Episode 135. Human realm.
In an atmosphere that seemed to be told to quit at any moment, President Jung responded with a trembling voice.
“Now, last year, the 5G line investment cost a lot of money, so it is. The investment is over this year, and when the new line starts working, the production cost will come down and the performance will improve a lot.”
Yang Ki-moon stared intently at the chief of staff.
“President Jung, did you really have such a huge deficit just for that reason?”
“..Sometimes it is because the sales of LCD monitors have decreased a lot.”
“How much has it decreased?”
“About 60%.”
Yang Ki-moon’s voice fell heavily.
“The 8th generation line of TM Display has already started production, but does it make sense that we haven’t finished setting up the 5th generation line yet?”
It was just unfair for the LCD business division.
Because the TM display was too fast, the cheers were never slow.
Japanese display companies and RG Display, a domestic competitor, have now begun construction of the 5th generation line.
Even though the cheers were already about a year ahead of them, it was dissatisfying that they were only eating because of the TM display.
The business manager immediately shook his head.
“..sorry. President. We will pull the 5th generation line as much as possible so that it can be operated by the end of next month.”
“I didn’t call President Jung all the way here to say I’m sorry. 5th generation aside, when can 8th generation enter?”
The business manager did not respond to that.
Yang Ki-moon, feeling frustrated by his attitude, shouted.
“no! Why are you not talking?”
The business manager reluctantly opened his mouth.
“..The 8th generation is about 4 times the size of the 5th generation original. It took over a year to set up the 5th generation now, but the 8th generation… I can’t even imagine how long it will take.”
Yang Ki-moon asked with a face that he did not understand.
“I didn’t say to set up the 8th generation line for the first time in the world, it’s a line that TM has already completed and is running. I buy the equipment I bought from TM and set it up, what’s the problem?”
“Once all the companies that ordered the equipment have an exclusive contract to supply only TM, it is impossible to buy the same equipment. And even if you can buy it, you have to set up the placement location and process conditions yourself, but the bigger the disc, the harder it is to grab it. For the 8th generation, that period should be at least two years, and it will take another year from there to build a new facility.”
“The sum is three years. It’s also the least. But how did TM finish that difficult thing in one year?”
“I really hate to say this, but TM was able to do that because CEO Kang Jae-woon was such a special person. I heard rumors that everything from the facilities to the location of the 8th generation line was designated by CEO Kang, but it is beyond great and it is so creepy. I put together the equipment just by imagining it in my head and laid it on the line as it was, and the process was caught? It is beyond the human realm.”
“…if not human? Are you saying that CEO Kang can be any god?”
“Honestly, I want to believe so. That’s the way it’s understandable. Most of the people in the LCD industry are probably thinking the same as me.”
“therefore? At this point, do you mean to give up competition with TM Display?”
In fact, if the gap widened this much, I would have given up competing with fortune.
Yang Ki-moon, who had a victorious temperament, burned even more.
“President Jung. i mean Even if he loses a game of Go, he is a person who cannot sleep well that day. But let’s back down from a business that has invested tens of trillions of dollars? That is absolutely unacceptable.”
“..I understand what you mean, but…the way…”
“You know what is the most important thing in running a business?”
“..Isn’t that money?”
Yang Ki-moon shook his head.
“funds? It doesn’t matter. But more important than that is the person. Entrepreneurs like us sometimes pay several times their asset value to buy another company, but it’s all to win people… Can you understand what I’m talking about?”
The business manager groaned and nodded.
“ah! You’re telling me to bring in staff from TM Display.”
“okay. Bring 8th-generation line setup workers to this place, even if you pay several times your annual salary. Even if the plan came out of Jaewoon Kang’s head, it would be the TM display practitioners who actually carried out the work, so even with them, the setup period would be greatly shortened.”
“We will immediately place an order for the 8th generation equipment and submit a request to a head hunting company.”
“okay. Now you’re a business manager. We’ll support you properly, so let’s finish the 8th generation line setup as soon as possible.”
“All right. President.”
After negotiating with #MobleComics, we moved to the westernmost state of California, where our next destination is.
Burbank City, TC Comics headquarters.
After greeting the executives in charge, I immediately brought up the main topic.
“Mr. Green. Can I see the President of Time Haner for a moment?”
Time Hana Group.
It is an American media conglomerate with affiliates related to various media and video businesses such as Haner Brothers and CNN.
Although TC Comics later made a movie based on the manga, like Moble.
Unlike Moble Comics, which is an independent company, TC Comics was a subsidiary of Time Haner Group.
A film production company called Haner Brothers, which is affiliated with Time Haner Group, will be in charge of making the film, not in-house production.
Even if the movie was successful, it was in the interests of Haner Brothers, not TC Comics.
Like Moble Comics, it was difficult to make a big profit by investing in equity.
So I was thinking of taking over 100% of TC Comics and making it independent from Time Haner Group.
