knew that real estate prices would eventually soar again, the general consensus was that the market wouldn't recover for at least a few years.
Thus, the real estate assets held by Minguk Life had to be evaluated conservatively.
"On top of that, while the government is injecting public funds, we also considered that the buyer would have to shoulder a portion of the 2.9 trillion won in non-performing assets."
Other factors were also listed in the documents, and since the TF team was composed of experts from each relevant field, it was clear that the bid amount was quite reasonable.
Seok-won put down the approval document in his hands and asked,
"How many other parties are participating in this bid?"
Executive Director Yoon Kihoon responded immediately,
"Eight companies are expected to submit bids, including the U.S.-based Metropolitan Life."
"That's a fair number."
"On the surface, yes. But Metropolitan Life has close ties with Chairman Sim In-yeol, who drove Minguk Life into distress, and the government is wary of them. Moreover, they had conflicts with the Financial Supervisory Service during prior restructuring efforts, so realistically, it will be difficult for them to win the bid."
Seok-won nodded slightly in agreement.
"True. If Metropolitan Life were to acquire Minguk Life, there would inevitably be a lot of speculation and controversy."
"Exactly. Excluding Metropolitan Life, most of the bidders are either vulture funds aiming to acquire distressed companies, restore them, and resell, or they are relatively weak financially. That gives us a clear advantage."
"So the vulture funds are probably more interested in the real estate Minguk Life holds than in running the company itself."
"That's our assessment as well. That's why most of their bids will likely fall below the real estate asset valuation of 1.7 trillion won."
Leaning back against the soft sofa, Seok-won looked at Yoon.
"Previously, TG and HW Group also expressed interest in acquiring Minguk Life, didn't they?"
"They did, but TG is tied up with the semiconductor big deal they're doing with Hyunwoo Group. They won't have the bandwidth to focus on acquiring Minguk Life, so they're expected to sit this bid out."
TG (LG) Group, pressured by the government to abandon its semiconductor business, had spent the past several months negotiating a sale with Hyunwoo (Hyundai) Group.
However, the two sides struggled to reconcile their vastly different price expectations.
At that point, the government intervened again, proposing a compromise: "Let's take the arithmetic average of the final prices submitted by both sides and decide based on that."
"If someone told me to sell TG Semiconductor, with a stake valued at nearly 4 trillion won, for just over half—2.56 trillion won—I'd be furious too."
"I'd be angry as well, but the government's pressure to close the big deal quickly is intense. TG Group will eventually have to back down."
"Of course."
Seok-won responded with a bitter expression, crossing his arms.
"TG is one thing, but HW Group—Chairman Kwon Seung-beom himself expressed interest several times in media interviews. Didn't they show strong acquisition intent?"
At that moment, Division Head Yoo Hyunseok, sitting next to CFO Eom Taejun on the left sofa, interjected to answer.
"As you said, the group owner is eager to acquire, but their Japanese consortium partner is a weak point."
"You mean Kyoei Life, the Japanese partner in the consortium with HW Group?"
"Correct."
"I know Kyoei Life is ranked 10th in the Japanese life insurance industry. What's the issue?"
Yoo Hyunseok explained the situation while meeting Seok-won's gaze.
"Founded in 1947, it's a long-established, sizable company with total assets of 5.246 trillion yen. But its solvency ratio is only 300%, which is among the lowest in Japan's life insurance sector."
"Is their financial situation really that bad?"
Seok-won asked in surprise, and Yoo continued seriously.
"As their management deteriorated, S&P recently downgraded their credit rating to B, classifying it as non-investment grade."
Seok-won suddenly recalled, from before his regression, that around next year a massive life insurance default occurred in Japan—the largest in the world at that time.
'I couldn't remember the exact company, but it must have been Kyoei Life.'
With total assets of 5.246 trillion yen—well over 72 trillion won—the scale was massive enough to rattle the Japanese stock market.
Grateful for recalling this detail just in time, Seok-won mentally engraved the name Kyoei Life.
Meanwhile, CFO Eom Taejun, sitting alongside Yoo Hyunseok, turned to him and spoke.
