A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 80

After the 13D disclosure, Shark Capital officially requested a meeting with Epicura's CEO, Whitmer.

Whitmer wanted the advisor Goldman to be present,

which led Pierce and me to board a plane to Florida once again.

“I’m Dex Slater.”

“I’m Clarence Whitmer.”

“I’m Dave Pierce.”

While the three exchanged greetings, I quietly stood behind them.

Naturally, as a low-ranking employee, I had no need to introduce myself, but well, that made it easier to observe.

‘He looks surprisingly calm.’

It was my first time seeing Slater in person, too.

In my previous life, I had gained some recognition as a PM,

but not enough to face the Great White Shark directly.

I imagined a rough man based on rumors, but he appeared to be a gentle and polite middle-aged gentleman.

“The underperformance of Harbor Lobster is not due to market conditions but management issues. The problem should be resolved through management improvement, not by selling it off.”

However, his gentlemanly demeanor was only on the surface.

His sharp eyes, piercing through Whitmer, were those of a predator hunting its prey.

“Immediately halt the sale.”

As expected, there was a reason he was called the Great White Shark. The charisma he exuded was no joke.

Nevertheless, even in front of him, Whitmer remained composed.

“I cannot promise anything at this point. I’ll inform you once the situation becomes clear.”

In fact, Whitmer was planning to finalize the main contract for the sale of Harbor Lobster within two weeks.

His intention was to inform the shareholders only after it became a done deal…

“If you wait until it’s clear, we’ll have no way to stop it.”

The Great White Shark had accurately grasped that point and delivered a warning message.

If you pull that stunt, we won’t sit still.

The predator’s eyes grew colder.

“It’s best not to start something you’ll regret.”

Leaving that warning, the Great White Shark rose from his seat. Once he walked away, Whitmer looked at Pierce with a worried expression.

“What do you think he’ll do?”

“I doubt he’ll use ordinary means.”

When Pierce failed to provide a clear answer, Whitmer’s gaze turned to me.

I also shook my head.

“It’s hard to gauge at this point.”

“Still, don’t you have any guesses?”

“Sorry, but I don’t know either.”

That wasn’t a lie. I genuinely had no idea what the Great White Shark would do next.

What I knew about the future was only the major developments of the events.

Eventually, the Great White Shark failed to stop the sale,

poured his wrath into Unlimited Bread, and after the chaotic Bread War, replaced all 12 board members—

that was the ultimate outcome.

All of this was something that would happen in the distant future, after the sale.

Therefore, I had no real clue what actions the Great White Shark would take to prevent the sale right now.

Well, time would tell soon enough.

***

The next day, the Great White Shark immediately launched the first attack. He publicly announced his opposition to the sale and released a report to the public.

For reference, it wasn’t ‘that’ report targeting Unlimited Bread. It was a report claiming that separating Harbor Lobster’s real estate and other businesses would increase the stock price by $10 instantly…

Well, it was the kind of dull, trivial report only financial professionals would care about.

So naturally, I was puzzled.

‘Isn’t this too ordinary?’

A report backing exaggerated figures with reverse-engineering. For the Great White Shark, it was an unusually conventional approach.

Still, it couldn’t be ignored.

“Is the rebuttal ready?”

Goldman was a reverse-engineering expert. We had to publish a rebuttal report stating that Shark Capital’s claims were overly optimistic.

Thus began a battle of reverse-engineering versus reverse-engineering.

The market wasn’t convinced by either side.

In other words, the stock price didn’t show any significant movement due to this squabble.

It made sense.

Who would care about such a boring debate?

This was just a formal process that had to be followed.

But in the following days, the Great White Shark’s movements completely stopped.

It was time for the second wave to begin, yet he remained silent, showing no signs of action.

As a result, those involved in the project began to feel uneasy.

“Isn’t it too quiet?”

“What on earth are they plotting?”

Chris, Dobby, and even Jeff showed clear signs of restlessness.

To put it metaphorically, the Great White Shark had shown its fin and then suddenly submerged.

“He must be planning something big. It’s Shark Capital, after all…”

Their anxiety was understandable. Shark Capital, under Slater’s leadership, was notorious for its bold activism.

