Chapter 1246: Please spare us

'You can't believe everything Maruyama says. Who knows if he's not lying to us? And to be honest, he does have competitors. If his competitors are prepared to take advantage of this opportunity to cause him trouble, will the parent company of Wells Fargo intervene in the end?'

'Now that the stock price has fallen to this extent, it will continue to fall in the future. The value of our collateral has shrunk significantly, and the initiative has been taken into the hands of Wells Fargo. Will it not be unwise for us to pin our hopes on Wells Fargo?'

'...'

'Do we have any better options?'

In the Torii Family Council Chamber, everyone was arguing and expressing different opinions. They were very skilled at raising questions, but when Torii Keizo said these words in a quiet voice, the chamber suddenly fell silent.

Everyone looked at each other and let out a despondent sigh.

Yes, is there a better option now?

Without enough money in hand, it's useless to say anything!

'I agree!'

'I have no objection.'

'I have no objection either...'

...

Once one person took the lead, the others followed suit, without the same spirit as when they were arguing just now. They were all as listless as eggplants hit by frost.

'Everyone, don't let up. We still need to spread the news. We can't let the stock price fall indiscriminately.'

'We can't let Jiuding Securities have an easy time of it.'

'Besides, we need to come up with a response plan. If Jiuding Securities does end up taking over the company, what should we do? Let's discuss it together...'

...

The Torii family was still thinking of creating some minor problems for Jiuding Securities.

However, after discussing the matter with Yosuke Yamaguchi, Yohei Hada was still prepared to take a gamble. He applied for funding from the company and prepared to 'sneak attack Pearl Harbor' and turn the tables.

In order to reduce the cost of buying low, Mitsui Securities decided to let the stock price plummet, but secretly they were on high alert. All traders were watching the stock price, and the funds were all in place, ready to rush into the stock market at any time.

1958.7 yen per share.

...

1,829.4 yen per share.

...

1,688.6 yen per share.

...

1,437.2 yen per share.

Over the next two days, Suntory's share price continued to fall. Even the Torii family deliberately spreading the news, it was only a ripple in the general downward trend, but it could not stop the general trend.

The Torii family was relieved to have a two-day weekend.

However, on Monday morning, just after the market opened, Keizo Torii, who was already in a bad mood, received a phone call from Toshi Maruyama.

'Torii-san, I'm really sorry, but the parent company has intervened and asked me to immediately implement risk control. I'm really sorry, but please provide additional collateral as soon as possible. You have half a month to prepare...'

'Maruyama-san, didn't you say...'

'Doodle doodle do...'

Just as Keizo Torii was panicking and trying to salvage the situation with words, there was a busy signal coming from the receiver.

Toshi Maruyama had hung up on him, which was a clear sign that he was not going to give him any more chances!

'Pop!'

'Hagya!'

Keizo Torii was shocked and angry, and slammed the receiver down on the floor, while letting out a roar.

'Knock knock!'

'President, are you alright?'

At this time, the employees outside were startled by the sound from the president's office and hurriedly knocked on the door to inquire with concern.

'It's fine, don't come in!'

Keizo Torii shouted angrily, and the employee at the door, scared, quickly withdrew his hand and quickly left this place of trouble.

After being interrupted, Keizo Torii in the room had no heart to be angry anymore. He could only see that he was too shocked to have any blood in his face, and the whole person was sitting limp in the chair, with his lips trembling non-stop.

'It's over, it's really over, Wells Fargo never had any good intentions from the start...'

'What should I do... what should I do...'

Keizo Torii felt powerless when he thought about the current stock price.

The combined collateral for the two loans was 67.4 million shares.

According to the stock price after the opening bell today, it had fallen below 1,400 yen per share.

Even if it was calculated at a reluctant 1,400 yen, the 67.4 million shares were only worth 94.36 billion yen.

However, he had taken out two mortgages totalling 155 billion yen.

The second mortgage was even more stringent than the first, with an eight-fold mortgage rate. Taking this into account, the shortfall in the value of the collateral was even greater, reaching 65 billion yen.

And the share price of Suntory was still falling further!

Where could he get so much money now?

All he had left was the 1.2 billion yen that had been left over after the previous acquisition of shares.

If the contract is terminated early and the money is paid directly, there will be two interest payments totalling 17.9 billion yen that they will also have to pay...

In addition, the family still has 72.88 million shares of stock that have not been pledged.

At the current stock price, they are only worth about 100 billion yen, and will shrink further in the future.

If these shares are used to supplement the collateral now, then in the end, it is likely that they will end up insolvent and go bankrupt.

At that time, their lives would be in the hands of Wells Fargo...

At this moment, Torii Keizo felt unspeakable remorse.

If time could be turned back to the beginning, when he was given the choice, he would never have taken such a desperate risk, but would have simply given up and let Suntory be taken over by someone else.

Unfortunately, it was too late to regret!

Being forced to pay off their debt by Wells Fargo, Torii Keizo not only dared not go public, but also had to do his utmost to keep the news under wraps, for fear that it would leak out.

After all, if this kind of news were to be exposed, it would be extremely bad for the Suntory stock price.

The more the stock price falls, the greater the pressure on them.

Once the stock price falls too far, and Wells Fargo assesses that the family is bankrupt, the situation will get even worse.

Right now, they can only hold out for one more day, and see what the outcome will be.

While all the top management of the Torii family were caught in this kind of torment, the fifteen days passed in a flash...

This day, it was Tuesday.

Keizo Torii went to the Fukoku Bank of his own accord and went to Toshi Maruyama's office.

Looking at the white-haired, haggard-looking Torii, who was smiling apologetically, Maruyama was overcome with emotion.

He couldn't help but recall the scene from more than half a month ago when he had met Torii, who had had a pompadour and looked quite sprightly, with the bearing of a big shot.

Compared to now, that was a world of difference!

But despite his emotions, he had to get down to business.

Maruyama Toshi said expressionlessly, 'Torii-kun, the 15-day period has already expired. The Suntory stock price has now fallen to 955.2 yen per share. You are seriously under-collateralised, and you have already actively defaulted.'

'You have two options.'

'The first is to immediately return the principal of 155 billion yen for the two loans combined, as well as 17.9 billion yen in interest, for a total of 172.9 billion yen.'

'The second is to come up with another 93.87 billion yen worth of stocks or other collateral.'

'Otherwise, we have the right to take any measures to protect our company's interests.'

Keizo Torii gave a silent, miserable laugh. He shook his head and said hoarsely, 'Our family still has 72.88 million shares in our hands, which are worth less than 70 billion yen at the current share price.'

'Maruyama-kun, what else can we come up with?'

'Haha...'

'Maruyama-kun, let's not talk about the past. It's useless for me to regret it. I just hope that you and the people behind you can let this go!'

He finished with a miserable smile, and Torii Keizo stood up and bowed deeply to Maruyama Shun.

Maruyama Shun looked at Torii Keizo expressionlessly and said indifferently, 'Torii-kun, I don't decide what to do, and we don't want to get involved. I just want to get back the money we are owed.'

'Since you have already breached the contract, in order to avoid risks, we can only assign the debt. You'd better talk to the real creditor.'

'Who is the new creditor?'

Keizo Torii asked anxiously.

'It's me!'

A voice suddenly sounded.