ryethenovel Chapter 189 A Secret Maneuver
Chapter 189 A Secret Maneuver
Early September 1989.
Manhattan, New York City, USA.
A low-pressure storm forming over the Atlantic was tearing at this steel jungle. Torrential rain poured down, the dense downpour pounding against the massive tempered glass curtain wall of SA Investment's penthouse office area. The dazzling neon lights of Wall Street distorted and warped amidst the layers of water, transforming into a bizarre and surreal spectacle of color.
The heavy-duty fax machine on the desk emitted a constant, grating sound.
"Sizzle—"
The paper cutter fell. Subpoenas bearing the red SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) logo rained down, piling up on the dark walnut wood table.
Frank reached out and slammed several summonses onto the table.
He loosened the tightly tied tie around his neck and grabbed the encrypted telephone receiver from the corner of the table.
"Boss."
Frank's voice came through the transoceanic undersea fiber optic cable, extremely hoarse from staying up all night, with the background sounds of thunder outside the window and the roar of a printer.
"Arthur Vance has bitten back up."
"The Hollywood acquisitions have certainly tied up a lot of Washington's attention, but this senior investigator has found a way to circumvent the Cayman Islands' privacy barriers. His seventh investigation team is seeking an injunction in the Southern District of New York to directly access the North American Clearing House's underlying transaction data related to those tiny offshore accounts."
Frank swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.
"Once the clearing center is forced to hand over the data, our chain of operations—breaking down large sums to accumulate precision machine tools and extreme ultraviolet light source laboratories—will be completely exposed."
Marunouchi, Tokyo.
The president's office at the headquarters of Saionji Corporation.
The central air conditioning unit inside the room was blowing out a cool stream of air.
Satsuki leaned back in her large leather swivel chair. She had just returned to Tokyo from a vacation in Karuizawa, wearing a soft, light gray cashmere cardigan, her long hair casually tied back with a sandalwood hairpin.
Frank's urgent report came through the receiver.
She picked up the bone china teacup on the table and took a small sip of the warm black tea.
The political shield provided by the Columbia Pictures acquisition is diminishing over time. Arthur Vance is extremely capable; once he obtains the underlying data from the clearinghouse, a full freeze order from CFIUS (National Security Review Committee) will be issued immediately.
The next phase of the game will be a pure legal war of attrition.
"Frank".
Satsuki's voice was clear and steady, showing no sign of panic.
"Immediately hire one of the top five law firms in Manhattan. Assemble a joint defense team."
"Use all available cash on SA Investment's books. File a massive number of trade secret defenses in federal court. Utilize transnational jurisdictional disputes and antitrust review procedures to request countless hearings."
She adjusted her posture slightly in the swivel chair, her gaze calmly fixed on the bright autumn sunlight outside the window.
"Use the sheer volume of capital to crush the other side's administrative efficiency. Prolong the legal process indefinitely. Legally 'drowned out' Arthur Vance's investigation team with millions of pages of case files."
"To buy us one last three months to move physical hardware between Europe and North America."
Frank on the other end of the phone gasped, then quickly responded.
"Understood. The joint legal team will submit the first batch of defense documents to the federal court this afternoon."
"beep--"
The overseas call ended.
The monotonous dial tone echoed for two seconds in the spacious office.
"Click".
The heavy oak door to the office was pushed open silently.
Executive Director Endo strode into the room. His leather shoes made no sound on the thick wool carpet. A fine layer of sweat covered his forehead, his breathing was slightly rapid, and he held an extremely heavy document in his hands.
He walked to the desk and placed the document on the mahogany table in front of Satsuki.
The cover of the document features a bold headline: "Shin-Etsu Chemical Corporate Research Report".
"Young Miss".
Endo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
"The investment department and think tank team conducted a comprehensive investigation of Shin-Etsu Chemical for a period of one month."
"Shin-Etsu Chemical is a financially perfect fortress. It has extremely abundant cash flow and operates with zero debt. Its shareholding structure is highly concentrated in the hands of the family and cross-shareholding chaebol allies."
Endo turned to the first page of the report and pointed to the shareholding distribution chart.
"Conventional hostile takeovers in the secondary market, or leveraged buyouts (LBOs) using Wall Street tactics, are completely ineffective against this target. Once external capital forcibly enters the market, Shin-Etsu Chemical's conglomerate allies will immediately activate the poison pill plan, and Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry will also intervene administratively in the name of protecting core manufacturing industries."
"We cannot breach this fortress from the front."
Satsuki listened quietly to Endo's report.
She did not feel defeated.
Extending her slender, pale index finger, she traced it down the appendix of the report. The paper made a soft rustling sound under her fingertip.
Any fortress may have an impregnable core, but the vast outer supply lines that keep it running will inevitably be exposed in the wilderness.
The crystal pulling process for semiconductor-grade single-crystal silicon requires extremely high temperatures. This necessitates a special consumable material that is extremely pure, heat-resistant, and does not release any impurity ions.
My finger hovers over a line of small print on the supply chain list.
