Chapter 525: Approaching Time

Late September, New York.

7 World Trade Center, 47th floor.

In front of John Gutfreund was a newly revised press release.

The draft was only two pages long.

Compared to the legal documents on the desk that were often dozens of pages long, these two pieces of paper really seemed somewhat inconspicuous, but Gutfreund had been staring at it for nearly ten minutes.

"I think it can be released."

The vice president in charge of public relations sat opposite him and reached out to point at one of the paragraphs.

"Saionji’s professional team officially moved in today, and reporters already know about this. If we continue to say nothing, people will start guessing by afternoon whether the talks between the two parties are going poorly."

Williams sat on the other side.

"The market really needs some new news right now. Yesterday, two more clients called to ask how Saionji is actually planning to intervene in this incident."

"That’s why this statement is needed."

Gutfreund put the draft back on the table, took a sip of the already somewhat cold coffee, and then lifted his chin toward Williams.

"You should go see what downstairs looks like today. The administration department just ran over to ask my secretary if the meeting room next door can also be cleared out; Saionji brought too many people, and the originally prepared space is no longer enough."

"I heard they added another batch of document requests this morning, and several departments are busy finding files for them."

Williams chimed in.

"Then let them look. Finance, legal, risk management, even the people in charge of investment are here; we can’t just let them sit in the meeting room drinking coffee, right?"

As Gutfreund said this, even he felt it was somewhat funny.

"For the past few weeks, I would have given anything for someone to be willing to look at Salomon twice. Now it’s great, dozens of Japanese people have arrived, and we’re running out of enough places to host them."

Williams was also filled with emotion.

Who would have thought that they, who were worrying about next week’s financing arrangements just a few days ago, would now feel happy because a group of investors took up too many meeting rooms.

"But John, after all, they are only here for due diligence."

He reminded, "Miss Saionji hasn’t agreed to invest yet."

"I know, of course she hasn’t agreed yet."

Gutfreund put down his coffee cup, the rare bit of relaxation on his face gradually fading, but his tone was still quite good.

"But do you think someone would bring dozens of lawyers, accountants, and investment managers all the way from Tokyo to New York just to kill time with us for no reason?"

"Since she is willing to spend this effort, it means she is already seriously considering this business."

He picked up the press release again.

"What we need to do now is, while the market is still paying attention to Saionji’s actions, let those clients who are sitting on the fence know that the cooperation between the two sides is indeed moving forward."

"At least giving them a reason to keep waiting is better than having them guess every day which institution will be the next to stop trading with us."

Williams looked down at the draft in his hand and thought for a moment.

"I feel that instead of repeatedly telling the market that someone is preparing to invest, it’s better to let them see that Saionji has already started working."

"Moving in formally for due diligence is enough to prove the point, and it saves people from accusing us of deliberately exaggerating the progress of cooperation."

"You are right, but it’s not enough."

Gutfreund picked up the pen on the desk, his gaze falling back to the second page of the press release.

He drew a line under a piece of text on the second page.

The original content roughly meant—

The long-term cooperative relationship between Saionji and Salomon remains solid, and the two sides are conducting in-depth discussions on further expanding capital cooperation and long-term business arrangements, and are jointly committed to maintaining the normal operations of Salomon’s existing businesses.

From a legal perspective, this paragraph was very cautious.

It neither promised a specific capital injection amount nor implied that the two sides had reached a final agreement.

Even if Saionji didn’t invest in the end, looking at this text alone, no major problems could be picked out.

But Gutfreund always felt that something was missing.

"Add a sentence at the end."

He turned the draft toward the person in charge of PR.

"Salomon’s current management team will continue to advance the company’s recovery plan and work closely with Saionji to ensure the continuity of our existing business arrangements."

The PR vice president picked up a pen and wrote it down according to his wishes.

The legal counsel sitting next to them raised his head.

"John, if this sentence is placed in our own statement, it’s not a problem, but if it is prepared to be released in the form of a joint statement, it’s best to first confirm whether Saionji agrees."

"That’s why it needs to be shown to her."

Gutfreund answered very calmly.

"She has already agreed to maintain our three-year cooperation agreement and agreed to formally discuss capital cooperation. You should have all heard what she said in front of reporters a few days ago."

The legal counsel did not continue to refute, but only reminded: "However, she did not make a commitment regarding the management arrangements at that time."

