novelraw Chapter 23 Kansai Urban Development
Chapter 23 Kansai Urban Development
After exchanging pleasantries.
Seiji Shiraishi did not immediately discuss financing terms.
He remained silent for a few seconds, as if sorting out a family scandal that was difficult to talk about, before slowly speaking:
"Before we proceed with the formal review, I must explain something to both of you."
Chihaya Yuri put down her teacup.
Kiryu Yaya also raised his head.
Seiji Shiraishi glanced at Ayako Shiraishi sitting next to him, his voice lowering slightly:
"About my younger brother, Takao Shiraishi."
Ayako Shiraishi's fingers tightened slightly.
"Longfu is my younger brother and one of the shareholders of Shiraishi Refrigeration. He holds the 28% stake that our father allocated to him back then."
As Shiraishi Seiji spoke, a hint of weariness appeared on his face.
"At the height of the bubble, he became obsessed with stock investing. At first, he only bought stocks of some big companies, then he started doing credit lending, and later... real estate stocks, financial stocks, golf memberships, he dabbled in everything."
"After the Nikkei average started to decline last year, his losses from margin trading grew larger and larger. Daiwa Securities kept sending him margin calls, and in order to replenish the margin, he first sold everything he could sell, and later borrowed a short-term loan from a financing company affiliated with Daiwa Securities."
Seiji Shiraishi's voice grew even deeper.
"The collateral for that short-term funding was his 28% stake in Whitestone Refrigeration."
The meeting room fell silent.
Chihaya Yuri's gaze sharpened slightly.
Kiryu Yaya nodded slightly in his heart.
This aligns with the information he previously gleaned from the perspective of "the operator's obsession."
Seiji Shiraishi took a folder from the cabinet and placed it on the desktop.
"This is the relevant information regarding Takao Shiraishi's shareholding pledge."
Kiryu Yaya's gaze fell on the folder.
The real core has arrived.
Seiji Shiraishi opened the folder.
The first page contains a margin call notice issued by Daiwa Securities.
The second page contains a copy of a short-term financing contract from a financing company affiliated with Daiwa Securities.
The third page contains the pledge agreement for 28% of White Stone Refrigeration's shares, as well as a notice of the proposed disposal of the security.
Chihaya Yuri's gaze lingered on the last line.
Deadline: May 2nd, 3rd year of Heisei (1964), Thursday, 3 PM.
Kiryu Yaya glanced at the calendar on the wall.
Today is Monday, April 22nd.
There are ten days left until the deadline.
However, if you deduct the weekend in between and the holiday on April 29th, the actual working days that banks, securities companies, financial institutions, judicial scriveners, and the legal affairs bureau can utilize are pitifully few.
To make matters worse, the Golden Week holiday starts on May 3rd.
Unlike in China, Japan's May long holiday consists of three holidays: Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children's Day, plus a compensatory day off on Sunday, making it a total of four days.
Therefore, if the transfer of funds, repayment of debts of the financing company, release of pledges, recognition of share transfer, change of name on the owner's register, and application for guarantee registration cannot be completed before 3 pm on May 2, the matter will be delayed until after Golden Week.
However, Shiraishi Takao's 28% stake wouldn't last until then.
May 2nd.
Chihaya Yuri repeated it softly.
Seiji Shiraishi lowered his head, his voice somewhat heavy:
"Yes. The deadline for additional margin from Daiwa Securities and the deadline for disposing of guarantees from Daiwa Securities-affiliated financing companies are both set before 3 PM on May 2nd."
"If Takao is unable to replenish the margin or repay the short-term financing, the financing company will initiate the guarantee disposal procedure."
"I personally cannot raise more than 300 million in cash within ten days."
"If it were just a loan for Shiraishi Refrigeration equipment, I shouldn't have involved the family's shareholding issue. But once Dojima Cold Storage is controlled by Kuroda, the company itself will lose its foundation for operation."
"Therefore, I hope your bank can review both the corporate financing of Baishi Refrigeration and the bridge loan I personally obtained from Longfu Shares."
Ayako Shiraishi sat beside her, her fingers gripping the hem of her skirt.
She clearly already knew that her uncle had gotten into trouble.
But it wasn't until this moment that she truly realized it wasn't just a regular investment loss.
Rather, it is a crisis powerful enough to shake Whitestone Refrigeration's control.
Kiryu Yaya asked:
"Has Kansai Urban Development officially submitted an acquisition offer?"
Seiji Shiraishi's face darkened.
"Yes. They contacted Takao through an intermediary and were willing to acquire his 28% stake for 340 million yen."
"cash?"
"cash."
"Payment period?"
"They said the money would arrive by next Wednesday at the latest."
Kiryu Yaya narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Then the real deadline isn't May 2nd."
Seiji Shiraishi paused for a moment.
"What?"
Kiryu Yaya looked at the documents on the table and said calmly:
"May 2nd is the contract pressure point set by Daiwa Securities and its affiliated financing companies."
"But the real deadline for Kansai urban development is next Wednesday."
"If they had put the money in front of Mr. Shiraishi Takao a day earlier than Mitsubishi Bank, Mr. Shiraishi Takao would have been completely overthrown."
The meeting room fell silent for a moment.
Chihaya Yuri's gaze sharpened slightly.
She also thought of this direction.
Seiji Shiraishi's expression darkened further.
