Breaking Up Is Better Than Divorce

reason and emotion

“Are you investing $100 billion in one stock?”

Joanna asked, looking quite surprised.

This is because the amount is too large to be included in an investment in one stock.

“of course. There are quite a few cases, so we need to do it properly.”

“It’s a pretty big number… … Where are you going to invest?”

“To Europe.”

“Europe? What is happening in Europe?”

Joanna thought for a moment.

“Are you talking about the Brexit vote?”

Joanna soon realized Eugene’s intentions.

In February, British Prime Minister David Cameron decided to hold a referendum to ask the British public whether the UK would remain in the European Union.

The UK joined the European Union (EU), which was created when the Maastricht Treaty came into force in 1993, but British people, who have traditionally taken it for granted that they distance themselves from the continent, have been skeptical of becoming one with Europe.

Moreover, some groups with political purposes and conservative people who had aversion to foreigners have to accept foreign immigrants because of the EU, and because of them, they suffer a great loss in health insurance finances. The rumors that it could not be spread were widely spread.

The reality is far from such a claim, but as always, the hatred of outsiders always works.

For so many reasons, many of the British did not want their homeland to remain in the EU any longer, and politicians could not continue to ignore the wishes of their people.

The referendum on whether Britain will continue to be a member of Europe is just over a month away, and the result will have a profound impact not only on Britain, but on the whole of Europe and even the world.

“Isn’t there a great event in Europe other than that?”

Eugene answered in a light tone.

“It is, but… … Are you saying Brexit could be an investment? Wait. Well… … .”

Joanna thought again.

“If the vote is decided to stay… … There won’t be any big changes. How much do you think that if the anxiety factor is resolved, it will have a positive effect on the members of the European Union? The stock market is going to go up a little bit, and the euro will be strong.”

“It seems that Joanna thinks that the result of the vote will be decided to stay.”

“I don’t think the referendum results will come out of leaving the EU. Anyone can see how negatively it will be for the UK economy to leave the EU.”

Joanna seemed convinced in her heart.

“Until now, we have been able to trade with European countries without trade barriers, but if we decide to leave, it will have a huge negative impact on tariffs right away. It goes without saying that most of the exports from the UK are from Europe. What makes the UK the financial center of Europe?”

She was able to list several reasons why Britain should not leave the European Union in a matter of seconds.

“If you really make that choice… … It’s like a disaster. The biggest industry that sustains the UK right now is finance. The UK serves as Europe’s financial hub, generating huge profits. The blow to trade and finance alone is a huge loss for the UK. And the results will go back to the people.”

As she was also engaged in the financial industry, she was looking at the British reality from the point of view of a financier.

“Joanna ignores how frightening human emotions are.”

Eugene laughed and said.

“Emotions? Of course, everyone has emotions. But do you mean strangling yourself out of emotion?”

“Sure. People can do anything if they feel bad. Even if I lose a little, if I think that I can cause more damage to the person I hate, most people will be able to do anything, right?”

“A little damage? And do you harm people you don’t like?”

“The British people hate those great London financiers so much. They say that by squeezing the blood of the British people, only their own stomachs are growing. I don’t know how many people would vote in favor of leaving, if they could give London’s financiers a shot.”

“that… … .”

Looking at Joanna, who still doesn’t seem to understand, Eugene continued.

“And foreigners. If you can fuck off the ugly foreigners, you can bear the unemployment rate rising or the health insurance finances getting worse.”

“ha… … Of course, there are people like that. But I don’t think the British are all that stupid.”

“Aside from judging whether such behavior is right or wrong, we have to consider the possibility. What will happen if that happens? And in that case, how can we get the most out of it?”

“Um, that’s right. I was too hasty.”

Joanna understood immediately.

But it’s not really to blame Joanna. Many intellectuals were warning that Brexit would do irreparable harm to Britain and, by extension, to the British people, and most British people expected to make a rational decision.

“To have $100 billion in cash ready for investment at any time for the time being, on the one hand, to dedicate as much resources as possible to analyzing which instruments and positions to invest in when the vote is in favor and vice versa. summer solstice.”

From that day on, analysts and quants from the Office’s research team began to predict the impact of the UK referendum and to find the best way to get the results.

It is the turn of the best talents who have been raking in with the industry’s highest salaries to pay for their meals.

“It seems that the field that can see the biggest profit is foreign exchange products.”

Eugene and Joanna also reviewed the research team’s analysis data every day and discussed investment plans.

Even in the 21st century, where countless investment products are newly born, the most frequently traded products are stocks and foreign exchange transactions.

In particular, the amount of foreign exchange transactions already exceeded 1 trillion dollars per day in the early 2000s, and in 2020, the daily average of 7 trillion dollars exceeds the frightening amount. A significant portion of these transactions are over-the-counter (OTC) transactions between banks, but the amount of retail transactions aimed at profit is also significant.

With assets already in excess of $100 billion, it was an area to focus on in order to earn more.

