Chapter 355: Since we can’t get it, let’s destroy it!
In the chairman's office in the Hando Group's headquarters building, the white-haired Hando Group's chairman, Gu Seung-hee, looked grimly at the document in his hand. Not far away, a well-proportioned and handsome young man was lowering his head with a very respectful attitude.
If Chen Tianyang were here, he would be able to tell that this man was none other than his junior schoolmate, who had recently asked him to hand over materials on Korean Air's suspected indirect holding of Air Seoul to the prosecutors of the Antitrust Division.
Gu Chengxi was wearing a traditional white Korean dress. His hair was gray and there were some age spots on his face. However, even though his eyes were a little cloudy, the brilliance in them was still hard to look at.
Even though this leader of South Korea's logistics industry is now in his twilight years, his influence is still there.
Ju Seung-hee took off his glasses, put the document on the table, pondered for a moment, and asked directly: "Tell me, what do you want?"
The young prosecutor was terrified and lowered his head: "President, I'm not asking for anything."
"Generally speaking, when people say they don't want something, they actually want more." Ju Chengxi snorted, "I don't like people who beat around the bush. If you do a good job, you should be rewarded. You did a good job this time. If you hadn't intercepted it, it would have been difficult for us to deal with it if it was exposed."
The young prosecutor was a little excited: "It's my duty to serve the president."
"Haha." Gu Chengxi laughed twice: "Young people nowadays are really good. Unlike your senior, I gave him a way out, but he still pestered me."
When the young prosecutor heard Gu Chengxi mention Chen Tianyang, his body trembled, his lips moved, and he mustered up the courage to say: "President, my senior is just... confused, he... is just... too arrogant, so he did such... irrational behavior."
"Arrogant?" Gu Chengxi laughed disdainfully. "However, as the head of the law department of Seoul University and the only disciple of An Daoru, he should be a little arrogant. However, this man is good in everything except being too naive. Even though he almost died once, he is still as naive after all these years. Unlike Prosecutor Zheng, you are quite sensible."
The young prosecutor hurriedly said, "Thank you for the compliment, President."
"Back then, I let him go for the sake of his teacher. He dared to challenge me this time. He really doesn't know how to write the word death." Ju Chengxi raised his eyebrows: "But, I'm going to die soon. If Cheng Shiwan stops here, I won't bother to touch him."
The young prosecutor was overjoyed: "President, I will have a good talk with the senior."
At this moment, the office door was pushed open, and the secretary standing at the door said respectfully: "Vice President Min Heren is here."
"Let him in." Gu Chengxi responded and then glanced at the young prosecutor.
The young prosecutor was sensible and quickly said goodbye and left the office.
As soon as the prosecutor left, a middle-aged man in his forties came into the office. He was Min Hyuk-in, the vice president of Korean Air.
Min Hyuk-in was obviously afraid of Gu Seung-hee. As the vice president of Korean Air, he was like a child who had made a mistake and was very uneasy in front of Gu Seung-hee.
"What's wrong with Choi Sang-do?" Gu Seung-hee's tone was quite flat, neither happy nor sad, but the more it was like this, the more scared Min Hyuk-in felt, because he knew that this was one of the manifestations of Gu Seung-hee's extreme anger.
Min Heren was almost at a loss for words: "Choi... President Choi is fine, but he may not be able to come out for a while. We are communicating with the Disciplinary Committee."
"Choi Sang-do secretly met with someone from the Aviation Accident Committee. Such a secret matter was caught red-handed. Didn't you investigate?"
"This..." Min Heren replied tremblingly: "President Cui met with the Aviation Accident Committee, and it was Director Jin Sheng who took the lead in contacting them. If we say that the most direct suspect should be Director Jin, but Director Jin denied it."
At the end, Min Hyuk-in added, "Chairman, do you want me to ask Director Kim in a different way?"
Of course, Gu Seung-hee knew what Min Hyuk-in meant by the other way.