Not long ago, they replaced AOL’s board of directors and even split off its patent portfolio to sell it to Micron Soft.

How was that possible?

Boards don’t simply obey just because a few directors say, ‘Do this for us.’

It was clear that they had used some sort of behind-the-scenes maneuvering to achieve their goal.

“What on earth are they planning?”

While I knew the outcome of the past battle, I didn’t know the exact methods.

That’s why everyone was feeling anxious.

“The opponent’s actions will inevitably surface soon enough.”

In the midst of all this, the only person who remained calm was Pierce.

His composed gaze turned toward me.

“Do you have any predictions?”

“None at all.”

When I responded firmly, Pierce gave a faint smile.

“Do you really have no hunches?”

I knew what would happen in the distant future, but I couldn’t say that.

If I said something like, ‘The Great White Shark will attack Unlimited Bread,’ I would just be treated like a lunatic.

‘And if, by chance, they believe me, that would cause problems in its own way.’

Remember.

What I need right now is reputation.

To win the Bread War, the war itself must first ‘happen’.

That’s why I was extremely tense right now.

‘This can’t fall apart.’

I was in a situation where I had to catch the Great White Shark at all costs. And the method I chose was simple: fishing.

After all, isn’t a shark just a big fish with sharp teeth?

To catch fish, you must fish, and the essence of fishing is to cast bait and wait patiently.

Here, the bait was none other than a bleeding Epicura.

Right now, it was crucial for Epicura to appear as vulnerable as possible.

That way, it would look more appetizing.

However, the Great White Shark had only responded with conventional tactics so far.

‘He’s just sniffing around for now…?’

This was akin to cautiously nudging the bait and sniffing it.

But what if I showed some extraordinary insight here?

And what if, as a result of that butterfly effect, Epicura appeared overly prepared?

The Great White Shark might back off.

Even the Great White Shark doesn’t blindly chase after every prey.

It would move after carefully calculating its gains and losses.

Therefore, my task now was to keep making the bait look more appealing.

My turn would come later.

That would be when the shark properly takes the bait.

With that resolve, I continued waiting, and the following week, the Great White Shark launched its second attack.

***

“We plan to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. So, please postpone the sale by just two weeks.”

Those were the words from Slater, who had requested a second meeting.

It was only then that I understood what the Great White Shark had been planning beneath the surface.

‘He’s been persuading the shareholders.’

If more than half of the shareholders agree, an extraordinary general meeting can be convened.

The Great White Shark had apparently been quietly securing the consent of shareholders to convene the meeting.

“In two weeks, we plan to put the sale of Harbor Lobster to a vote at the extraordinary meeting. Wouldn’t it be better to proceed with the sale after seeing the outcome of that vote?”

Hearing the Great White Shark’s proposal, Whitmer frowned. It was a move that was hard to comprehend at first glance.

“Voting at an extraordinary general meeting is not binding.”

In fact, if the shareholders united their efforts, they could indeed block the sale of Harbor Lobster.

However, that method could only be used at the regular general meeting.

At that meeting, if a majority of shareholders voted against the sale, the management would have no choice but to abandon it.

Yet, what the Great White Shark proposed was an extraordinary general meeting.

“An extraordinary general meeting is different from the annual general meeting. Whatever the result, it’s merely a non-binding resolution.”

Whitmer emphasized this point.

Since an extraordinary general meeting is a discretionary gathering, only some shareholders attend, and therefore, whatever resolution is passed has no legal binding power.

Even if ‘opposition to the sale’ was passed, we could ignore it and proceed with the sale.

In summary?

It was a meaningless vote.

However, when Whitmer repeatedly pointed this out, a chilling smile formed at the corner of Slater’s lips.

“It may not have legal force, but if you respect the shareholders, you should wait.”

“It’s just two weeks. Surely, there’s no reason not to wait.”

Whitmer’s expression darkened.

Meanwhile, I was whistling internally.

‘Not bad.’

The Great White Shark’s intentions had now become clear to me.

He had crafted the board rather cleverly. freewebnoveℓ.com

And, as I expected, the Great White Shark’s second attack was quite effective.

A short while later, some very influential figures reached out.

They were none other than proxy advisors.

