CH22

After completing his tasks in New York, Seok-won returned to his academic life at Harvard.

Inside a large lecture hall, students sat spaced apart at long desks, each with varying expressions as they worked through their exam papers. As December brought colder weather, the students naturally donned thicker clothing. Seok-won, wearing a black cashmere turtleneck, was seated in one corner of the lecture hall, taking his exam.

The exam consisted of just one question, but since it was an open-ended essay question rather than one with a clear-cut answer, it was more challenging. Without a thorough understanding of the topic and a logical writing style, it would be difficult to earn a high score.

However, unlike the other students who were racking their brains and struggling, Seok-won was enjoying himself as he filled the empty spaces on his paper. After filling the back of the page with his thoughts, he finally placed a period at the end of his answer and set his pen down. He then slowly reviewed his answer to ensure there were no mistakes, glancing at his wristwatch.

"Still about 10 minutes left."

Looking around, he saw that the other students were still furrowing their brows, staring intently at their papers or scribbling and erasing repeatedly as they wrestled with the exam.

Since he had finished his exam, there was no need to stay seated any longer. Seok-won packed his belongings into his backpack, stood up, and walked to the front of the room to hand in his paper. As he approached, Professor Frank, who had been standing by the podium, noticed him and gave a look of mild surprise.

"Already finished?" Frank asked.

"Yes," Seok-won replied as he placed his exam paper on the podium.

Professor Frank, with his stylishly brushed silver hair, was known to be a tough grader but was also highly respected in the academic world, having won the Nobel Prize in Economics a few years prior. His lectures were highly sought after, leading to an influx of students at the beginning of each term, only for many to drop out when they found the content too difficult.

"This is one of the perks of attending Harvard—to be able to take a course from such a distinguished scholar," Seok-won thought as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and quietly left the lecture hall, mindful not to disturb the other students still taking the exam.

After watching Seok-won leave, Professor Frank, curious, picked up his exam paper. He had intended to skim through it quickly, planning to grade it in detail later, but as he read, his interest grew, and he found himself putting his glasses back on for a closer look.

As he continued reading, Frank occasionally let out low sounds of admiration.

"It's interesting that he attributes the primary cause of Black Monday not to market instability or program trading, but to psychological factors," he mused aloud, his gaze turning briefly toward the door through which Seok-won had exited.

After noting Seok-won's name on the paper—Park Seok-won—Frank returned his focus to the test, intrigued by the student's unique perspective.

Unaware of the interest he had piqued in his professor, Seok-won left the lecture building, mounted his bicycle, and headed to the campus cafeteria.

"Large hot Americano for pickup!" called out a blonde barista, holding up a takeaway cup.

Seok-won, wearing gloves, took the coffee, sat down at an outdoor table near where his bicycle was parked, and took a sip.

"It's getting too cold to sit outside anymore," he muttered to himself, lamenting that he'd soon have to give up his preference for the open air in favor of indoor seating.

Suddenly recalling something, he reached into his backpack for his phone, which he had turned off during the exam, and powered it back on. He then dialed Cox's number. After a few rings, Cox answered, sounding busy.

[Yes.]

"It's me."

[Ah, I tried to contact you, but your phone was off.]

"I had it off for a reason," Seok-won replied, glossing over the details. Cox didn't pry further.

[As you may know, the FTSE 100 in London closed at 3,233 points last night.]

"To think it's rebounded to its pre-crash level in just three months. It seems the fundamentals of the UK economy were stronger than expected."

When Seok-won had bet on a rebound, he had expected the FTSE 100 to recover to its original level by early next year at the earliest. But in just three months, it had shot back up past the 3,000-point mark.

"In the original timeline, it wasn't until May next year that it fully recovered to its pre-ERM withdrawal level. This is a surprise," Seok-won thought, though it was a pleasant surprise. Yet, it also reminded him that his greatest weapon—knowledge of future events—might not always be reliable.

"This time it worked out well, but there's no guarantee it will always turn out like this."

The possibility of future deviations made him resolve to be more cautious and deliberate in his actions going forward.

[Indeed, the market's rapid rebound can be attributed not only to the stronger-than-expected fundamentals but also to the surge in export companies' earnings due to favorable exchange rates and the UK government's aggressive economic stimulus policies. Furthermore, hedge funds that had shorted the pound have now gone long on the FTSE 100, betting on its rise.]

"With such clear signals, there's no way these hedge funds, who are experts at sniffing out profit opportunities, would miss this," Seok-won agreed.

[Exactly.]

Cox then asked, [The portfolio has gained 27.2% as of today. What would you like to do?]

Seok-won thought for a moment, adjusting his grip on the phone.

"How's the market sentiment?"

[Although the momentum may weaken due to the recent gains, the consensus is that the upward trend will continue for now.]

"Then let's hold our position until the end of the year."

[Understood. Honestly, while we've made substantial gains, selling now would feel premature.]

"Haha, seems we're on the same page," Seok-won chuckled, to which Cox responded with a low laugh.

[Indeed. I'll update you immediately if there are any changes.]

"Okay."

After hanging up, Seok-won reflected on his conversation with Cox.

"While the London market will likely continue to rise over the next few years, knowing when to exit is key to making even more profit."

He recalled Manager Oh's voice echoing in his mind, "No matter how much it goes up, it's only yours if you sell."

