These are my conditions
Son's investment strategy was to make profits by investing in various Internet startups, especially American dot-com companies.
His name became known all over the world, and the number of individual investors following his portfolio also increased.
His myth collapsed when the dot-com bubble burst. The stock prices of most Internet companies listed on the Nasdaq in the United States plummeted, and many startups that SoftBank had invested in went bankrupt. As a result, his portfolio suffered huge losses.
SoftBank's stock price has fallen 90% from its high, and SoftBank shareholders, as well as yakuza, politicians, and Japanese big shots who had personally entrusted money to him, have come to pressure him.
"Trust me one more time. It's not over yet. The IT bubble has burst, but the possibility has not disappeared. Trust me and wait a little longer. Then I will give you huge profits."
He gathered the investors and protested, but everyone criticized him.
"Because of you! Because of your stubbornness! All my fortune is about to be lost!"
The shareholders criticized him, denounced him, and demanded compensation. Son Jeong-ui listened to everyone's opinions, standing firm. After six hours of questioning, the shareholders' expressions softened.
Then, an old woman stood up and spoke.
"We emptied my husband's entire retirement fund and bought SoftBank stocks. We invested 10 million yen, but when it fell 99% to 100,000 yen, we were devastated."
Most investors were people like that old lady who had saved up their pocket money and invested in Softbank. After that old lady, no one among the shareholders opened their mouths.
Then an old man raised his hand. When the old man stood up, all eyes turned to him.
He was the second largest shareholder of SoftBank and was a wealthy man who personally entrusted money to Son Jeong-ui.
"Masayoshi."
"Yes, sir."
"Can I get my money back?"
"I can definitely find it."
The old man nodded and said.
"Okay. I'll see if I get my money back or if I fail again. Masayoshi, I'll trust you one more time."
When the old man said he would trust Son Jeong-ui, other investors seemed to be moved and agreed. The angry investors decided to give Son Jeong-ui another chance.
"But this is your last chance. I trust you to this extent. If everything goes as planned, I am willing to invest more."
"Thank you for trusting me. I will definitely repay your trust."
By the time the shareholders' meeting, which lasted more than six hours, ended, all the shareholders gave him a round of applause.
Although he was re-elected by shareholders, his future was still bleak. He chose the ultra-high-speed Internet business.
Son has pledged to provide services that are much faster than those offered by Japan's largest telecom company, NTT, at less than half the price.
It was an ambitious start, but NTT, which was supposed to rent the line, was uncooperative. Customers had low awareness of high-speed Internet, and the service quality was not very good.
To improve all this, he needed money. However, the banks turned their backs on him, and he could not raise capital. In the end, he handed over his shares of Yahoo USA to the US headquarters.
"I can't understand your thoughts, Masayoshi. I'll stop here."
CFO Yoshinaka Kitawa, who had worked with Son for a long time, turned his back on him. He did not understand Son, who was betting the company's fate on high-speed Internet with an uncertain future, and eventually separated part of SoftBank's headquarters and became independent.
His departure gave rise to a lot of backstory, which caused SoftBank's stock price, which was just starting to recover in the stock market, to fall again.
"Vice President Kazuhito. Please help me."
In order to somehow resolve the situation, Son visited Kazuhito Kasai, a retired vice president of Fuji Bank, and appealed to him.
Advertisements
Although he was old, he had a wide network of contacts in the Japanese financial world.
After recruiting him, Son raised funds and visited relevant government ministries to protest in order to get NTT's cooperation.
Time passed like that. The deficit piled up. He saw a deficit of 100 billion yen every year, but he did not give up.
He was able to survive despite the deficit thanks to Yahoo Japan's explosive growth.
Eventually, his efforts got on track. Son acquired Japan Telecom and further improved the quality of its services.
In just three years, the high-speed Internet service turned a profit.
What caught his eye was the iPhone.
"Yes! That's it! That's innovation!"
Son Jeong-ui flew straight to Apple and asked for a meeting with Steve Jobs. He declined, but fortunately, he had a past relationship with Tim Cook and was able to meet him.
"Give me the exclusive rights to the iPhone in Asia! I will do my best to help the iPhone grow!"
"I want to do that too. But my boss doesn't want to do it, so I have no choice."
"Why on earth? Who in Asia is better suited than me? I can sell iPhones in Japan, Korea, and even China!"
"I can't tell you why. Just go back. No matter how much you nag me, at Apple, the boss's decision is law. I don't have the power to change that."
"Are you saying you can't do anything?"
"That's reality."
Son, who got nothing out of his meeting with Tim Cook, continued to contact Apple.
"What? Simultaneous release in Korea and the US?"
The news that came out was even more shocking.
"It's not Japan, it's not Europe, it's Korea?"
I don't understand Apple's actions.
Just then, the door opened and the secretary came in.
"What is it, Masao?"
Son Jeong-ui, who was furious at the shocking fact, got angry at his poor secretary.
"I'm sorry. It's urgent, so I think I need to report quickly······."
"Urgent? What is it?"
"It's something to do with the iPhone."
"Speak quickly!"
The secretary, clearly nervous, continued speaking hurriedly.
"I got a call from Korea. They asked me to come to Korea to negotiate the exclusive rights for the iPhone in Japan."
"What do you mean······."