"Takada Quartz"
Satsuki softly uttered the name.
Endo followed her gaze and immediately retrieved the relevant memories.
"A medium-sized traditional manufacturing company located in Chiba Prefecture. They specialize in providing high-purity quartz crucibles for Shin-Etsu Chemical's monocrystalline silicon crystal pulling process. Due to the extremely high technological barriers, they are Shin-Etsu Chemical's exclusive supplier of this core consumable."
Endo's tone revealed a hint of confusion.
"However, the company's shares are also not publicly traded. A forced acquisition would still raise concerns at Shin-Etsu Chemical."
Satsuki turned to the page of Takada Quartz's financial summary in the report.
A line of red debt data comes into view.
In this frenzied bubble era, Japanese society as a whole descended into a collective madness. A torrent of money swept through every corner. Even traditional manufacturing industries that relied on generations of craftsmanship could not resist the fatal allure of the myth of the land.
In order to purchase a commercial property in the prime port area, the president of Takada Quartz mortgaged all of the factory's fixed assets, and even future order revenue, to a local bank. They attempted to simultaneously pursue both industrial manufacturing and land speculation.
The high leverage of real estate has stretched corporate finances to their limits.
Satsuki closed the research report.
She opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a forecast document bearing the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) internal watermark.
"Executive Director Endo."
Satsuki pushed the forecast document in front of Endo.
"The Bank of Japan is expected to slightly tighten the discount rate next month."
Endo's pupils contracted sharply. As the finance director, he was acutely aware of the chain reaction that such a minor change in monetary policy would bring.
The prosperity of Takata Quartz, which relied on high-interest bridge loans, could crumble in the blink of an eye with even a slight adjustment in interest rates. The collapse of a financial chain requires only a tiny tremor.
"I need you to execute a hunting plan."
Satsuki placed her hands on the table with her arms crossed, her eyes calm and sharp.
"Using SA Investment's hidden funds in the country, they secretly contacted Takada Quartz's creditors—several local banks in Chiba Prefecture."
"Acquire all of Takata Quartz's non-performing loans and convert them into loan certificates in our possession."
"There's no need for direct contact with Shin-Etsu Chemical. Nor is there any need to discuss an acquisition with the president of Takata Quartz."
Satsuki's voice echoed in the quiet office.
"Just wait patiently. Until next month's interest rate adjustment and Takata Quartz defaults on its debt."
"Using the debt certificates, we will enforce a debt-to-equity swap through court proceedings, legally and legitimately acquiring all of Takata Quartz's shares and production lines."
"Using this as a platform, we can sit openly at Shin-Etsu Chemical's annual core supplier conference next year."
Endo's gaze fell on the forecast document bearing the central bank's watermark.
As the senior financial manager of the Saionji family, his brain completed the logical loop of this plan in a matter of seconds.
Bypassing seemingly impenetrable frontal defenses, and exploiting the greed inherent in the bubble economy and the fragility of financial leverage, they precisely severed the financial chains of key peripheral suppliers. Through legitimate court-ordered debt restructuring, they gained absolute control, thus firmly embedding the Saionji family's reach into the very upstream of Japan's semiconductor supply chain.
Instead of launching a direct attack, they capitalized on the momentum to reap the rewards.
Endo let out a long breath. He took off his gold-rimmed glasses, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and gently wiped them, trying to calm the deep admiration that welled up inside him.
Having weathered so many storms alongside the young lady, he thought he had long since grown accustomed to such tactics. But each time, this meticulously crafted scheme, combining macroeconomic policies with human weaknesses to the extreme, still stirred a pure sense of respect in him, a veteran of finance.
He put his glasses back on, his expression becoming extremely solemn, even carrying a hint of secret excitement.
"Yes, Miss. This is indeed the most perfect and most discreet shortcut."
Endo bent down deeply and picked up the documents on the table with both hands.
"I'll immediately arrange for the secret transfer of funds and the legal team. We must get that net set before the interest rate adjustment."
He turned and walked outside.
The heavy oak door closed slowly under the action of hydraulic damping.
The office returned to silence.
The central air conditioning vents continuously spewed out cold air, emitting a monotonous humming sound.
Satsuki sat quietly in the swivel chair.
She reached out and pulled open a drawer on the side of the desk.
Take out a square box with a black velvet lining.
Open the box.
Inside lay a silicon wafer slice, polished to an extremely smooth finish, used as a sample.
Satsuki extended her index and middle fingers, gently pinched the edge of the silicon wafer, and lifted it into the air.
This silver-gray circular silicon wafer has a flawless surface, just like a mirror.
Outside the window, the neon lights of Tokyo's bustling cityscape began to flicker in the twilight. The dense, ant-like traffic at the base of the buildings, along with the colorful specks of light representing desire and wealth, were clearly reflected on this cold silicon wafer.
With a slight tilt of her wrist.
A cold, sharp spot of light refracted from the edge of the wafer, slowly sweeping across the dark wallpaper in the office.
It cut through the darkness.