"Forget it. That guy is still useful. Don't touch him easily without absolute evidence."
"However, there are rumors that it was Park Seok-won of Asiana Airlines who reported it."
Even Gu Chengxi was a little surprised: "Park Seok-won, how did he know about Choi Sang-do?"
Min Heren looked embarrassed: "This... I don't quite understand."
"Haha, you really don't have anything in your head." Gu Chengxi threw the documents on the table to Min Heren: "Just like you don't know that someone has already noticed that Korean Air indirectly controls Seoul Air."
"What?" Min Hyuk-in's face changed drastically. He took the document and flipped through a few pages. His expression turned green and purple, looking very ugly. "How... how could anyone notice what happened between us and Air Seoul?"
"You useless thing. Without Choi Sang-do, you can't accomplish anything. And you still want me to clean up your mess." Gu Chengxi scolded, "Go, sort out the shares of Seoul Air quickly. At least in terms of regulations, I don't hope to find evidence."
"But if we were to reorganize Air Seoul's shares, we might suffer some losses."
"You're still talking about this little loss at this time ." Gu Chengxi was so angry that he almost cursed: "How can you acquire Asiana Airlines if you don't eliminate the evidence of holding Seoul Airlines? We have been targeted by the Antitrust Division for land and sea transportation. If such problems are exposed in air transportation as well, the pressure will be huge."
Gu Chengxi was extremely excited, but Min Heren was a little confused: "Chairman, are you still going to acquire Asiana Airlines?"
Gu Chengxi was stunned for a moment, then he grabbed the pen holder at hand and smashed it directly on Min Heren: "Do you have a pig brain? What makes you think that you won't acquire Asiana Airlines?"
Even though Min Hyuk-ren watched the pen holder flying towards him, he didn't dare to move at all. He just let the pen holder hit him. He grimaced in pain, but he didn't dare to groan. After waiting for a while, he controlled his expression and said, "Chairman, wasn't the Minzhuang air crash classified not long ago? We need to bear a large amount of compensation, and because of the classification of the air crash, it will have a significant impact on the company's stock price. Under such circumstances, if we follow the original plan to acquire Asiana Airlines, the financial pressure will be very great."
Gu Chengxi hesitated for a moment and said, "You originally wanted to buy it at half the price, right?"
"Yes, President." Min Heren whispered, "The current price is really a bit stressful for us."
Ju Seung-hee stood up. Even though his back was hunched, he was still much taller than Min Hyuk-in. "The group will allocate additional funds to you. It doesn't have to be half the price. It will be 70%. Let's complete the acquisition with 70% of the original market value of Asiana Airlines."
"Seven...seventy percent?"
Gu Chengxi stared at Min Hee-in and said, "Why, can you do it?"
"I can do it, I can do it." Min Heren was very excited: "Chairman, I will definitely get the acquisition of Asiana Airlines done."
With a large grant from its parent company, Korean Air suddenly has a lot of financial resources. Isn't this a sure thing?
"By the way, I heard that a travel company has proposed to acquire Asiana Airlines. Is that true?"
Min Heren smiled and said, "It's just a small company registered in Jeju Island. We don't have to be afraid of it. Besides, the price they offered is very low, only about a quarter of ours. Asiana Airlines would be crazy to agree to it. We have already contacted the board of directors of Asiana Airlines, and many of them are willing to join us. Now we have sufficient funds, so it is absolutely foolproof."
"Infallible?" Gu Chengxi laughed: "You just said that?"
Min Hyuk-in was startled when he saw Gu Seung-hee's expression, and immediately put away the arrogance that had just risen up in his heart: "Chairman, the day after tomorrow we will discuss the acquisition at Asiana's headquarters. The boss of the travel company will also come. Although it is not the final result, it can be basically confirmed after this meeting."
Gu Chengxi raised his eyebrows: "In other words, Han Ya's fate will be basically determined the day after tomorrow?"