When I brought up the story of the $180 million acquisition with the executive, I got a reply that he would introduce the chairman.
Time Haner Group head office building, president’s office.
An old man in his 70s, who gave a slightly nervous impression because of his cheeks, greeted me.
“Nice to meet you, Mr Brooks. I am Kang Jae-woon, the representative of Damoyeo.”
Jeff Brooks, the chairman of Time Haner Group, who was standing with a cane in his hand, looked down at me and offered me a seat.
“welcome. You are younger than I thought. Let’s sit down and talk.”
After swiping the chair and sitting down, I said.
“I told the TC Comics executive about the matter, did you hear it?”
“yes. But it was also a very sudden story, and the details were missing. Can I hear you?”
Jeff was quite interested in my words.
In fact, even Moble Comics, the No. 1 in the industry, barely avoided a loss until it went into the movie business, but TC Comics, the No. 2 in the industry, must have been running at a loss for quite some time.
Things get better with the success of a later Batman series movie.
Before that, I was thinking of bringing it.
“I need TC Comics for my business. If Mr Brooks only wants to sell, I want to buy it.”
“Does your business need comics? You mean the D-Tab business, right?”
“But why do we need cartoons for the D-Tab business? D-Tab is the result of a high-tech digital industry, and the comics published by TC Comics are a cultural industry that can be said to be analog itself.”
“People usually call them digital and analog, but the two can go anywhere else. The same goes for cartoons. I’m here to offer this because I believe that with a little effort, it can become a great digital cultural asset that can be used in D-Tab.”
Jeff, who was pensive as he fiddled with his wand, gave him a surprised expression.
“It’s a digital cultural asset… Maybe an e-book?”
“yes. I want people to be able to watch cartoons with D-Tab. However, few comic books are now available as e-books. So I decided to publish the e-book.”
Jeff nodded as if he understood.
“For that purpose, it is more efficient to take over a large publishing house than to persuade the publishers one by one. Of course, this is a story when you have money, but Mr. Kang, you will have plenty of cash.”
“haha. If I had a lot of money, would it be only the president of the famous Time Haner Group?”
Jeff’s eyes shone sharply.
“A man who has already promised $10 billion to invest in California is humble. Anyway, I’m thinking of selling it as long as the price is right. How much was he thinking?”
“In terms of market value alone, it’s around $150 million, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to sell it for that price. $180 million with a premium of $30 million. How are you?”
“…180 million dollars…hmm, not bad…”
Seeing the tail wiggle, I asked because it seemed like he wanted something more.
“Rather than a problem, we have a film company called Haner Brothers under our umbrella, and if TC Comics goes out, we lose the good material that they gave us. So, I will hand over TC Comics for that price, so please let Haner Bros keep the movie rights to the original comics from TC Comics.”
That movie rights were the core value of TC.
Without it, TC Comics was nothing but steamed bun.
This gentleman is pretending to be courteous, trying not to hand over the most important thing.
“That would be a bit difficult. Isn’t copyright one of the publisher’s rights? I feel like I am being infringed on my management rights.”
“Hmm. I’m sorry, but I think the story should end here.”
you are adamant
But I can’t back out of here.
“Mr. Brooks. Why do you think film rights are so important?”
“Yeah, the original TC Comics have a lot of good content to make into a movie, so it’s a shame to miss it.”
“How many times have you made a profit by making the original work into a movie? If you make 5 episodes, isn’t it about one or two episodes? In particular, we know that the most recent Batman Robin has suffered great losses. In a situation like this, I think it would be better not to own the copyright.”
Of course, the story will change later.
So far it has been
Jeff answered with a stern expression on his face.
“..don’t you know what the future holds? We also find problems from past failures and continue to fix them, so good results will come one day.”
I continued speaking while looking straight at him.
“Mr. Brooks. Wouldn’t it be better to take a realistic profit than to carry the troublesome TC Comics in anticipation of a good outcome at any time?”
“Realistic benefits?”
“yes. If you hand over TC Comics and the copyrights neatly for $180 million, instead, you will receive a commission equivalent to 30% of the sales generated when you sell Time Haner’s contents in D-Tab, such as movies, dramas, magazines, and newspapers, for 2 years. I will give you an exemption for a while.”
Jeff laughed as if it was ridiculous.
“Ha, how could that be a real benefit? We have no intention of selling content on D-Tab yet.”
“I’m telling you to try it from now on. Our D-Tab2 has sold over 20 million units worldwide so far. If you add up to D-Tab1, the number of D-Tab series that has been released is close to 30 million. These 30 million people are purchasing digital content through a virtual store called D App Store. The method is also simple. Just press the D App Store button and pay for the product you want or want to see online and that’s it.”
When the specific number of 30 million came out, Jeff’s face became a little serious.
“..I heard rumors that the D-Tab was selling well, but was that enough?”
