Chương 26: CH26
At Boston Logan International Airport, a taxi came to a stop in front of the international terminal, with snow piled up from the overnight snowfall. Seok-won, wearing a black long coat and scarf, stepped out of the taxi. He retrieved a large travel suitcase and a Boston bag from the trunk and headed into the bustling terminal, his breath visible in the cold air.
As he passed through the automatic doors and entered the terminal, the first thing he noticed was the large Christmas tree set up in the center of the spacious lobby. The towering tree, decked out with lights and various ornaments, filled the space with a festive atmosphere.
With Christmas approaching, the terminal was packed with people traveling to see family or heading out on vacation. Boston, known as an educational city, saw a surge of students returning home for the holidays, making the airport even more crowded.
Seok-won, too, was on his way home after finishing the semester.
"Good thing I left early. This could have been a nightmare."
Muttering to himself as he observed the packed lobby, he unwrapped his scarf, no longer needed in the warm indoor temperature. Rolling his suitcase behind him, Seok-won waded through the crowd and found the Delta Airlines counter where he had booked his ticket. But the sight of the long line ahead of him made him sigh.
The airline had set up three counters to handle the holiday rush, but the line seemed never-ending due to the sheer number of booked passengers. He was fortunate to have arrived three hours early; otherwise, catching his flight might have been challenging.
"When will this line end?"
The line had doubled in length since he first saw it, and he eyed it with growing impatience. But with no other option to get to Korea, he reluctantly joined the end of the line, licking his lips in frustration.
"If this investment pays off, I might just buy a private jet instead of a building."
He muttered, half-jokingly, half-seriously.
After a tiresome wait of over thirty minutes, it was finally his turn. The airline employee, who looked just as exhausted as the passengers she was helping, greeted him with a professional but weary tone.
"How can I assist you?"
"I have a reservation."
"May I see your reservation number and ID?"
"It's C2315."
Seok-won handed over his passport.
The employee typed into her terminal and quickly found his name on the reservation list.
"You've booked a one-way ticket to Seoul via Falkland. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
At this time, there were hardly any direct flights to Korea, so traveling to Seoul required a layover in major airports like New York, LA, or Atlanta.
"Do you have any checked luggage?"
"Just one suitcase."
He pointed to his suitcase.
"Okay. Please place it on the scale."
He lifted the heavy suitcase onto the scale as instructed and waited.
"All set, no extra charges."
The employee attached a luggage tag to the suitcase, which was then taken by another staff member behind the counter and placed on the conveyor belt.
"Since this is a connecting flight, you have two tickets. Boarding is at Gate 8 at 1:20 PM. Please make sure to arrive on time."
She handed back his passport along with the tickets, quickly turning her attention to the next person in line.
"Next, please step forward."
Seok-won slipped the tickets and passport into his inner pocket, picked up his Boston bag, and stepped aside. By now, the line for Delta Airlines had stretched even longer.
Seeing the line now double what it had been before, Seok-won shook his head and checked his watch.
"I still have about two hours. Maybe I should get something to eat."
He headed toward the food court, but every restaurant was packed, leaving no chance of finding a seat. Eventually, he decided to get a takeaway Americano from a café and continued searching for a place to sit.
All the tables were occupied, just as he'd expected, and he wandered around the airport aimlessly, sipping his coffee, which had turned lukewarm by the time he finally found a seat at a bench just vacated by a couple.
The long plastic bench wasn't as comfortable as a sofa, but it was far better than standing around.
"I'm already exhausted, and I haven't even boarded the plane yet."
Although he had booked a spacious business class seat and planned to upgrade to first class after the layover in Atlanta, the thought of enduring nearly twenty hours of flying was still daunting.
"Maybe I should seriously consider getting a private jet."
With frequent travels between Korea and the US in his future, the idea of facing this ordeal repeatedly made his headache.
As he pondered this, his eyes fell on a crumpled newspaper wedged in the corner of the bench, left behind by someone.
[AT&T-NCR Merger Raises Consumer Concerns!]
The headline caught his eye, and he picked up the paper and began to read.
[
Recently, AT&T, the largest telecommunications company in North America, announced its plan to acquire NCR, a computer manufacturing company, for a total of $8 billion, creating significant buzz.
While Wall Street has widely applauded this year's largest M&A, some are concerned that the deal could harm consumers.
Once AT&T, the telecom giant, acquires NCR, it will immediately hold a 35% market share in the computer industry, potentially stifling competition.
Indeed, other computer companies are already on edge, wary of AT&T's immense financial power.