"Yes, I will go to this meeting in person."
Gu Chengxi waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and do your thing. I hope to hear the good news before sunset the day after tomorrow."
Min Hyuk-in immediately bowed and stated: "I will bring good news to the president."
Gu Chengxi didn't say anything else and just sat back in his seat.
Min Hyuk-in knew what Gu Seung-hee was thinking and quietly left the office.
…
Two days later, in the arrival hall of Incheon Airport, Qin Xin, dressed in a white women's suit, walked slowly, followed by legal advisor Lu Yao and some entourage.
"In a moment, are we going directly to the Asiana headquarters?"
Lu Yao stepped forward immediately: "Yes, Mr. Qin. Today we are going to preliminarily discuss the acquisition. Not only us, but Korean Air, as the other party proposing the acquisition, will also send people here. Basically, whatever is discussed today will be the final result."
Qin Xin was wearing sunglasses. She just nodded and said, "Let's go."
…
The large conference room on the top floor of Asiana Airlines' headquarters was filled with board members. Near the head of the long conference table, an octogenarian stood in front of the window with a cane, looking at the Asiana Airlines base. He was Lee Myung-ki, the chairman of Asiana Airlines.
"I handed Asiana into your hands, but now you want me to give it away. That's what you did, right?" Lee Myung-ki turned around and looked at the president Park Seok-won standing behind him.
Park Seok-won had always been servile in front of Lee Myung-ki, but at this moment, facing Lee Myung-ki's questioning, Park Seok-won's expression remained unchanged, he just lowered his head slightly and said, "Chairman, I'm deeply sorry about this. However, I believe I will prove myself that this was not caused by me, Park Seok-won."
"So you reported Choi Sang-do to the Disciplinary Committee, right?" Lee Myung-gi raised his eyelids. "You want to stop Korean Air from acquiring Asiana? Or do you think that the rift between you and Korean Air is too deep, and if Korean Air acquires Asiana in the future, there will be no place for you?"
Park Seok-won did not deny Lee Myung-gi's assertion that he had reported Choi Sang-do, but said sternly, "Chairman, even weak ants would think about survival, let alone me?"
Lee Min-ki sighed, "So what did your new master promise you?"
"Of course it will be a better future!" Following a clear female voice, Qin Xin entered the conference room wearing sunglasses. She nodded slightly towards Li Mingji and said, "President Li Mingji, nice to meet you. I am the representative of Cangqing Travel Company."
Li Mingji looked at Qin Xin, then at Park Seok-won, and suddenly laughed: " The main business of this company is our original business in Jeju Island, right? As a token of your support for them, you gave them our business in Jeju Island?"
Qin Xin took off her sunglasses and said, "Chairman Li Mingji, if possible, I would rather talk about the acquisition rather than these...small matters."
Li Mingji frowned, then laughed: "Why do I feel that there is nothing to discuss about the acquisition? I have seen the price you offered. Do you think we will accept your offer? Obviously, we have an offer from Korean Air, which is much higher than yours."
"But, they want all of your shares, and we only need 51% of your shares. You can keep the rest."
"What's the difference? What's the difference in retaining 49% of the shares?" Lee Mingji snorted, "I don't think we have anything to discuss. The representative of Korean Air will be here soon. I hope you can leave."
At the end of his speech, Li Mingji glanced at a burly man beside him and said softly, "Send him out."
"Of course there is a difference in retaining 49% of the shares." Qin Xin chuckled and said, "If the stock price of Asiana Airlines can return to its peak in the future, or even go higher, wouldn't the profit generated be much greater than selling all of it to Korean Air at once?"
When these words were spoken, the other directors in the meeting room first gasped, and then burst into laughter.
"Where did this crazy woman come from?"
"Does she know what she's talking about?"
"How is it possible to return to the top?"
Compared to the ridicule of other directors, Li Mingji did not sneer, but looked at Qin Xin seriously: "Ms. Qin, right? Although I have had such thoughts during this period, this is impossible."