"The government isn't unaware of Kyoei Life's condition. No matter how high they bid, they probably won't score well."
"You can't hand a company back, propped up with massive public funds, to a failing firm. That makes sense."
Seok-won nodded in agreement, and Executive Director Yoon Kihoon, confident, seemed certain of winning the bid.
"That's why we believe that 2.1 trillion won is more than enough to secure Minguk Life."
Even Seok-won thought objectively that, unless a global giant like AIG or France's AXA suddenly entered the fray, among the companies participating in the bid, the Eldorado Fund had the clearest advantage.
The reason Eldorado Fund, rather than Daehung Venture Capital, was positioned as the acquiring entity was to circumvent various domestic legal restrictions.
Tapping the sofa armrest lightly with his fingertips, Seok-won pondered for a moment before lifting his head and asking,
"Do you have a pen?"
Division Head Yoo Hyunseok, sitting to his left, quickly retrieved a pen from his inner pocket and handed it over with both hands.
"Here you go."
Taking the pen, Seok-won leaned forward, thinking carefully once more. Then, as if making a firm decision, he drew lines through the bid amount listed on the approval sheet in front of him.
"!"
The sudden action startled the three others, who all looked at him in shock.
Without hesitation, Seok-won wrote a new figure under the crossed-out amount:
[₩ 2,300,000,000,000]
"Place the bid at this amount."
As Seok-won set the pen down and spoke, everyone struggled to mask their astonishment.
Yoon Kihoon was the first to react, quickly speaking up:
"Isn't 2.3 trillion won too high?"
"Exactly. With assets of only 1.7 trillion won, adding another 600 billion is clearly overpaying," CFO Eom Taejun chimed in, widening his eyes in disapproval.
Division Head Yoo Hyunseok also silently agreed that the bid was excessive, though he refrained from voicing it outright.
Still, Seok-won leaned back, speaking in a calm, measured tone.
"If we go with the initial amount you all suggested, we might still secure Minguk Life. And I agree that, compared to other competitors, our conditions are advantageous. But what if we fail to win the bid?"
Executive Director Yoon Kihoon, sensing the implication, tensed slightly.
"You mean someone else could submit a higher bid?"
"Exactly. Or the government might reject it if they find the proposed amount unsatisfactory."
Seok-won shrugged.
At this, CFO Eom Taejun immediately protested, as if incredulous.
"They'd want to resolve this messy issue as quickly as possible. I don't think the government would do that."
"Remember, one of the government's sale principles is minimizing the use of public funds. So, with all the bad press about covering corporate failures with taxpayers' money, they wouldn't want to be accused of selling too cheaply. That alone makes them unlikely to accept a low offer."
"Hmm…"
Thinking it over, CFO Eom realized the logic and fell silent, having no further objection.
Meanwhile, Yoon Kihoon remained skeptical, shaking his head.
"Even so, 2.3 trillion won is far too high."
"If the government rejects the current bid, the next round wouldn't happen any sooner than a month or two later at best."
"That's quite likely."
"By then, the Seoul Administrative Court will have ruled on Chairman Shim's lawsuit challenging the stock cancellation and the Financial Supervisory Service's order to normalize Minguk Life's management. If, as expected, Shim loses, large foreign life insurers that were holding back will jump in. That would make the competition even fiercer."
If the Financial Supervisory Service won in court, the risk surrounding Minguk Life would be completely removed. As Seok-won said, foreign insurers, still testing the waters, could then enter, escalating the bidding war.
"In that case, we might have to bid even higher than what I'm proposing now. It's better to offer an amount the government and the Financial Supervisory Service will accept and secure Minguk Life for sure."
Even though the International Finance Center (IFC) building in Yeouido is far larger, its land had only a 99-year usage right, yet in 2021 it traded for 4.1 trillion won. Compared to that, betting 2.3 trillion won for just the 63 Building was entirely reasonable.
Seeing that Seok-won had firmly made up his mind, Yoon Kihoon had no choice but to comply.
"If that's your decision, we'll proceed as instructed."
The other two executives also refrained from further objection, and Seok-won's face showed satisfaction.
"Then let's place the bid at this amount."