Darkstone Code-Chapter 904 - 902: No Choice

"We meet again, Mr. President."

"Yes, Mr. Lynch, we meet again."

At this moment, the CEO of Every Moment, who is sitting on the sofa with his legs tightly together, doesn’t at all resemble the violent figure he is in front of his subordinates. He’s like a little lamb waiting for fate to deliver the blow, sitting there with his legs clamped.

He can’t resist; he can only endure.

Indeed, from the moment the two companies announced their acquisition of Every Moment, he had no way out.

He had once considered using some of his brother, the Mariluo warlord’s power to solve these problems, like creating some attacks, assaulting those responsible for the acquisition.

But he soon abandoned the idea. He was well aware of the Federation’s historically cautious attitude toward such matters — a single misstep could lead to a massive purge.

With the bank unwilling to help him, the only one who could save him now seemed to be the "Mr. Lynch" in front of him, leaving him with no other choices.

"Our last conversation wasn’t a pleasant one, so have you brought me good news this time?" Lynch’s rare aggressive attitude is pressing the CEO of Every Moment step by step.

This is a strategy.

The warlord background behind Every Moment has a deeply ingrained influence on the company. For years, the continuous civil strife in Mariluo has instilled in both the Mariluo and Malori people the belief that strength is the foundation of everything.

Indeed, this is also true; those with greater strength can live and develop peacefully.

Those with weaker strength might not last a few days before being overthrown and dying miserably on the street.

They worship the strong and bully the weak, which has become a habit deeply rooted in their lives.

During the wear, the Mariluo people massacred the Malori people without reason, driven only by mutual hatred. Conversely, the Malori people have done the same, not just once.

This deep animosity between the two ensures that the stronger will devour everything.

When dealing with these people, being humble only leads to being underestimated. Only by showing strength will they temporarily retract their claws —

Lynch can fully imagine that once Every Moment gets through this crisis, the weary and haggard man in front of him, looking like he hasn’t slept in days, will first try to kick him out of the board and even try to seize his stocks.

His toughness can keep the other side compliant for a while, during which many plans can be made leisurely.

The CEO of Every Moment’s mouth twitched, trying to squeeze out a smile but failing.

"That is indeed a very hard-to-accept number, Mr. Lynch. I can’t make the decision..."

Lynch interrupted him, "Then find someone who can make decisions to talk to me."

"If you can’t decide, what are you talking to me for now?"

"Talking jokes?"

The blunt retort made the CEO of Every Moment clench and unclench his fists lying on his knees.

This is a one-time opportunity; losing it means losing everything.

"After you left that day, I discussed it with my brother. He said around fifteen percent is completely fine."

He brought up his brother, although deep down he didn’t really want to. While his brother is useful against small characters, he’s not as effective against big ones.

He could only hope Lynch was still young and somewhat in awe of the world; maybe it could work?

Lynch scoffed, "Your brother will soon be unable to make decisions."

"The fact that you’re here means someone briefly clued you into the details of the acquisition battle. Once launched, the acquisition battle is bound to clear the board."

"Now you can’t produce the money, and regardless of who those minor shareholders represent, they all must choose,"

"A bidding choice!"

Initiating a hostile acquisition in the Federation is not easy; it doesn’t count as a result negotiated by both parties or even a completely natural market behavior.

Such hostile acquisitions often trigger a series of financial issues, leading to the enactment of laws promoted by the Financial Supervisory Commission and Congress.

Once a party involved in the acquisition holds over a certain percentage of stocks, they have the right to request suspension of listing.

According to the Financial Supervisory Commission, this ensures the rights of ordinary shareholders are not shattered in the clash of giants.

It further stipulates that acquisitions must be followed by asset restructuring and privatization. Only after everything has settled can it be relisted.

Most times, the party initiating such hostile acquisitions has adequately budgeted in terms of funds and also secured bank support.