"Why not?" Qin Xin held up two fingers. "In two years, we will get Asiana Airlines' stock price back to its peak. If that doesn't work, we will buy out the remaining shares in your hands at the highest price in Asiana Airlines' history."
As Qin Xin's voice fell, the laughter that had been rising and falling in the field was instantly suppressed. The most exciting reaction was Li Mingji's: "A bet... a bet? You want to sign a bet agreement?"
"If this can help you make up your mind." Qin Xin hooked her finger at Lu Yao, who quickly took out an agreement from her bag and handed it to Qin Xin: "This is the preliminary agreement we have drafted. Chairman Li may wish to take a look. Asiana Airlines was founded by Chairman Li, and he probably doesn't want to hand over all his life's hard work to others, so why not gamble on the future?"
Qin Xin's words really touched Li Mingji's heart. Asiana Airlines is like his child. How could he be willing to give his child away unless it is absolutely necessary?
Although if I give 51% of the shares to Cangqing Travel Company, I will lose my custody rights, but I can still see my child often. If I sell it to Korean Air, it means that I will have nothing to do with it in the future.
Moreover, if the agreement is really as Qin Xin said, then Asiana Airlines actually has the upper hand in terms of benefits.
Now, Li Mingji was somewhat tempted.
Just as Lee Myung-ki took over the agreement, with the sound of footsteps, Kim Sung, director of the Seoul Civil Aviation Administration, walked in with a smile on his face and his eyes narrowed, like a smiling Buddha.
"President Li, are we starting now?"
Li Mingji just pulled back his right hand that was about to take the agreement. Seeing Jin Sheng coming in, he couldn't help but frowned: "Director Jin, what's the reason for your sudden visit? Why don't I remember inviting Director Jin?"
Jin Sheng is a man of average ability, but he is really thick-skinned. He still kept a smile despite Lee Ming-ki's obvious order to expel him: "Asiana Airlines is an important airline in my jurisdiction. I will naturally pay attention to the ownership change of Asiana Airlines. Don't worry, I'll just take a look. You don't have to mind me."
Li Mingji's face flashed with displeasure, but Jin Sheng was the director of the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration, and he still had some status, so it was not easy to tear his face off. He could only hold his nose and bear it, and ordered the people around him: "Add a seat for Director Jin."
"President Lee is too polite." Director Jin Sheng smiled, as if he didn't notice the disgust in Lee Mingji's eyes. He glanced at Park Seok-won who was standing still with his head down, and after sitting down, he suddenly shouted to Park Seok-won, "President Park, you must be very nervous, right?"
Park Seok-won, who had been silent, trembled and turned around slightly, but he did not look at Director Jin Sheng first. Instead, he glanced at Qin Xin and a smile appeared on his face: "I'm not nervous, Director Jin."
Director Jin saw the expression on Park Seok-won's face and immediately clapped his hands and smiled: "Very good, very good."
When Li Mingji heard the conversation between Park Seok-won and Director Jin, he instinctively felt that there was something unusual, but it was not a good time to think too much about it at this time. In comparison, the plan mentioned by Qin Xin was more important.
“Ms. Qin, the proposal you proposed is indeed very tempting, but I hope to find out how to buy our remaining shares at the highest price if you fail to fulfill your promise in two years. That is not a small fee.”
Come to think of it, Lee Mingji was already moved at that time.
The reason was too simple. Even if Qin Xin didn't succeed in the end, in terms of overall benefits, the total acquisition price of Cangqing Travel Company was actually similar to that of Korean Air. The only difference was that if Qin Xin's plan was accepted, there was still a vague possibility that even Li Mingji himself thought was impossible.
Also, they have to wait two years before they can get the remaining large sum of money.
The two-year waiting period actually involves risks, so Li Mingji needs to reduce this risk, such as verifying the financial strength of Cangqing Tourism.
