Chapter 748: Just Pick One, Just One

The winner’s curse.

Many succeed in acquisitions after outmaneuvering numerous competitors, only to find themselves unable to reap the desired profits due to the excessive costs incurred in the process. Often, the acquired company also suffers financial difficulties.

This is a common occurrence in the mergers and acquisitions market, a victory that leaves behind nothing but scars.

“We can’t raise the acquisition price any higher.”

Sulzberger Jr. and George Soros engaged in a heated debate.

“Our fund can cover the costs.”

“It’s excessive to ask for our family’s shares in return for covering the entire acquisition cost with the Soros fund.”

“We’re not asking for shares; we’re only requesting collateral.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Sulzberger Jr. retorted sharply.

Threatening the management rights of the New York Times to acquire the Wall Street Journal was putting the cart before the horse.

“You said you wanted to acquire the Wall Street Journal. Isn’t that why we joined forces?”

George Soros protested, but Sulzberger Jr. firmly shook his head.

“We’re withdrawing from this. The New York Times alone is enough. We don’t want to jeopardize the New York Times because of unnecessary greed.”

“Ha… this is going to be troublesome.”

George Soros sighed and glared at Sulzberger Jr.

Their fierce gazes collided in the air.

George Soros’s reason for joining hands with the New York Times in the acquisition battle was simple.

The reputation of the New York Times.

He believed that by leveraging that reputation, they could win the competition against Dream High even if there were some differences in the acquisition price.

The Sulzberger family had also made several attempts to acquire Dow Jones in the past.

However, the problem was that things weren’t going as George Soros had planned.

News Corporation and the Dream High consortium kept increasing the acquisition price as if they had no intention of giving up this acquisition battle.

Therefore, to win the competition, they had to raise the acquisition price further.

“What do you mean by troublesome?”

“If we fail in this acquisition, everyone will ridicule the New York Times. They’ll say that America’s leading newspaper tucked its tail and ran after being defeated by Murdoch.”

“What did you say? Soros! You’re out of line.”

“Isn’t it the truth? You should’ve just stayed out, If you back out now people are going to say you’ve chickened out.”

Sulzberger Jr.’s face contorted at George Soros’s provocation.

“Soros, watch your words.”

“You can quit if you lack confidence. But if you let go of my hand, you will definitely regret it. People associated with me will cut off all advertisements in the New York Times, and….”

Sulzberger Jr. slammed the table hard, cutting him off.

“Are you threatening this Sulzberger Jr.? Go ahead and try!”

“Let’s see if you can say the same thing after the advertisements dry up. You’re already in a tight spot financially with advertising revenue dropping.”

“Enough!”

Sulzberger Jr., his face flushed, gritted his teeth, but George Soros merely snorted.

“You shouldn’t be so relaxed when there’s a risk of losing management control. This time it’s the Wall Street Journal, but who knows if the New York Times will be on the market next?”

Sulzberger Jr., unable to hold back any longer, abruptly rose from his seat.

“Do as you please. I’m withdrawing from the Dow Jones acquisition.”

Sulzberger Jr. opened the door and walked out.

Left alone, George Soros bit his lip hard.

He bit so hard that blood trickled down from his teeth.

“…I can’t lose to Dream High again like this. I have to do it alone. I need to ask for more money.”

George Soros, muttering in a voice filled with resentment, got up from his seat and left the conference room.

* * *

I, Han Gyeong-yeong, and Murdoch met with the Dow Jones board of directors again for the final negotiation.

After brief greetings, the full-scale negotiation began.

I didn’t interfere in the negotiation and simply watched with my arms crossed as Han Gyeong-yeong proceeded.

Han Gyeong-yeong and Murdoch seemed to have dug their teeth in, having a much more thorough understanding of Dow Jones’s financial state than before.

Using that as their weapon, Han Gyeong-yeong continued to pressure the Dow Jones board to gain an advantage in the negotiation.

“If you reject this offer as well, we will withdraw from the acquisition.”