With that in mind, Seok-won put his phone back in his backpack, grabbed his now-lukewarm coffee, and stood up.

***

In Dallas, Texas, the 37-story AT&T headquarters, clad in glass and stainless steel, towered over the city. The building, bearing the company's large logo, was home to thousands of employees and was a prominent landmark in Dallas.

At the top floor, in the executive boardroom, Robert Meyer, the tall and lean chairman of AT&T, sat at a long conference table with five senior executives. They were discussing the ongoing, confidential negotiations to acquire NCR.

"I hear they're holding firm at $105 per share. Is that right?" Meyer asked, turning to CFO Alan, a balding man sitting to his left, who responded with a slightly troubled expression.

"Yes. Although negotiations are ongoing, they're being very stubborn, and it seems unlikely we'll get them to lower the price."

"Tsk," Meyer clicked his tongue, displeased.

"When I met with Hillshoe in Atlanta, he seemed quite stubborn. No surprise he's being difficult now."

COO Wright, with his neatly combed black hair, chimed in from the right, "If we agree to their terms, the acquisition cost will exceed $7 billion."

"$7 billion is no small amount," Meyer mused, leaning back in his chair.

"That's more than double NCR's market cap. Even if we reach a deal, it might be difficult to get approval from the board," Wright cautioned, with the other executives nodding in agreement.

Despite NCR's hard stance, Meyer still harbored a lingering attachment to the deal. Rubbing his clean-shaven chin, he responded, "It's expensive, sure, but it's not unmanageable, is it?"

With AT&T's annual profits in the billions and a large cash reserve, Meyer was right—it wasn't an impossible amount to pay.

"That's true, but paying too much could cause problems down the line," Wright noted with concern, making Meyer frown as he pondered.

Unlike in Korea, where family-run conglomerates could take risks with impunity, Meyer was a professional manager who had to worry about his reappointment once his term ended. He constantly had to consider the company's performance and the board's approval.

However, Meyer had a personal reason for clinging to the NCR acquisition—next year would be the final year of his second term as AT&T chairman. If he wanted to secure a third term, he needed to deliver a significant achievement that would impress the board and shareholders.

The gathered executives were well aware of Meyer's situation, which is why, despite recognizing the high cost, no one was eager to suggest abandoning the NCR deal.

After a brief silence, Alan cautiously spoke up, "There's one more thing I need to report regarding the M&A."

"Go on," Meyer prompted.

"In the past week, NCR's stock price has been quietly rising."

"What?" Meyer's brow furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"Upon investigation, we found that a fund called Eldorado has been quietly accumulating a large amount of NCR stock."

The unexpected revelation caused a stir in the boardroom.

Meyer, his eyebrows raised in surprise, leaned forward and pressed for details.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, they've already purchased over $600 million worth of stock, which has pushed NCR's share price up by 10% to $55."

Meyer's face darkened as he shot a sharp look at Alan.

"And you didn't notice until it had already gotten to this point?"

"They moved very quickly and discreetly; it wasn't easy to detect."

Alan tried to explain, but Wright interjected from across the table.

"If they're buying that much stock, it must be for a reason… Could it be that the details of the M&A have leaked?"

"Well…" Alan hesitated, feeling the weight of the executives' gazes.

"We can't rule out that possibility entirely."

Though he hedged his response, if a hedge fund was investing that much money, it was likely they had caught wind of something.

"Where the hell did the leak come from?" Meyer growled, then paused, his expression hardening as he considered the possibility.

"Could NCR be trying to gain leverage in the negotiations by leaking this?"

Before the suspicion could take root, Alan shook his head.

"If the M&A talks were leaked and fell through, NCR wouldn't benefit either. So I doubt it's them."

Meyer had to admit there was logic to Alan's reasoning.

"If that's the case, then it must have leaked on our end," Meyer grumbled, unable to let go of his irritation.

"We've maintained tight security, so it's unlikely," Alan insisted.

"Damn it, if it's not one thing, it's another! Who the hell blabbed?" Meyer fumed, but before Alan could respond, Wright cautiously interjected again.

"I understand you're upset, but right now, finding the leak is less important than finalizing the deal before things get worse."

"Right. If news of the M&A spreads, the negotiations will only get more difficult," Alan agreed.

Meyer, knowing they were right, tried to calm himself, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"This is becoming a real headache."

Rubbing his temples, Meyer turned back to Alan.

"What was the name of that fund buying up the stock?"

"Eldorado Fund."

"Eldorado?" Meyer repeated, frowning in confusion. "That's a name I've never heard before. Is it just me?"

"It's not just you. I found it unfamiliar as well and looked into it. Turns out it's a new fund that was only established less than a year ago."

Hearing this, Meyer let out a hollow laugh.

"Huh. That's even more unbelievable."

Though the situation was frustrating, a decision had to be made. After a long period of silent contemplation, during which Meyer tapped his fingers on the table, he finally spoke.

"Given the circumstances, we don't have much choice. Agree to their terms and settle at $105 per share."

It was a steep price, but it was too late to start looking for another acquisition target. Determined to secure his third term as chairman, Meyer decided to push forward with the NCR deal, even knowing it was a risky move.

TL/n - 

Black Monday refers to the stock market crash that occurred on October 19, 1987. On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plummeted by 22.6% in a single day, marking one of the most significant one-day declines in stock market history.