Chairman Yong took a sip of water, looking more than a little flustered.
All sorts of thoughts must have been running through his head. Ordering the pension fund to purchase shares in a specific company was an extremely improper thing to do. The circumstances were different, but hadn’t he even served prison time for using that very method?
I, too, raised my teacup with a calm expression. Since he had experience, there was no reason he couldn’t try it a second time, was there?
“Team Leader... are you telling us to merge?”
“No. I don’t want it to be incorporated as an affiliate of Hoam Group. It’s exactly as I said—just an equity investment.”
“Forgive me for asking, but is that perhaps an order from the Blue House...?”
“Of course not. This is purely a business proposal. I think acquiring a stake in SecondPro would be a great help to SDI as well.”
He answered with a troubled look.
“Team Leader, if this truly is a business request, may I answer from a business perspective as well?”
“As you please.”
“Thank you for the proposal, but I believe it would be difficult given our circumstances. Of course, for us at SDI, SecondPro is our largest client, and there will be many areas for cooperation going forward. But acquiring shares is another matter. To put it very coldly, if SecondPro’s competitiveness falls behind that of other companies, we can change subcontractors at any time. Conversely, if someone offers better terms than we do, SecondPro can also replace its prime contractor.”
His voice was filled with force.
He must really hate the idea of acquiring a stake, huh?
“Especially considering the battery market that will unfold in the future, we don’t want to touch such a risky business. Secondary batteries aren’t components—they’re living organisms. It’s an industry where sales swing wildly depending on the economy and policy. It’s difficult for a company to make an investment decision lightly in an industry like that.”
“I know. But Chairman, if Coupang hadn’t had SoftBank’s enormous investment, would it have been able to dominate Korea’s social commerce market? SpaceX and Teslan, which now lead in technology, were both in the red for over a decade.”
“...”
“It’s the same. SecondPro’s sales fluctuate with the business climate, so it needs a company that can support it. Considering Korea’s unique corporate structure, it would be best if that backing came from a large conglomerate. And among them, a client company with plenty of room for collaboration.”
Chairman Yong sighed.
“But what could we do just by making an equity investment? Thankfully, we ended this year in the black, but honestly, SDI’s future revenue is uncertain. The battery industry is a truly unpredictable market, different yesterday and different again today.”
“If funding is the problem, I’ll help with all sincerity. At the pension fund level, we’ll make additional investments in the secondary battery sector.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better for the pension fund to invest directly in Second—”
“It’s different.”
“...Pardon?”
“I don’t want the current heat in KOSDAQ to end quickly as a mere theme-driven frenzy. I want the funds flowing into the stock market to be used for corporate R&D, and to become the sturdy stamina that allows companies to withstand a few quarters of losses. But the pension fund injecting money won’t be nearly enough.”
Chairman Yong seemed to understand my meaning and asked cautiously.
“Are you perhaps... hoping for news?”
“To some extent. If Hoam Group invests in a mid-sized company, people will feel differently about it. There may still be volatility, but the downside will be defended. That’s all I’m asking for. If SecondPro carries out a capital increase in the near future, please have SDI purchase those shares through a block deal.”
I had racked my brain. How could I maintain SecondPro’s current share price while providing funding for R&D and overseas factories?
Trying to raise the stock price while carrying out a paid-in capital increase was like saying you wanted to eat warm ice cream, but I had to solve that contradictory assignment.
After much thought, the conclusion I reached was ultimately one thing. Have a large conglomerate take all of the newly issued shares.
In truth, a paid-in capital increase increases the number of issued shares, so it can hardly be good for the stock price. But a capital increase in which a conglomerate takes the shares is almost the only kind of increase that can be considered good news.
“You mean to attract more individual investors with the favorable news of a large conglomerate acquiring a stake...?”
“Yes. If that virtuous cycle continues, I believe SDI’s burden will also be reduced.”
“But Team Leader, even if we defend the stock price in the short term like that, what about performance...? Whatever the case, SecondPro’s sales need to follow in the end for it to be defended long-term, but there are no buyers, are there?”
He spoke with anxious eyes.
“The secondary battery market is overwhelmingly dominated by Chinese companies. Of course, I know SecondPro is making strenuous efforts to cut unit costs by establishing overseas factories, but that alone isn’t enough to bridge the gap.”
“That’s why I’m saying this: I think we should try targeting the American market.”
“By America, do you mean Teslan?”
“Yes. I understand SDI recently signed a supply contract worth around three trillion won.”
“Don’t bother. That’s the end of it. Even within the U.S. right now, policy is seesawing over whether to provide more ESS support or not. In that situation, it’s difficult to expect Teslan to sign additional supply contracts.”
“If they won’t buy, how about forcing them to?”
“P-Pardon?”
Leaving his startled gaze behind, I held out a document.
“Th-This is!”
After scanning the document, he looked even more flustered.
“You’re telling us to bundle the sales?!”
“Yes. I understand that as big tech’s AI investments have intensified recently, semiconductor supplies are suffering from a supply cliff. How often does an opportunity like this come along? Teslan can’t run its business without semiconductors either, so in exchange for supplying them, let’s bundle our secondary batteries with them.”
“Th-That’s absurd! We’re talking about big tech. No, we’re talking about American companies!”
“That’s exactly why I think it’s more possible. The U.S. authorities can’t possibly be comfortable with Chinese firms controlling seventy percent of the secondary battery market. If you think about it, it’s good for everyone, isn’t it? Teslan secures semiconductor supplies, which is good for them; America keeps China’s energy hegemony in check, which is good for them; and we get to grow our market, which is good for us.”