Han Gyeong-yeong put down the documents and raised both hands.

I watched Han Gyeong-yeong with an intrigued expression.

This wasn’t an action we had discussed beforehand. He knows how to provoke an opponent now. My older brother has really grown.

“What do you mean by that! Withdrawing from the acquisition?”

“We’ve already made many concessions. You are well aware of that. There’s nothing more we can concede.”

“That’s…”

“You’ll sell your shares, but want us to guarantee your management rights? What kind of ridiculous demand is that?”

Han Gyeong-yeong’s rebuke caused John Bancroft to simply stammer.

“75 dollars per share. In total, that’s over 6.5 billion dollars. That’s over 45 times the current operating profit of Dow Jones. You want us to guarantee your management rights after paying that much money to acquire your company? It’s none other than you, the board of directors here, who ruined Dow Jones.”

John Bancroft seemed taken aback and vehemently protested.

“Aren’t you being too harsh?”

“Being too harsh? Was it okay to disregard Chairman Murdoch? If you want to be respected, you should have respected Chairman Murdoch as well.”

“No, that wasn’t our intention…”

Han Gyeong-yeong lightly cut off John’s attempt to justify himself with a wave of his hand.

“To be frank, as investors, Dow Jones is not an attractive prospect. Its growth potential isn’t high. Nevertheless, Chairman Murdoch has conceded this much for his dream, and he said he would repay the shareholders here with enormous profits. But if things continue like this, we’ll withdraw.”

It was a frank statement, yet it was also true in every aspect.

“I’ll say it again. 75 dollars per share. We will not raise it any further. So decide. If you reject us this time too, Dream High along with minority shareholders will sue the management here for infringing on shareholders’ interests. Dream High is also a shareholder with 3% of Dow Jones stocks.”

Han Gyeong-yeong pressured the Bancroft board of directors, not hesitating to use threats.

Neither John nor any of the board members spoke up easily.

Seeing that, John sighed and looked towards me.

“Hah… You are the owner of Dream High, right?”

Unlike when dealing with Han Gyeong-yeong, he spoke in a very polite tone. I shrugged my shoulders and asked in return.

“Why do you think so?”

“Have you forgotten who we are? How could we not know the owner of Dream High?”

Despite the ambiguous answer, John spoke with a look of conviction.

There was no need for me to lie, so I simply nodded.

“Is there no room for further negotiations?”

“Well, I don’t have much interest.”

“No interest? Then why did Dream High step forward so aggressively…?”

“I’m not interested, but Chairman Murdoch is not. I simply said do whatever it takes to fulfill my partner, Chairman Murdoch’s, wish.”

John was even more unsettled by my indifferent tone and response.

I internally sneered at that sight and continued to speak.

“If it weren’t for Chairman Murdoch’s dream, there’s no way we would acquire Dow Jones for such an absurd price of 6.5 billion dollars, right? What do you all think the value of Dow Jones is? Even if we’re being generous, its current value isn’t even 2 billion dollars. And as for the growth potential… well, with the market shifting to the internet now, it’s uncertain whether its value will increase in the future.”

John let out a groan as if in pain at my cold words and lowered his gaze.

I uncrossed my arms and tapped the documents that Han Gyeong-yeong had placed on the table.

“Face the fact that Dow Jones’s value isn’t that high. But Murdoch’s dream is something you can’t put a price on. That’s why we placed this bet. We could have aimed for the next opportunity but the reason we jumped into this acquisition battle is for one reason only. A tool to help fulfill Murdoch’s dream. The Wall Street Journal is neither more nor less than that to me.”

“Still, our Wall Street Journal has over 100 years of history…”

John, unable to let go of his attachment, chanted the value of the Wall Street Journal like a mantra.

“If you prioritize history and tradition, then let go of your attachment to money. I will give you the original value of 30 dollars per share. In return, even if Murdoch takes over, I will fully guarantee editorial rights. Just like the way you have been managing it.”

“That’s absurd.”

