Chapter 76. A Brother Like No Other (1)

The private equity fund manages several closed-end funds.

Shark Management was famous for never having lost money on any of its funds.

Therefore, even if it were a blind fund that provided no information on where it would invest or what the expected return would be, it would be fully subscribed as soon as it was launched.

However, this time, that record was broken.

He had felt something was off with Thomas Motors and was gauging the right time to sell.

The problem was that the stock price was continuously rising.

He planned to sell after the event, as an important announcement was scheduled. But then this incident suddenly broke out.

It wasn't just the loss that was the problem.

This level of loss could be recovered if he set his mind to it.

The real issue was...

'How could I have just stood by and taken the loss without doing anything until this happened?'

Michael had always highly evaluated the potential of hydrogen cars.

Therefore, while he was pushing for the sale of Thomas Motors' shares, he planned to invest in a new hydrogen car company.

Nextrogen, a company that develops core technologies and vehicle platforms for hydrogen cars, had been his focus for acquisition.

However, due to this incident, major LPs demanded a re-evaluation of the investment. With the industry leader falling, it was inevitable that investments in related companies would become cautious.

Michael slowly read the report written by David Rockheart. ContiNue Capital had engaged in massive short selling through CFD trades just before the event.

It was likely that David Rockheart had led this as well.

'What if he had come to Shark Management?'

This incident would have been triggered by Shark Management. They would have sold all their shares, engaged in short selling, and bought put options.

If that had happened, they would have made enormous profits instead of losses and would be toasting to their success now.

Michael Preston frowned.

'I should have done whatever it took to bring David Rockheart here!'

The realization that he had missed out on such talent was painfully clear.

He had tried to bring him in by rescuing him when he was in a tight spot, but someone else had snatched him up.

"Who exactly partnered with him?"

* * *

The sharp drop in Thomas Motors' stock price was a significant issue affecting all related companies.

Originally, Huaan Energy, which had a cooperative relationship with Thomas Motors, should have suffered the most significant damage. However, it had overturned the agreement just before the event and sold all its shares.

The sale amount was 1.8 billion dollars.

That's about 2 trillion won!

Considering that 90% of the stock price had vanished after ContiNue Capital's exposure, this amounted to a profit of 1.8 trillion won compared to holding the shares.

The stock forum was in chaos.

- Wow! 2 trillion won!

- It's said that Huaan Energy's Minwoong Hu read the report and conducted his own investigation before instructing the sale.

- Only Minwoong Hu noticed something that all the so-called experts missed?

- It's said that the famous Wall Street hedge fund Shark Management also pulled out. It's their first loss since its establishment.

- According to a WST article, the person who bought Thomas Motors' shares was Vice President Minhong Hu of Huaan Solution. Then Minwoong Hu took over and exposed the fraud.

- Haha, the older brother was foolishly deceived, but the younger brother smartly figured it out.

- Among the major shareholders, only Huaan Energy noticed and sold in time.

- He sold everything at the peak and got out. Haha!

- Amazing. I thought he was just a chairman's son, but now I see he's a capable person.

- The money made from selling the stocks is equivalent to several years of operating profit.

- God of stocks!

- Minwoong Hu saved Huaan Energy!

- At this point, shouldn't he be given an award?

- We can't just sit here! Let's send him a bouquet!

- Right! Let's pool our money as small shareholders!

Huaan Energy shareholders breathed a sigh of relief, but Huaan Solution shareholders were not so fortunate.

The Huaan Solution stock forum was like a funeral.

- What did Huaan Energy do? They sent an official notice, right?

- They even sent a report advising immediate sale?

- Did they use it to wipe their butts?

- What the hell are these guys doing?

- Did they take money from Thomas Motors behind the scenes?

- We should sue Vice President Minhong Hu for breach of duty!

- Shouldn't we sell all our shares now?

- We can't even get 10 dollars if we sell now?

- We'll end up with 0 dollars if the company is delisted, right?

- Minhong Hu is really bad at management. I could do better.

- Hey, Seonghoon Hu! Make a good judgment. If you give the group to the eldest son, it will all be gone in a few years. Huaan Group will become a bowl of rice!

- Get down, Minhong Hu!

- I'm a Huaan Energy shareholder. I came to pay my respects.

- Phew! I bought Huaan Energy instead of Huaan Solution. What a relief!

- They said there's no brother like Minwoong... but he's here!

- The market will open with a limit down.

- The fall is sharp!

- Jordan Express! Departure!

- Limit down~ Limit down~ It's a fun song~

- You guys are the worst for teasing 😭

* * *

[(WST Exclusive) Thomas Motors shares were bought by Huaan Solution's Vice President Minwoong Hu]

[Did Vice President Minwoong Hu fail to properly verify Thomas Motors' technology?]

[Why did Huaan Solution ignore Huaan Energy's advice?]

[Increasing calls for Vice President Minwoong Hu's accountability]

[Domestic large corporations' overseas investments. Caution is needed...]

