Money Games

The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea's Most Iconic Bank

By: Weijian Shan

Narrated by: David Shih

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Money Games is a riveting tale of one of the most successful buyout deals ever: the acquisition and turnaround of what used to be Korea's largest bank by the American firm Newbridge Capital. Full of intrigue and suspense, this insider's account is told by the chief architect of the deal itself, the celebrated author and private equity investor Weijian Shan. With billions of dollars at stake, and the nation's economic future on the line, Newbridge Capital sought to become the first foreign firm in history to take control of one of Korea's most beloved financial institutions.

Shan takes listeners inside the battle to win control of the bank - a delicate, often exasperating process that meant balancing the goals of Newbridge with those of the government, bank employees, and Korea's powerful industrial titans.

Finally, the author describes how Newbridge transformed and rebuilt the struggling bank into a shining example of modern banking - as well as a massively profitable investment. In the secret world of private equity, few buyouts have been written about with such clarity, detail, and insight-and none with such completeness, covering not only the dealmaking but also the transformation and eventual exit of the investment.

©2020 Weijian Shan (P)2021 Ascent Audio

Private equity broken down for easy consumption

This book is an amazing opportunity to learn how buyouts in the private equity space happen. Shan’s story of taking over the bank is filled with twists and turns.

Very good story if you enjoy details

This is book is great - but the caveat is its full with details. The transaction was frustrating and Shan take you along for all that frustration.

A master-class, but could be edited down

The quick version: not for a casual, entertainment-seeking listener.

The good: Anyone with a deep professional interest in this sort of thing can find it rewarding. It yields a insights about negotiation, private equity, and the surrounding world of government, press, etc. in the late 90s-early 2000s. There are smart portrayals of people, some upright, some devious, some incompetent. I am the perfect audience for this book. I benefit on many levels from it. I like to get into a sort of meditative state and listen to hours of this sort of thing. OK, I am a former career lawyer, who in youth, was a meticulous note-taker like this author. (BUT: getting some wider background in the Asian Financial Crisis of those times would improve one's understanding. The author should, I think, have spent more time on that, rather than every deal detail, so narrowly focused and fine-grained. The sprawling Asian Financial Crisis book by Russell Napier, recently released here, does that job. Without the larger background, this book seems very two-dimensional.)

The not-so-good (for most listeners): Imagine a smart, diligent, wholesome, calm, patient, on-the-ground dealmaker, striving to pull together a big sprawling deal, in dicey times. That's our author. He is a meticulous note-taker who is not going to let us forget it: we are going to hear every inch of this deal. On the other side is a succession of government figures, in what turns out to be hours and hours of a pattern of negotiating, a seemingly endless treadmill of bait-and-switch: On Day One, we agreed on points A, B, and C, with Operative 1. On Day Two, Operative 2 showed up, disclaimed his government's agreements on A, B, and C, and added new and totally different points X, Y, and Z. Then several days elapsed with no response to our latest letter requesting clarification. On Day Thirteen, Operative 1 came back and partly confirmed what we agreed on Day One. The lawyers said something else and our consultant said something else. But we had hope. The next day, Operative 3 appeared and disclaimed what his colleagues had said. The book opens with circa 8 hours of this in audio format. All clear, earnestly delivered, and competently read. Snippets of background are given on the Korean economy, government dynamics (and opacity) and the press. It is a master-class on nuts and bolts of negotiating M&A deals, I suspect most listeners do not wish to take. And, the really high-level strategy and outlook of the top people (above this guy) is scarcely addressed (though their wise counsel at key moments is here). Meticulous, realistic, yes. "Riveting"? Not for most.