"Indeed... Ryūfu has been quite wavering lately."
Kiryu Yaya continued to ask:
"Just wavering?"
Seiji Shiraishi remained silent for a few seconds.
"Strictly speaking, it's not just about wavering."
He raised his head, as if he had finally made up his mind, and said:
"Kuroda has already given him a sum of money."
"How many?"
"Thirty million yen."
Chihaya Yuri's gaze turned cold.
"Prepayment?"
"Nominally, it's a short-term working capital loan."
"But in reality, it's a deposit."
Seiji Shiraishi did not deny it, but simply nodded slightly.
Ayako Shiraishi's face turned even paler.
She whispered:
"Why did my uncle go to such lengths...?"
No one answered.
Because the answer is obvious.
Takao Shiraishi has been gradually pushed to the brink by losses from margin trading, margin calls, short-term loans from securities firms, plummeting golf membership prices, the bursting of the real estate bubble, and the 30 million yen he lost in the Kansai urban development project.
He's not thinking about the future of Whitestone Refrigeration right now.
All he wanted was to survive.
Kiryu Yaya asked:
"Has President Shiraishi seen that 30 million yen loan agreement?"
Seiji Shiraishi shook his head.
"Longfu won't let me see it."
Kiryu Yaya tapped the table lightly with his finger.
"The fact that they won't show it to you means it's not just about loans."
Seiji Shiraishi suddenly raised his head.
Chihaya Yuri also looked at him.
Kiryu Yaya said:
"If I were Kuroda, I wouldn't only give a 30 million yen advance payment."
"I would include a clause in the loan agreement stipulating a pre-sale right, or a hefty penalty clause for breach of contract. Furthermore, there might be a power of attorney."
"In this way, even if Mr. Shiraishi Takao turns back, he will first have to untie the reins around his neck."
The air in the conference room grew cold.
Seiji Shiraishi's face was almost ashen.
"you mean……"
Before Kiryu Yaya could answer, footsteps could be heard outside the meeting room.
No rush, no pressure.
The sound of leather shoes stepping on the corridor floor even carried a certain overly leisurely rhythm.
The door was pushed open.
A man in a light gray suit walked in.
He was around forty years old, with slicked-back hair and a very businesslike smile on his face.
When Shiraishi Seiji saw him, his face instantly darkened.
"Mr. Kuroda."
The man smiled.
"President Shiraishi, don't be so nervous. I just happened to be in the Dojima area on business and heard that people from Mitsubishi Bank were here, so I wanted to say hello."
His gaze swept over Chihaya Yuri and Kiryu Yaya.
"Hello, both of you."
"Kansai Urban Development Co., Ltd., Representative Director and President, Shuichi Kuroda."
He took a business card from the inside pocket of his suit and placed it on the table.
Please take care of me.
Kiryu Yaya glanced down at the business card.
The fact that a company president personally appeared here shows that the Kansai urban development attaches even greater importance to Dojima Cold Storage than Seiji Shiraishi had imagined.
The concept of "the operator's obsession" has not yet been used today.
Kiryu Yaya's mind stirred.
[Skill "The Manager's Obsession" activated]
The next instant, a cold and sharp thought surfaced in my mind.
The 30 million yen loan agreement already stipulated the purchase agreement and the penalty for breach of contract. Even if Seiji Shiraishi wanted to save the situation, he would have to untangle the ropes one by one first.
If I can just stall until next Wednesday, Ryunosuke will completely side with me.
"Using this land on Dojima Island for cold storage is a waste. Demolish it and build commercial buildings; even if the land price drops a bit, there will still be a significant profit."
The thought abruptly ended.
Kiryu Yaya's expression remained unchanged.
Shuichi Kuroda sat down with a smile.
"President Shiraishi, I've always admired Shiraishi Refrigeration. It's not easy for you to have managed this Dojima land for so many years."
As he said this, his tone suddenly shifted slightly.
"It's just that times have changed."
"The cold chain warehousing business has thin profit margins, heavy depreciation, and labor costs. Continuing to stick with it may not be as smart as restructuring assets."
Seiji Shiraishi's voice was deep:
"White Stone Refrigeration does not exist to sell land."
Kuroda Shuichi's smile remained unchanged.
"The company belongs to its shareholders. Shareholders always seek to maximize their profits."
He looked at Ayako Shiraishi as he spoke.
"Your daughter is still young, why tie her life to cold storage, trucks, and the smell of diesel fuel?"
Ayako Shiraishi bit her lip and remained silent.
Chihaya Yuri finally spoke, her voice calm yet chilling:
"Mr. Kuroda, discussions related to the financing review are underway here. Unauthorized personnel are not permitted to linger."
Shuichi Kuroda turned to look at her and bowed slightly.
"Of course. I'm just expressing a market opinion."
He stood up and straightened the hem of his suit jacket.
"Banks are very risk-averse. Especially large banks like Mitsubishi, they probably dislike paying for other people's internal affairs the most."
His gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Kiryu Yaya.
"Am I right, Kiryu-kun?"
He didn't say anything more and turned to leave the meeting room.
The moment the door closed, Seiji Shiraishi's fingers clenched tightly.
Kiryu closed his eyes and remained silent.
Have you even investigated your own name?
Shuichi Kuroda is really determined to get his hands on Dojima.