Greed should be reasonable. I openly scoffed as I answered.

“That’s right. It’s absurd. We’ve already offered 75 dollars. Then why are you being so unreasonable? It’s equally absurd from our side.”

“….”

“Just pick one, just one. Money or fame. Choose one of the two.”

John’s face froze pale at my cold words, but I didn’t stop and continued to speak.

“You rejected the offer to protect your reputation. What kind of mindset is that? Fine, let’s assume you value your reputation and pass the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times. If we back out do you think they will keep their offer? No way. I guarantee they’ll come back to the table and ask to renegotiate. Until you sign the contract, an offer is nothing more than a proposal with no legal binding force.”

Excessive greed invites disaster, especially when you have no power and only a name value.

The atmosphere of the Bancroft board of directors grew tense, but I had simply presented the bitter truth to John.

“Sign the contract when you have competitors. If you reject us again today, as CEO James said, we will withdraw.”

I pulled my body away from the table, then crossed my arms again and looked around.

“One last thing. Neither Dream High nor Chairman Murdoch are looking to make money off the Wall Street Journal. We wouldn’t be acquiring it for this insane amount of money if that were the case.”

With that said, I closed my mouth, indicating that I had no intention of continuing the conversation.

Then, a man who looked the youngest among the board members raised his hand and spoke.

“Patriarch. Let’s not be greedy anymore.”

The man continued to speak without stopping despite receiving glares from the older directors.

“To be honest, we will fail if we continue this way. Do you really intend to hand over our company to the Sulzberger family? I believe that would be more dishonorable. Others may disagree, but I do not want to agree to hand it over to the Sulzberger family.”

It was a rash statement befitting of his young blood, but some directors nodded in agreement with the man’s statement.

“Oliver, this isn’t your place to speak!”

“I am also a member of this family, and one of the board of directors. I believe I have the right to speak.”

“This punk!”

An old man got up from his seat and pointed his finger.

However, Oliver didn’t pay any attention and continued to speak.

“We have failed. Then, we should at least leave with money.”

“Money is…”

“Uncle Eden! Please! Please don’t say things you don’t mean. It’s time to face reality.”

The board members suddenly began to argue among themselves, and we simply smiled as we watched.

It was clear even to our eyes that the camps were split into two.

Then, John tapped the table and stopped the heated exchange.

“Enough. What are you all doing in front of outsiders?”

John, looking like he had aged 10 years in a brief moment, held his forehead and said to us.

“Please go back. I’ll contact you in 3 days.”

At those words, Han Gyeong-yeong looked at me and I nodded slightly.

Han Gyeong-yeong got up from his seat and said to John.

“I look forward to a good response.”

We gathered the documents we brought and left, smiling at each other.

“They’ll sell to us, right?”

I nodded at Han Gyeong-yeong’s question.

“Probably. That director named Oliver spoke at just the right time. There are probably more people who think that handing it over to the Sulzberger family would be more humiliating.”

Murdoch didn’t say a word until we left the building.

Before getting into their respective cars, Murdoch spoke in a serious voice.

“Charlie.”

“Yes, Chairman Murdoch.”

“Thank you. For respecting my dream so much.”

“We are in the same boat. I respect you, Chairman, and you respect me as well. So even though we met through a deal, it’s not too much to call us friends now. If I can fulfill a friend’s dream, I don’t care how much money it takes.”

Murdoch’s eyes grew red.

Although it was something that had been rushed due to China, I felt from the side how sincere Murdoch was about the Wall Street Journal.

“Isn’t it a dream you have held onto for decades? You must achieve it before more time passes.”

“…I will do my best to help Charlie.”

“Thank you. You are the vanguard. Depending on how the vanguard acts, the outcome of this battle will change. I’m counting on you, Chairman Murdoch.”

Murdoch nodded with an extremely serious expression.

Murdoch and I looked into each other’s eyes and shook hands.

And 3 days later, as promised.

Dow Jones fell into Murdoch’s hands.