"Of course, she won’t make commitments about board personnel arrangements right now."

Gutfreund put down his pen.

"That’s not what I’m asking for either. Someone has to be responsible for the recovery plan; before the new capital arrangement is completed, should we let traders decide how to run the company tomorrow by themselves?"

He looked at Williams.

"Do you think there is any problem with this sentence?"

Williams read it over.

Strictly speaking, this sentence was indeed normal.

Maintaining operational continuity during a crisis was naturally something everyone wanted to see.

The problem was that what Gutfreund needed most to prove to the board of directors right now was precisely that he was still qualified to continue leading Salomon.

Once Saionji agreed to put this sentence into the joint statement, the meaning would be somewhat different.

At least these people could keep their jobs.

"I think we can give it a try."

Williams said finally.

"She might not accept it."

Gutfreund put the draft back into the folder.

"Then we negotiate."

The last thing he lacked right now was a reason to keep talking with Saionji.

What’s more, the other party had already started due diligence.

The distance between the two sides truly reaching a deal seemed to be getting closer and closer.

...

After the meeting ended, the legal counsel still sat in his original place.

Gutfreund had already picked up the afternoon itinerary, flipped through two pages, and finding that the other party still had no intention of leaving, put down what was in his hand.

"Anything else?"

"There is a matter that requires your personal decision."

The legal counsel glanced at the closed office door, then took a file out of his briefcase and placed it on his lap.

"Saionji sent another supplementary document request this morning. There’s nothing special regarding finance and business, except that their requirements for regulatory documents are much more detailed than the scope agreed upon last time."

Gutfreund had already been ready to pick up his pen again, but hearing the last few words, his movements slowed down a bit.

"What else do they want?"

"In addition to official correspondence files and meeting minutes, they also requested relevant internal preparation materials, including working drafts formed before various meetings and records of important revisions."

Saying this, the legal counsel handed the file over.

"The Washington meeting in June is also in there."

Gutfreund’s outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.

He glanced up at the other party, took the checklist, and flipped directly to the marked page.

After seeing the requirements clearly, he flipped the page back half a sheet, confirmed the text before and after, and then spread the checklist flat on the table.

"Who proposed this?"

"Saionji’s legal team. The document coordination department received it this morning and CC’d it to us. They asked us to confirm which materials can be provided this afternoon and when the rest can be made up."

"Did they specifically name the working drafts of that meeting in June?"

"Not yet."

The legal counsel lowered his voice a bit.

"What they put forward is a unified request, including several important regulatory meetings. However, if we provide them item by item according to the checklist, that set of materials from June definitely cannot be bypassed."

Gutfreund took off his glasses and placed them next to the file.

"What about the official minutes and materials submitted externally?"

"They are already prepared. According to the original arrangement, they can be handed over this afternoon."

"Where are the early versions?"

"There is a complete set in the legal archives, and the office should also have copies left. I have already asked the document coordination department not to process that part of the files temporarily until you confirm the scope."

After finishing, the legal counsel carefully observed Gutfreund’s reaction.

He had known about the existence of those files in the first place, and was clear about what several of those materials recorded.

The legal discussions surrounding whether to report the compliance violations to the Department of the Treasury happened to take place during that time as well.

Now that things had reached this point, putting those working drafts and the materials finally submitted to the Department of the Treasury together to see what conclusion would be drawn, both of them knew well in their hearts.

As long as the other party got this file, whether Salomon would be saved or not was another matter, but anyway, they definitely wouldn’t be able to escape taking responsibility.

"John, I need to remind you of something."

The legal counsel sat forward a bit.

"Saionji didn’t just send a few people to flip through the ledger as a formality."

"They have already hired lawyers specializing in handling financial institution transactions, and this time you personally agreed to open crisis due diligence."

"If we provide the final version, but find that the preceding working drafts are missing entirely from the document checklist, the other party will likely ask for an explanation."

Listening to this, Gutfreund reached out and picked up that document again.

"I know they brought lawyers."

"Then we’d better determine a unified processing method first."

The legal counsel glanced at the checklist in his hand and continued:

"Some legal opinions can indeed be requested for separate review, but not all working drafts can be excluded using this reason."

"If they further request confirmation of version history, the document coordination department also needs to know how to answer."