[We’re not opposed to the sale of Harbor Lobster itself. However, wouldn’t it be better to proceed after seeing the results of the extraordinary meeting?]

Proxy advisors are firms that provide voting recommendations for shareholder meetings.

Since many institutional investors tend to vote as these advisors recommend, they wield significant influence.

In the United States, three advisory firms dominate the market.

ISSS, Glass Lewiston, and Ewan-Jones. And at this point, all three were advising to hold off on the sale until after the extraordinary meeting, just as the Great White Shark suggested.

There were three main reasons for this outcome.

[It’s only two weeks.]

First, the two-week deadline proposed by the Great White Shark was impeccable.

To a third party, not directly involved, there didn’t seem to be any reason why they couldn’t wait just two weeks.

[It won’t affect the outcome anyway.]

Second, the extraordinary general meeting appeared harmless.

Since the results from that meeting couldn’t be enforced, it was essentially a meaningless vote.

If it wouldn’t cause any harm, why not just let them hold it?

[Please wait. It’s the least consideration you can show for the shareholders.]

And third, the extraordinary general meeting had legitimacy.

It was the justification of ‘letting the shareholders have their say.’

Since it wasn’t legally binding anyway, why not at least listen to what the shareholders had to say?

‘Who would’ve thought he’d exploit the lack of binding power.’

In other words, the Great White Shark had cleverly used the harmless nature of the extraordinary general meeting to gain the proxy advisors’ support.

But here’s the thing.

That extraordinary general meeting was by no means harmless.

Whitmer had to proceed with the sale no matter what.

There’s a significant difference between selling while shareholders are privately grumbling and selling after they’ve publicly gathered and voted against it.

If they pushed ahead despite the vote, Whitmer would be branded as a tyrant trampling on democracy.

That was precisely what the Great White Shark was aiming for.

“What’s the best course of action?”

When Whitmer called an emergency meeting and asked, Pierce responded.

“You must proceed with the sale as originally planned. Waiting for the extraordinary general meeting would be fatal. After the vote, the shareholders will propose deferring this matter to the regular general meeting, and once you’ve already accepted their opinion once, it becomes harder to refuse. If it goes to the regular meeting, there’s a risk the sale will be canceled.”

Pierce’s firm response darkened Whitmer’s expression even further.

Then, with a desperate look, he turned to me.

“What’s your opinion?”

“I agree with Mr. Pierce. You must push ahead.”

“Is that so…”

Whitmer didn’t ask because he didn’t know the answer.

He was hesitating because he didn’t like it.

If he pushed ahead like this, he’d be labeled a CEO who ignored the harmless opinions of the shareholders.

But being accused of ‘disregarding the shareholders’ was one of the worst reputations a manager could have, so it was only natural for him to be troubled.

‘Surely, he won’t back down now, right?’

In my past life, Whitmer ultimately pushed ahead with this sale.

Still, should I ease his worries a bit?

“No matter what misunderstandings arise, they can be cleared up quickly. The brand acquisition is proceeding smoothly, isn’t it?”

When I reminded him of this crucial fact, Whitmer’s expression relaxed slightly.

Yes, we had an ace up our sleeve.

It was none other than the betting strategy I had proposed.

We could spin this unilateral move as a bold decision for a new leap forward and turn the situation around.

The criticism would only be temporary, and soon enough, Whitmer would be hailed as the next Jobs.

As I reminded him of this, Whitmer finally nodded.

And shortly after, Whitmer signed the main contract for the sale of Harbor Lobster.

It was just one week before the extraordinary general meeting.

<Harbor Lobster sold for $2.1 billion, despite shareholder opposition…>

Barely ten minutes after Epicura’s official announcement, related articles began pouring out.

But then,

As I browsed through the flood of articles, a headline caught my eye, making me involuntarily smile.

<Who knew lobsters could give the middle finger?>

It was a familiar phrase.

That phrase was the signal that marked the start of the Bread War.

The Great White Shark had already extensively arranged for the extraordinary general meeting.

But Epicura had ignored it and proceeded with the sale.

In other words, Epicura had openly flipped off the Great White Shark.

Now, will the Great White Shark remain quiet after this?