Moreover, Eugene, who has been involved in international and large-scale capital projects for decades in his past life, is also interested in the financial sector, along with the oil price market.

The construction of large-scale plants or drilling facilities required financing from various entities, and as large sums of money were involved, they were inevitably sensitive to exchange rates depending on the time period.

Eugene, who has been working mainly as a team leader in each project, can recall the exchange rates of major currencies at the time when he recalls the projects he was responsible for during each period.

Eugene, who knows the outcome of the referendum that will determine Brexit and the exchange rates of major currencies at the time, was expecting very good results from this century’s event as well.

Meanwhile, Eugene was calling David to pursue another business.

“I am thinking of acquiring Freescale Semiconductor from the Blackstone Consortium.”

“Is it worth it?”

Freescale has yet to recover from the damage after its Malaysian factory suffered massive damage in the terrorist attacks last year.

As a result, it suffered a significant loss over the past year, and now the value of Freescale’s acquisition is terribly low.

“Of course, if it was last year’s price, it wouldn’t be too much. But if the price is right, it’s worth buying. Because we still have unrivaled technology in automotive semiconductors.”

Eugene is well aware of the fact that in his past life, the Daeyang Group has benefited greatly from the acquisition of Freescale.

This time, he intends to take over and take over the fruit.

“All right. Then we will try to buy it at the lowest possible price.”

* * *

“I got a call from Blackstone. It seems that there is a place that wants to acquire Freescale.”

said a middle-aged voice.

“somewhere?”

The old man’s voice asks.

“It’s a private equity fund called Neuberger Berman in New York. It is a place that manages funds similar to those of Black Stone and KKR.”

“How much did you say you could pay?”

“Eight billion dollars.”

“Eight billion dollars? her! What nonsense are you talking about?”

Another voice this time.

“At Blackstone, they say they plan to get up to $10 billion through negotiations.”

“Isn’t $10 billion a ridiculous price?”

“Right now, I think we have to accept 10 billion dollars. Interest costs are not high. If you miss this opportunity, you never know when another buyer will come.”

“If we go over $10 billion, we’re only getting $2.4 billion, right? After deducting all these and other expenses, it would be a little over $2 billion. In the end, you’re losing two billion dollars, right?”

“Then are you saying we should leave it like this? Of the $4 billion, DL has $1 billion of funds and the remaining $3 billion is borrowed money. Interest is also quite high because you borrow in a hurry. Over the past year, I’ve gone over $180 million in interest alone. And the same goes for DL funds. You have to think about the loss of 100 million dollars for not operating it. I have to sell it.”

At that time when the controversy intensified, the old man who had been silent for a while spoke again.

“Stop it. It’s not a decision right now, so let’s wait a few days.”

* * *

“How is it?”

Heo Dae-woong, the third son-in-law of the Chairman of the Daeyang Group, asked. Unlike the last time we met, now he has a much calmer face.

“It is a very surprising story. But this tape cannot be used.”

David quickly judged the value of the gift Heo Dae-woong brought.

“The courts in Korea will never accept this as evidence.”

David moved to the United States as a child, finished his studies in the United States, and built a career in a private equity fund in New York.

Legal issues in particular deserved careful consideration.

David is now very well aware that Korean courts often have very different rulings from American courts.

In particular, I could not understand the extent to which both prosecutors and judges voluntarily provide convenience when a business giant becomes a defendant.

“I know. But it is a different story if the person in this recording directly testifies.”

Heo Dae-woong said in a low voice.

“Hmm… … .”

David thought for a moment.

As he said, if the third son-in-law of the chairman of the Daeyang Group testified in person, it would be sufficient in court.

Nothing else, it would be perfect evidence that the owner’s family raised the acquisition price of the group’s affiliates for personal gain.

The family of the owner of the Daeyang Group tried to secure a considerable amount of slush money through the acquisition of Freescale.

It acquired a 7% stake in Freescale Semiconductor from Medilife for $1.2 billion, and a 17% stake in Eugene for $3.5 billion.

And by spending $28.6 billion on the acquisition of Freescale, they tried to collect a whopping $2.4 billion of slush funds.

However, their plans were thwarted by the terrorist attacks in Malaysia.

The Daeyang Group owner family gave up the $3 billion down payment without any conditions in order to reduce any damage again.

If David testifies in court as it is what he just heard, it will be difficult for even the most powerful family owner of a conglomerate to avoid being judged by the law.

Moreover, as the Daeyang group has built up a great notoriety thanks to Eugene over the past year, it will be able to deal a great blow.

“Can you?”

David asked, looking straight at Heo Dae-woong who had called him.

Since David handed a very secret and dangerous video to the third son-in-law of the Daeyang Group chairman a few months ago, he has never contacted Heo Dae-woong.

He kept the promise he made that day.

And after almost six months, Heo Dae-woong contacted me first. He said he had a very important story, so he came to the meeting place with a little expectation.

But what he brought out was more than David had expected.

David looked him in the eye and shook his head incessantly, trying to figure out what the hell this man was thinking.