Hearing what Li Mingji said, Qin Xin already understood what Li Mingji was thinking, and just smiled and said, "I think President Li can also find out that Cang Qing Travel is just one of our Korean branches. Our main body is in China, and our scale is much larger than Cang Qing Travel. There is no doubt about our solvency. Of course, this kind of words cannot be said with just one mouth. President Li can send someone to go back to China with me to check."
After hearing this, Li Mingji was really moved. Qin Xin dared to say this, so she must be sure, which means that Qin Xin has the ability to pay.
Not to mention Li Mingji, some other directors also began to be tempted. After all, the difference between doing a one-time deal and getting long-term benefits is still very obvious. However, not all directors agreed with Qin Xin's proposal, and some still remained skeptical, and the rest even showed a little anxiety.
As a bystander, Director Jin Sheng leaned back after seeing the emotional changes of the board members, thinking to himself: "It turned out to be a good bet."
Li Mingji was torn between his conscience and his desires, but he did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he asked Qin Xin, "Ms. Qin, Asiana Airlines is in such a bad situation now. It will be very difficult to get back to its peak within two years. I wonder if you have any ideas?"
"President Li, how do you think I should answer this question?" Qin Xin smiled and said, "Is it a bit presumptuous?"
Li Mingji was stunned, and then realized that he had said something wrong: "I'm sorry, I'm just too curious. It doesn't matter if Miss Qin is not convenient to say it..."
"Chairman Li, compared to the acquisition of Korean Air, we will not cause Asiana Airlines to lose profits, and we have given you hope for nothing. We have sufficient solvency, and the risk of waiting for two years is actually non-existent. What's wrong with this?" Qin Xin said.
"This..." Li Mingji was a little confused for a moment. To be honest, from the perspective of Asiana Airlines, Qin Xin's plan was indeed a sure win.
Even in the fastest scenario, it is equivalent to the Korean Air plan. Moreover, if it succeeds, the long-term benefits will completely exceed the Korean Air plan. Although the controlling power is lost, the long-term dividend benefits are too much.
At this time, some directors were getting impatient. One of the older ones said, "President, Cangqing Travel's plan seems to be really better. The minimum guarantee standard is the same as Korean Air's plan. This..."
“Who said they are equivalent?”
Following a loud shout, Min Hyuk-in, vice president of Korean Air, led a large group of people into the venue with a threatening look.
Li Mingji looked at Min Heren and said, "President Min, you are here a little earlier than expected."
"If I were a little later, you would have already discussed it." Min Hyuk-ren tightened his suit and sat down naturally at the head of the long conference table, which was originally the seat of Chairman Lee Myung-ki.
Li Mingji frowned, but didn't say anything.
Min Hyuk-ren's arrogant behavior also caused dissatisfaction among some directors, but none of these directors dared to speak out, and they just criticized it secretly.
"Yohoo." As soon as Min Heren sat down, he immediately noticed Jin Sheng sitting next to him: "Director Jin is here too!"
Jin Sheng nodded as a greeting: "Come and take a look."
"That's great. I also have something to discuss with Director Jin after the meeting." Min Hyuk-ren laughed.
Jin Sheng's eyelids jumped: "I don't know what to discuss with President Min."
"That's right. After all, I don't have much personal relationship with Director Kim. However..." Min Hyuk-ren snapped his fingers: "President Choi Sang-do, who has a better personal relationship with Director Kim, is already in the interrogation room of the Disciplinary Committee."
Jin Sheng's heart suddenly tightened, but he was cunning and sly, his face did not change at all, and he even looked a little regretful: "What a pity for President Cui."
"It's a pity, President Cui. I will talk to Director Jin after the meeting. Now let's get down to business." Min Heren smiled at Li Mingji and said, "President Li, we have been in contact with your company for so long, how can we change our minds so easily?"
Li Mingji's expression was cold: "I am only considering the interests of Asiana Airlines. Miss Qin's proposal is indeed better than yours. Why can't it be taken into consideration?"