This time, Gutfreund did not answer.

He put the checklist on the table, his gaze falling on the entry corresponding to that meeting in June, and his thumb slowly pressed along the edge of the paper, smoothing out the slightly curled corner.

The legal counsel sat opposite, waiting for his decision.

The office was quiet for a while.

Of course he remembered that trip to Washington in June.

And he also remembered what opinions the legal department had put forward at that time.

In fact, over the past few months, he had thought of that matter countless times.

What if it had been reported in time back then?

What if he had asked for a thorough investigation earlier?

What if Moser had been completely driven out of the government bond business after the first incident?

Wouldn’t things have reached this point today?

These questions no longer had answers.

What really annoyed him was that he knew how Warren Buffett would view all of this.

Buffett would never accept explanations like "the situation was complex at the time" or "the company still needs further verification."

That person would question every insider, find out every internal discussion, and then demand that the board of directors decide who should bear the responsibility.

And right now, Saionji was likely his last chance to salvage the situation.

Gutfreund looked down at the checklist.

"Official minutes, materials submitted to the Department of the Treasury, and our official correspondence with regulatory agencies are all provided according to the agreement."

"Understood."

"Internal preparation drafts will stay in the legal department for now, especially the several early versions before that meeting in June."

The legal counsel hesitated for a moment.

"What Saionji requested is all important materials related to regulatory matters."

"I saw it."

Gutfreund’s tone was steady, only the action of putting the checklist back on the desk was a bit heavier.

"You first review which ones involve internal legal opinions and which ones belong to unverified working drafts. Those that need to be handled separately according to confidentiality arrangements should be handled separately first."

He raised his head.

"I agreed to let them evaluate Salomon’s true condition, but this doesn’t mean we should hand over every inconclusive internal discussion from the past few months to a foreign company that has not yet decided to invest."

This speech sounded very reasonable, at least on the surface.

Salomon was dealing with investigations from multiple government departments simultaneously, and any internal legal material might involve extremely sensitive issues.

The right to know of potential investors was not equivalent to the investigative power of regulatory authorities.

They could use regulatory authorities as an excuse to refuse to provide some materials, using "involves state secrets" as the reason.

The legal counsel was also clear on this point.

But he was equally clear that Gutfreund specifically mentioning those early versions in June was definitely not just because the files involved internal legal opinions.

"What if they continue to press?"

"Leave it to me."

Gutfreund put his glasses back on, closed the document checklist, and pushed it back in front of the legal counsel.

"You handle today’s matters first. If Saionji makes any more requests over there, especially regarding that meeting in June, report directly to me."

The legal counsel nodded, packed up the files, and left.

After the office door closed again, Gutfreund no longer had the heart to look at the afternoon itinerary.

He picked up the press release again and turned to the second page.

The current management team will continue to advance the company’s recovery plan.

The sentence added just now was still there.

Gutfreund stared at it for a while, suddenly feeling that perhaps he had been happy too early this morning.

Saionji brought dozens of people, which of course was a good thing.

The more people came, the more serious Satsuki was about the investment, and the greater the hope of Salomon getting rescued.

But these people were here for due diligence.

They would check accounts, flip through documents, and talk to people from various departments.

And since Satsuki had already requested to understand the complete regulatory risks, it was absolutely impossible for her to be satisfied with just those few materials he was willing to bring out.

How much longer could those working drafts from June be hidden?

One day?

Two days?

Or would someone discover this afternoon that a few versions that should have existed were missing from the official meeting materials?

Gutfreund took off his glasses and reached out to rub his brow.

He suddenly felt some regret: why was he still discussing with Williams earlier about when the statement should be released?

He should have taken it to find Satsuki long ago!

Time was already against him.

Every extra document those lawyers and accountants flipped through, the closer Satsuki might get to the thing he least wanted her to know.

And once she knew, it probably wouldn’t be so easy for him to win her support for the current management.

Gutfreund put his glasses back on, picked up the phone, and pressed his secretary’s extension.

"Mary, is Miss Saionji’s schedule for this afternoon confirmed?"

He glanced at the press release on the desk.

"Tell Williams, don’t wait any longer regarding the joint statement. I will talk to her personally today."

He must get Satsuki to make a clear statement as soon as possible.

At least before those things that shouldn’t appear in front of her were sent over.