Experts also caution that if AT&T, with its abundant capital, continues to dominate the rapidly growing computer market, it could lead to monopolistic practices, limiting consumer choice and driving up prices.
Notably, given AT&T's history of monopolistic practices in the telecommunications market, which led to its forced breakup, these concerns are even more pronounced.
In response, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stated that it will closely examine the deal to ensure it does not violate antitrust laws and harm consumers.]
After reading the article, Seok-won allowed a slight smile to play on his lips.
"Everything's going according to plan."
Since the merger announcement, NCR's stock price had skyrocketed to the acquisition price of $105 per share in just two days. It didn't stop there, though, and continued to climb, nearly reaching $110, indicating an overheated market.
"Going beyond $105 is definitely an overshoot."
Anyone who thought it through would realize that the price had gone too high, but no one seemed to care.
"They just don't want to be the ones left holding the bag."
It was like a game of hot potato among investors.
"Plus, even if they're unlucky and end up holding the bag, they can still sell to AT&T at $105, so they pushed the price up even further."
But, as with everything, the frenzy started to die down when articles and opinions criticizing the merger began to surface, and NCR's stock, which had peaked at $110, plummeted.
"That's when everyone finally realized it had gone too far."
Once the selling began, it was like a dam had burst, and panic selling ensued.
The stock tumbled below the acquisition price, dropping below $100, demonstrating once again how much of the market is driven by sentiment.
"Markets really are fascinating."
At that moment, a familiar ringtone sounded. Seok-won put down the newspaper and pulled out his phone from his Boston bag.
"Hello."
[Boss, it's me.]
Hearing Landon's voice, he leaned back against the bench.
"What's up?"
[It's good I caught you before you boarded.]
Seok-won glanced at the large electronic clock on one wall of the airport while sipping his now bitter, cold Americano.
"I'll be boarding in about an hour. What's up?"
[I've got some good news to share before you leave.]
"Let's hear it."
[We've just finished acquiring the target amount of NCR shares.]
Hearing that, Seok-won's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
[Haha, yes.]
Landon sounded proud and excited.
"What's the average price?"
[68 dollars.]
Despite the announcement of the merger causing the stock price to soar, Landon had managed to keep the average price under the target of $70, which impressed Seok-won.
"I thought it would be tough to meet the target. Well done."
[We secured 80% of the target shares before the merger announcement, but selling some of our shares at the peak and buying them back when the price dropped helped lower the average.]
When the price shot above the acquisition price due to the market's overheating, Andrew had suggested selling some of the shares to lock in profits.
'Even if the stock doesn't drop as much as we want, selling above AT&T's purchase price would still be profitable, so there's no reason not to.'
With Seok-won's approval, Andrew sold millions of shares near the peak, making a significant profit. Then, when concerns about the merger failing and profit-taking caused the price to plummet, he swiftly resumed buying, showing great skill.
"Being able to buy up a large number of shares without causing the price to spike isn't easy, but Andrew handled it expertly."
[Indeed. I was impressed by his skills throughout the process.]
Landon wholeheartedly agreed.
"Since they did a great job, I'll make sure to give them a hefty bonus."
[Andrew's trading team will be thrilled to hear that.]
"And you can expect a bonus too, Landon."
[In that case, I'll gladly accept.]
Landon's playful response made Seok-won chuckle. He then adjusted his grip on the phone and continued.
"What's the current price of NCR stock?"
[It dropped to $70 but then rebounded to around $100 as we finished our purchases and the hedge funds that shorted the stock closed their positions.]
The price drop was exacerbated by hedge funds shorting the stock heavily after it went above the acquisition price.
"Now that we've secured our shares, we just need the merger to be approved." Landon's voice grew slightly concerned.
[There's no chance the FTC will block the merger, right?]
"Don't worry. That won't happen."
Seok-won spoke confidently.
"There's nothing problematic about the deal, and the FTC wouldn't want a protracted battle, so I expect a decision by January or February."
[That would be the best outcome.]
Landon still seemed a bit uneasy, but knowing the future, Seok-won found his worries unnecessary.
"Now that everything's done, let everyone relax and enjoy the Christmas holidays."
[Understood. You have a good time too, Boss.]
"Let's meet again after the new year."
After ending the call, Seok-won put his phone back in his Boston bag. He was pleased that Andrew's trading team had met his expectations, and even more so that they had completed the share purchase smoothly before his return to Korea.
"Now I can enjoy the year-end without worries."
He folded the newspaper beside him and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
[Boarding has begun at Gate 8 for Delta Airlines flight to Falkland. Passengers, please proceed to the gate. Repeating, Gate 8 boarding…]
"Well, time to go."
It was finally time to return to Korea.
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