"Chairman Li, you make me very sad when you say that. We are obviously very sincere." Min Heren pretended to be heartbroken: "Our chairman even specially allocated funds to increase the purchase price to show his respect for Chairman Li..."
As he spoke, Min Heren held up two fingers and said, "Twenty percent. We will increase the purchase price by twenty percent."
"What!" Li Mingji's face suddenly changed as soon as he said this: "Are you saying that you are willing to acquire it at 70% of the original market value?"
Min Heren nodded: "Exactly, how about this sincerity?"
At this point, Lee Mingji opened his mouth wide. He really didn't expect Korean Air to be so generous. Given Asiana Airlines' current situation, being able to acquire it at 70% of its original market value was already a very high price. He looked at the directors in the meeting room. After Min Heren proposed a substantial increase in the acquisition price, these people were clearly interested.
There is no way, Korean Air's price is really generous! So generous that I can't refuse it.
"At the same time, in order to express the utmost respect for Asiana, we will retain the management team as much as possible after the acquisition."
When these words came out, Li Mingji didn't react much, but the directors behind him were all furious. This promise was directly related to their interests. Many directors held senior positions concurrently. If they could keep their positions after the acquisition, their losses would be further reduced.
Those directors who had previously communicated with Korean Air privately and received promises were delighted and were already planning to cheer for Min Hyuk-in.
In this situation, Lu Yao, who was standing behind Qin Xin, suddenly changed his expression. Korean Air's price increase was something they had not expected. He looked down at Qin Xin, only to see Qin Xin silently stand up and look at Min Heren: "President Min, it seems that the Minzhuang air crash is just a small matter for your company. It's not good to force yourself to eat. If you can't eat, you will easily choke."
Min Heren was relaxed and contented: "Don't worry about this, Miss Qin. I've said before that our chairman is very concerned about this acquisition. In terms of finance, we don't really have any pressure."
Qin Xin frowned and looked back at Lu Yao. Lu Yao immediately understood and opened his bag, as if he wanted to take something.
Min Hyuk-in seemed to have expected this and snapped his fingers: "If you want to take something related to Air Seoul, then I advise you not to bother."
At this moment, Lu Yao’s heart really tightened: “You…”
The trump card Xu Cang had prepared was actually predicted by Korean Air in advance.
Korean Air's indirect holding of Air Seoul was a surprise move. If Korean Air had known about it in advance, it would have had almost no effect, because Korean Air would definitely have a way to sort out this kind of holding relationship.
When Director Jin on the other side saw this scene, his face suddenly darkened, and even Park Seok-won next to him changed his expression suddenly.
"Oh no, it seems we bet on the wrong place." Director Jin was anxious.
However, Lee Myung-ki and some directors who were unaware of the situation did not understand why Min Hyuk-in mentioned Seoul Air at this time.
Lu Yao reached into the bag and then retracted his hand. He opened his mouth and looked at Qin Xin stiffly.
Qin Xin sat back in her seat in silence, without saying a word.
In this situation, Min Heren burst into laughter. "You want to deal with us after playing some tricks. Do you really think that Korean Air is made of paper? You are such a scoundrel! Chairman Li, if that's the case, you should have nothing to hesitate about. Our chairman is still waiting for my news!"
"President, please sign it. This is the best solution."
At this time, many directors could not help but speak, as if they were afraid that Korean Air would suddenly change its mind.
Park Seok-won and Director Kim looked extremely excited, as the current situation was not quite what they had expected.
How did Korean Air know about Air Seoul?
Li Mingji looked at so many directors responding, hesitating for a moment, and finally sighed: "President Min, we..."
Seeing this, Lu Yao was anxious and looked down at Qin Xin: "Boss Qin..."
Qin Xin, who had been silent until now, suddenly focused his eyes and spoke in a tone as sharp as a sword: "Since we can't get it, let's destroy it."