My face grew slightly hot, but since it had come to this, I decided to be even more brazen.
How could it possibly be easy to bundle other goods by telling big tech we’d give them semiconductors if they bought something else too? Was it even reasonable for Korea to treat an American company like a subcontractor?
“...”
But it seemed possible...
At present, big tech companies were periodically plagued by talk of an AI bubble, and the NASDAQ was enduring a tedious sideways march. Even so, there wasn’t a single company saying it would stop investing in AI.
The semiconductor supply-and-demand forecasts from global rating agencies were even more gloomy. All the reputable agencies predicted that this semiconductor supply instability would continue for at least another two to three years, and some even predicted that semiconductor supply would remain unstable until AGI arrived.
“...”
In other words, our rice bowl would become even sturdier.
Leading rating agencies revised the target prices for Hoam Electronics and Hynix every week, and as if in response, both companies achieved their highest sales since their founding during this earnings call.
And if my memory was correct, semiconductor supply instability really would continue until AGI was achieved. Whether the other party was America or big tech, this was an era where the one selling pickaxes held the upper hand.
“This is difficult... Bundling sales to big tech, and Teslan at that.”
“Chairman, you should row while the tide is in. Isn’t this precisely why conglomerates keep their many-tentacled affiliates around, to make use of them in moments like this? Offer priority supply of Hoam Electronics semiconductors as a condition and win SDI the contract. You can do it.”
“Will the U.S. government just sit back and watch this...?”
“The government shouldn’t interfere in matters between companies. And the U.S. government has sold us plenty of weapons in exchange for stationing U.S. forces in Korea, hasn’t it? Let’s try it once ourselves. Right now, our semiconductors are in a position where we can bundle them.”
To him, still looking uneasy, I drove in the nail.
“Chairman, if I persuade Mustin, will you do it?”
*
“Who did you say I have a meeting with?”
Texas, United States.
Mustin, who was at SpaceX headquarters, checked his schedule and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, a Team Leader Lee Sejun from Korea’s NPS...”
“NPS Lee Sejun? That bastard is coming here?”
“You remember him...?”
“How could I forget? He’s the Korean bastard who ruined the ARG acquisition when it was practically in my hands!”
Mustin’s anger surged.
After the Automatic Expo, interest in physical AI had risen sharply. The attention that had been focused on platforms had finally shifted to robots.
According to his original plan, the last Automatic Expo should have been his stage. He and ARG, boasting insane cost-effectiveness, should have appeared together at the demonstration hall, announced a merger between the two companies, the crowd should have cheered, and the news should have been plastered with his face.
But some young man who appeared from Korea had dumped filth all over that perfect picture.
The bastard had slyly tempted ARG, which was all but his, and just before they were about to sign an MOU with Teslan, he made them stamp that seal with Asan Motors instead.
At first, he tried to pretend it didn’t matter. Teslan had plenty of that level of technology, after all. But after the expo, people finally began to pay attention to the unit cost of robots, and with news of the merger between Asan Motors and ARG, every investment firm began putting the word “commercialization” in its mouth.
Indeed, because of this news, the labor union at Korea’s Asan Motors even staged a twenty-first-century Luddite-style anti-robot strike. For Mustin, who loved this kind of attention, it could not have been more painful.
“Damn it. Atlas? It’s nothing more than a serving robot compared to our Optimus!”
“...”
“If we’d acquired ARG, all that attention should have gone to our Optimus! If those bastards hadn’t stabbed me in the back, we would have commercialized it the moment we acquired ARG! They didn’t just deceive me—they delayed the advancement of human civilization itself!”
The secretary reporting the schedule let out a deep sigh.
Here we go again.
Mustin, who had a strange kind of paranoia, would fly off the handle like this whenever he suddenly remembered something that made him angry.
If it ended with him flying off the handle, that was at least fortunate.
If his anger still didn’t subside, he would suddenly challenge the CEO of another company to a “duel,” or abruptly file a barrage of lawsuits against big tech companies claiming Teslan’s technology had been stolen.
Even that was relatively mild. If he truly couldn’t calm down, he was the kind of person who would bring up Epstein even to the President of the United States.
‘His eyes have gone crazy again...’
In a word, he was out of control. A state that absolutely could not be stopped.
“...Sir. Then shall I just send him away?”
“The problem is that the appointment was made in the first place! Jason, why can’t a secretary remember the name of that NPS rat when even I remember it?”
“It’s not that I didn’t remember...”
“Shut up and kick him out right now! I was already sharpening my knife because Korea’s been developing reusable launch vehicles or whatever lately. From what I saw, they dragged our former SpaceX partners over to Korea! That industrial-spy bastard!”
“...”
“Jason, don’t just kick him out. Throw a bucket of cold water on him and kick him out! No, is there anyone among security who can throw a decent punch?”
“A punch...?”
“Hit him a few times! I’ll pay all the settlement money, attorney fees, and hospital bills, so somebody land one on that rat’s face!”
The secretary sighed.
The meeting was out of the question. He had no choice but to explain the situation and send him away.
“Understood... But sir, it wasn’t because I didn’t know who he was that I scheduled the meeting. He came with an offer to supply semiconductors on a priority basis. In any case, I’ll convey your intentions.”
“Wait!”
Just as he turned to leave.
Mustin, whose face had been flushed as if it would burst, suddenly asked in an exceedingly calm and rational voice.
“What did you say he’d give us?”