They can pawn their stocks at the market’s closing price to the bank, borrowing money to continue the acquisition.

As long as the budget is well planned, one or two hundred million may be enough to leverage a company worth five or six hundred million.

Of course, this follows usual procedures, with the possibility of a hostile acquisition failing. In such cases, the stocks held by the hostile party lose voting rights, and the holder cannot enter the board.

Once the acquisition frenzy subsides, shares get relisted, and the hostile party exits with significant losses.

Now, with two companies launching a hostile acquisition against Every Moment, it signifies they are confident in dragging Every Moment into the Abyss.

There’s actually an interesting issue here—

Banks are eager to lend to the attacking party, the hostile acquirers, but unwilling to lend to the defending party, Every Moment.

Why?

The reason is straightforward: the attackers aim for profit, a plan set before action.

Whether it’s the disassembly popular in Bupen now or taking over operations, their actions are aggressive.

In simpler terms, if necessary, they can destroy the company for profit, ensuring the bank won’t lose — they have ways to legally seize the company from the acquirers for profit, still leaving debts to the acquirers.

However, the defenders won’t destroy their painstaking achievements to fight acquirers, which is a paradox.

This means lending to the defenders bears more risk than to the acquirers.

Banks have never been charitable institutions; their core business is making money through various means, though many are deceived by their packaging into perceiving them as some "public welfare institution."

They are not; they are the Federation’s top moneymakers, without exception.

Before the match even began, banks made their choice, leaving the CEO of Every Moment without options.

His expression turned gloomy, yet hiding anger.

After a while, he suddenly exhaled as if defeated, "Twenty percent... I agree."

With about seventy percent of the flow stocks in Federation shareholders’ hands, and the CEO himself holding around forty to fifty percent,

If Lynch is willing to help him through this crisis, he can repurchase some small shareholders’ stocks to establish his "key vote," then sell the rest to Lynch.

The only hitch is possibly losing absolute control, but this doesn’t apply in the Federation.

Capitalists won’t agree to a company having "absolute control" for easy legal plundering; adding free stocks, few company founders maintain over fifty-one percent post-IPO.

No one can.

Thus, though the CEO’s hold decreases, as long as he has the key vote, he remains the largest shareholder without exception.

While making this decision pained him, it also oddly relieved him.

"At yesterday’s closing price, Every Moment’s market value is about four billion Federation Sols. Buying twenty percent is..."

"Around ninety million."

Lynch isn’t sensitive to precise numbers; as long as it’s more or less right.

The CEO of Every Moment nodded. A few days ago, this sum would’ve bought only six to seven percent of Every Moment, but now, it’s worth twenty percent.

Before long, people from the bank arrived.

As the supreme honored guest of Golden Exchange Bank, Lynch is enjoying top-tier services.

For instance, summoning the bank’s accountants, auditors, lawyers... for his service anytime, on a 24-hour basis.

They bring portable typewriters and contract templates, even people from the Financial Supervisory Commission.

During high-volume stock transactions in acquisition battles like this one, they report to the Financial Supervisory Commission.

They don’t interfere in the trade and might be considered invisible, yet they must know the details and whether the transaction complies with regulations.

In the presence of the Financial Supervisory Commission and bank staff, Lynch and the CEO of Every Moment signed their names on two stock transfer contracts.

Looking at the transfer contract, the CEO of Every Moment sighed with relief, albeit with a touch of helplessness.

The betrayal of minor shareholders hurt him greatly, though it can’t truly be counted as betrayal, as capitalists emerge from their mothers with money on their minds.

Selling overpriced assets for a massive profit isn’t condemnation-worthy but something people pursue.

This is the "rightness" in a capitalist society, where qualities like "loyalty," "etiquette," "integrity," and "virtue" no longer hold value.

When facing profits, these are discarded, embodying the "sweetness" of the Federation.

Just by unencumbered abandonment, one finds lightness, freedom, and "sweetness."