At that moment, a name flashed through Son Jeong-ui's mind.
He bit his lips and asked his secretary.
"Is this President Kim Moo-hyuk?"
"Yes, that's right. It is said that President Kim Moo-hyuk holds the exclusive rights to the iPhone in three East Asian countries."
"Is that true? Did you check with Apple?"
Advertisements
"I was told that there was nothing they could say."
"I can't say anything······. In fact, it's the same as saying it's the truth."
"Honestly, I don't believe that they are giving such enormous power to a mere Korean investor."
The secretary expressed a negative opinion. He was one of those typical Japanese people who think Korea is funny.
"No, it must be true. If it's Kim Moo-hyuk, he's more than capable of doing that."
"but······."
"Book a flight now, stop talking nonsense. Whatever you think is not important right now! We have to get our hands on that iPhone! That's the only way we can survive."
"······All right."
The next day, Son Jeong-ui boarded a plane to Korea.
* * *
Son Jeong-ui and I sat facing each other.
"First of all, it is true that I have the exclusive rights to sell iPhones in Japan. This is the document that proves it."
I pushed a piece of paper in front of Son Jeong-ui.
Son Jeong-ui quickly picked it up and read it.
"······That's true. That's why you said you couldn't give it to me."
Son Jeong-ui put down the documents with a dejected look on his face.
"It would be difficult to sell directly to Japan."
I nodded.
"There is a way to acquire a news agency, but······. They are not the kind of people who would hand it over to a Korean."
"That's right. Japan is a very closed country, especially when it comes to Koreans."
"I know that the Chairman has experienced it more than anyone else."
"······So you're saying you'll hand that authority over to me?"
"If the conditions are right. The Chairman is a better candidate than me."
"What are the conditions?"
"First of all, these are the conditions Apple wants from carriers."
I threw the documents in front of Son Jeong-ui.
Although it was a rude act, Son Jeong-ui picked up the document and began to look through it as if it didn't matter.
One page, two pages, as the story progressed, Son Jeong-ui's expression grew darker.
"Isn't it too much to ask Apple to take a portion of the fees?"
"These conditions are completely non-negotiable. They are the same for American telecommunications companies, as well as for Europe and Korea."
"Are you saying you accepted all of this?"
"Yes, the iPhone is an amazing device. Would you like to see it?"
To help him make his choice, I took out the iPhone prototype that Jobs had given me and handed it to him.
When he first saw the actual iPhone, he examined it carefully as if he were handling a child.
"It's a prototype, so a lot will change by the time it's released. But it will only get better, not worse."
Advertisements
His eyes lit up with desire as he examined the iPhone.
"This is revolutionary. Who else but Apple would come up with a device like this?"
After looking at his iPhone for a while, he opened his mouth.
"It's even more amazing when you see it in person. It's a device that's years ahead of its time."
Son Jeong-ui's vision was indeed accurate. I would have missed the opportunity by investing in his investment site in advance, so I didn't have many opportunities to show off my ability. His vision for the future was real.
"Yes. There will definitely be devices that follow suit. But a device that can beat the iPhone won't come out for decades."
Son nodded and handed the iPhone back to me.
Unlike before, his eyes were burning with heat.
"I accept all of these conditions."
"But I understand that among Softbank's subsidiaries, there is no mobile carrier. Even if they were to take over the exclusive rights to the iPhone, if there were no mobile carriers, it would only be doing someone else a favor."
"that······."
He hesitated and trailed off. I laughed at his hesitation and said,
"Are you preparing to acquire Vodafone Japan?"
"No······How about that?"
"I think I would do that. Chairman Son is not the type of person to do good things for others. He's a greedy person."
"Haha. No. I had a feeling the moment I saw the iPhone. The future is no longer computers, but this little iPhone. So I was preparing for it."
I nodded and asked.
"It wouldn't be a small amount of money. In order to acquire and merge Vodafone Japan, wouldn't it be at least 2 trillion yen? Do you have the money for that?"
"I am thinking of several ways."
I smiled as I watched Son Jeong-ui pretending to be relaxed.
"No, please take over with me."
"yes?"
"I want you to take over Vodafone Japan with me. Why should I give someone else the money? I will take half of the acquisition cost."
"······."
"This is my condition. You have to be with me. If you don't accept this, I have no choice but to choose another partner. But I chose Chairman Son because he has Korean blood in him. I don't care if he's someone else. He just has to be a Japanese businessman."
Son Jeong-ui continued to stare into my eyes as if trying to figure out my true intentions.
I said with a smile, as if I knew what his worries were.
"I have no desire for management rights. If you are so anxious, I will create a SPAC to acquire Vodafone Japan and invest in it. I will own 49% of the shares, and Chairman Son's SoftBank will own 51%."
The idea was to take it safe by establishing a SPAC, a special purpose acquisition company.
In that case, the entity that ultimately acquires Vodafone Japan will not be SoftBank, but that corporation, and SoftBank, which owns a 51% stake in that corporation, will be able to exercise management rights.
"In addition, we will also write a contract that will give SoftBank priority when we sell our stocks. Do you accept it?"
Son was not stupid enough to not notice this deal right before his eyes.
No, he was already standing on the edge of a cliff and had no other choice.
This was practically a coercion. It was a condition he had no choice but to accept.
< These are my conditions > End