Story of a Big Player from Gangnam

Chapter 846: Private Equity Fund (PEF) Company (3) - Part 1

While Secretary Yeon-Soo Oh was serving a cup of tea, Gun-Ho and the man, who was introduced by the stock brokerage company's branch manager, stopped their conversation for a moment. Once she left, they resumed their conversation.

The man who used to work at Gangnam Bank as the team lead of its global asset strategy department—Mr. Geun-Soo Son—asked Gun-Ho, "Mr. President Goo, you are aware that in order to establish a private equity fund company, you need to bring in at least 3 billion won, aren't you?"

"I know that."

"So many investment consulting firms have been formed these days. Accordingly, it became difficult to find investors to join a private equity fund company like ours. Can I assume that you have enough cash to make an investment?"

"The required funds of 3 billion won will be sent under the name of Seung-Hee Park. It's a lady. She has been doing management business with investors. She is managing their funds mostly. She now wants to use the service of a private equity fund company."

"Oh, is that right?"

"The thing is that the private equity fund company that I am about to establish is supposed to make an investment in a company that I select only. No employees should be able to accept investors to join the company or choose a company to invest in, at his or her own discretion."

As Gun-Ho clearly stated his intention about the purpose of his soon-to-be-established private equity fund company, Mr. Geun-Soo Son smiled and said, "That would be actually more convenient for us as long as we get paid."

"It's almost the end of the day, so starting tomorrow, please start finding an office-tel for the company around the Gangnam Station area. We will need its address to register the company with the government."

"Yes, sir. I will do that. How much monthly rent do you think would be adequate, sir?"

"I want an office-tel with a monthly rent of 1 million won or less with a security deposit of 10 million won max."

"Understood, sir."

"I want to name the private equity fund company as 'Winners Investment Partners.' If the name is already taken, you can change it a little bit when you register the company."

"Yes, sir. I will research register offices online to see if the name is still available."

"The two directors for the company will be Ms. Seung-Hee Park and you—Mr. Geun-Soo Son. You probably want to prepare papers such as your certificate of resident registration, certificate of seal impression, a copy of your bank account, etc. by tomorrow. In case, you probably want to prepare two copies of everything."

"Understood, sir."

"And… We need to talk about your wage too. How much do you expect to get paid?"

"As you said earlier, I won't have to look for good companies to invest in, but you will give me an instruction which company we should make an investment in, which would make my job a lot easier. So, I think a monthly wage of 3 million won would be sufficient."

"Okay, 3 million won per month then."

After Mr. Geun-Soo Son left the office, Gun-Ho made a call to Seung-Hee sister.

"Can you bring your certificate of resident registration, certificate of seal impression, and a copy of your bank account to my office tomorrow? I need them in order to open the private equity fund company that I told you about last time."

"Tomorrow? Okay, I will bring them to your office tomorrow morning."

In the late afternoon when Gun-Ho was ready to go home for the day, he received a call from Mr. Geun-Soo Son who used to work in Gangnam Bank."

"Sir, this is Geun-Soo Son who used to work for Gangnam Bank. I went to your office this morning."

"Yes, Mr. Son."

"I talked with a realtor on the way home today to see if there is a good office-tel available around the Gangnam Station area. There is one office-tel which is called Daewoo The O'vill Plus. It's very close to the Gangnam Station. It looks good and spacious enough to place three desks."

"How much are they asking?"

"The monthly rent is 900,000 won with a security deposit of 10 million won."

"Sounds good. Once you bring a copy of your bank account, I will send the necessary fund to that account to set up the office. I want you to sign the lease agreement for the office-tel as an individual for now since the company hasn't been formed yet. Once the company is established, we will change the tenant's name to the company."

"Understood, sir."

'He is so quick. I guess he is so eager to start working since he has been unemployed for a while.'

The daily temperature range became great. It was chilly in the morning.

"Chan-Ho, you are wearing a jacket. It's getting cold, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir. I took out this jacket this morning from my out-of-season's clothing drawer. It's time to wear a jacket."

"Your jacket looks good. How much did you pay for it?"

"Haha. Actually none, sir. I bought this using the department store's gift card that you gave to me last Thanksgiving Day."

"Is that right?"

As soon as he arrived at his office in GH Building, Sinsa Town, Gun-Ho checked Dyeon Korea's stock price first. The price was moving slightly up and down around 5,800 won.

"5,800 won per share… The total number of Dyeon Korea's stock issued so far is 26 million. That means its market capitalization is 105.8 billion won."

Gun-Ho turned off his computer and sat on the sofa. He then enjoyed his morning coffee while sitting on the sofa. When it was after 10 am, Mr. Geun-Soo Son, who used to work for Gangnam Bank, came to Gun-Ho's office. He was carrying some papers that were necessary for establishing a private equity fund company.

"Would you like to review the papers that I brought, sir?"

There was Mr. Geun-Soo Son's resume among the papers, and Gun-Ho closely looked at it. He used to work in a bank as a high-ranking officer, and he also worked at a stock brokerage firm before that. It was a unique combination of work experience, Gun-Ho thought.

"I won't need to look at other papers. Please take those documents to the certified legal consultant's office. They will need them to form the company."

"Yes, sir."

"I will make a copy of your bank account and keep it in this office, in case I need it when I send funds to you."

"Of course, sir."

Gun-Ho called for Accounting Manager Hong.

"Please make a copy of Mr. Son's bank account information and keep it in the file. We will probably need it later. Well, let's make a copy of his certificate of resident registration as well. We might need it too. Don't forget to include his resume."

"Yes, sir."

Accounting Manager Hong took a copy of Mr. Geun-Soo Son's bank account and his certificate of resident registration before walking out of Gun-Ho's office.

Gun-Ho asked Mr. Son, "Is the name 'Winners Investment Partners' available for us to use?"

"There is a company using that name already. We won't be able to register our company under that name, sir. So, I was thinking of 'Win Win Investment Partners,' but that name is taken already as well."

"Well… Then, please use the name—SH Investment Partners."

"Huh? SH Investment Partners, sir? What does SH stand for, sir?"

"A middle-aged lady, who will be our company's major investor, will come to visit this office later today. Her name is Seung-Hee Park, so we will use her initials in our private equity fund company's name."

"Oh, so, that lady will bring in entire investment funds to the company, and you won't make an investment in it, sir?"

Gun-Ho didn't reply to the question, but he just smiled. At that moment, it occurred to Mr. Guen-Soo Son, what the branch manager in Gangnam told him earlier. Mr. Geun-Soo Son realized that he wasn't supposed to ask Gun-Ho that sort of question. The branch manager told him,

[You should be very careful in asking questions to big players in investment. You should never ask them about the amount of investment funds, neither about the source of the funds. They usually don't talk much, but that doesn't mean that they don't know things. They are always one or two steps ahead of everything, compared to ordinary people like us. Be careful not to make any mistakes in talking to them.

What? Are you asking how wealthy and bold President Goo is, in terms of his investment funds? The fact that you are asking me that question shows that you are not listening to me. You shouldn't try to know things like that. Try not to be curious. Just know that he is a huge player in the investment field. That's all you need to know.]