Until just before the Thomas Motors incident, Korean media had been praising Minwoong Hu for being the first to decide on the investment in Thomas Motors.

However, once the incident broke, they quickly turned on him, flooding the news with criticism.

'How much advertising money have you taken to write such articles?'

Minwoong Hu shouted as he read the articles.

"Isn't the PR team doing anything about the media response?"

President Taejoo Lim shook his head.

"I've contacted various sources, but they all say there's nothing they can do."

The first to report on this incident was Trish O'Connor of the Wall Street Times.

She uncovered the truth at the PureCell Day event and conducted exclusive interviews with ContiNue Capital and Huaan Energy.

As a result, both domestic and international media were simply rewriting her articles.

"Given that they have been writing different articles until now, it's difficult to write articles that contradict the WST's stance. However, they say they can include our side of the story if we want."

However, since the content is not entirely wrong, there is no position to reveal. Providing materials to clarify would only backfire.

"It seems that Team Leader Minwoong Hu and ContiNue Capital worked together to cause this."

Minwoong Hu nodded.

'These guys were all in on it.'

Indeed, if that were not the case, the current situation would be inexplicable.

"The problem is that they claim to have warned us in advance."

In fact, the official notice from Huaan Energy was not significant.

It simply stated that they had a report and suggested considering the sale of shares. The attached report was not much different from those available in the market.

At first, he wondered why they sent such a notice just before the agreement, but now he understood.

"Did they think sending one email was enough to do their job?"

The hydrogen infrastructure agreement involved the entire Huaan Group. To reverse the group's policy, sufficient time and evidence were needed.

For such an important and certain matter, they should have called and explained the situation. However, Minwoong Hu did not contact him separately.

"Regardless, the fact that they informed us is significant. That alone will protect Team Leader Minwoong Hu from responsibility."

"Damn it!"

New businesses take a long time to establish and are not guaranteed to generate actual profits. Therefore, he had handed over the new business of hydrogen energy to his younger brother and taken charge of the established solar energy business.

However, this incident suddenly broke out.

If they had all lost, the situation would have been better. But the other side sold at the peak, while this side was completely stuck.

A staggering 1.7 trillion won of the company's assets had evaporated.

Who would bear the responsibility for this?

President Taejoo Lim looked at Minwoong Hu with a complex expression.

'It shouldn't be me.'

* * *

The Korean stock market opened. As expected, related companies plummeted.

Huaan Energy's stock price fluctuated slightly by -3% at the opening but quickly recovered to -0.6%.

This could be considered a stable trend.

Minwoong Hu read the articles that were being posted in real-time.

[(Investment News) Huaan Solution opens with a limit down]

[Huaan Energy currently stable]

[Contrasting expressions of Huaan Group companies]

[Team Leader Minwoong Hu saves Huaan Energy with quick judgment!]

[Small shareholders of Huaan Energy send thank-you bouquets to Team Leader Minwoong Hu]

[Shareholders of Huaan Solution sue management for breach of duty!]

While he had caused social controversy and been featured in the social news section several times, this was the first time he was prominently featured in the economic section.

Feeling a strange sensation as he read the articles, his phone rang.

Minwoong Hu answered.

"Hello."

The other party shouted.

"Explain what happened clearly!"

Minwoong Hu spoke calmly.

"Didn't you see the news? Those Thomas Motors guys were complete fraudsters."

"What?"

"I kindly sent an official notice suggesting it would be good to sell. Didn't you check it?"

Minhong Hu growled.

"Two days before the event?"

"There wasn't much time."

"You didn't even have time to make a phone call?"

"I was extremely busy. I almost died trying to clean up the mess. If I had been a bit slower, Huaan Energy would have been stuck too."

"Even if you were busy, you should have called and explained!"

"Why are you angry at someone who even sent an official notice amidst the chaos?"

"Are you...?"

Minwoong Hu cut him off with a cold voice.

"I flew to the U.S. to sign the agreement, pushed into it without knowing anything. Fortunately, I managed to detect the fraud just before the signing and kindly informed you. What more do you want me to do? What do you think gives you the right to say anything to me? Why? Do you think I should have died with you?"

Minhong Hu couldn't easily respond to that.

Regardless, his younger brother had done his job. The failure to respond in time was his fault.

"And you haven't even lost money. You can still recover your principal if you sell now."

Minhong Hu shouted.

"Are you calling that a solution?"

The inflated stock price was reflected in the company's assets, causing Huaan Solution's stock price to triple. But 90% of those assets had vanished.

Naturally, Huaan Solution's stock price had to plummet.

"But did you really not know these guys were fraudsters?"

"Shit! How was I supposed to know?"

"You were the one who first met Brad Button. You were the one who decided to acquire and invest in the shares. Then you handed over the rest to me."

"Why are you bringing this up now?"

Minwoong Hu asked bluntly.

"Was it to avoid responsibility if something went wrong like this?"

"......What?"