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Time Warner has rejected an $80bn bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, setting up a stand-off between two of the biggest names in television and film at a time when content companies have become dwarfed by the cable and satellite groups that carry their programming.
時代華納(Time Warner)拒絕了來自魯珀特•默多克(Rupert Murdoch)旗下21世紀福克斯(21st Century Fox)的800億美元收購要約，影視界兩大品牌就此搭起對峙的舞臺。目前內容商的風頭日益被播放節目的有線和衛星電視公司蓋過。
Mr Murdoch has pulled off many audacious deals over the last half century, but the media mogul saved his biggest bid until well into his ninth decade. The cash and stock offer, worth about $86 a share based on Tuesday’s closing price, would add HBO, Turner and Warner Bros to his empire and unite media brands from Batman to Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.
過去半個世紀期間，默多克完成了許多大膽的交易，但這位媒體大亨將最大的一筆收購留到了自己80多歲高齡時。這份現金加股權的收購要約（按照周二的收盤價相當于每股出價86美元）如果成功，將把美國家庭電影頻道(HBO)、特納(Turner)以及華納兄弟(Warner Bros)納入他的帝國版圖，并將從《蝙蝠俠》(Batman)到福克斯新聞主播比爾•奧賴利(Bill O’Reilly)的媒體品牌整合到一起。
The offer was made in early June at a private lunch in Time Warner’s Manhattan headquarters attended by Chase Carey, Mr Murdoch’s top lieutenant, and Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner’s chairman and chief executive.
這一并購方案是6月初在時代華納曼哈頓總部一個私人午宴上提出的。參加那次午宴的有默多克頭號助手蔡斯•凱里(Chase Carey)和時代華納董事長兼首席執行官杰夫•比克斯(Jeff Bewkes)。
When Mr Carey mentioned the offer, Mr Bewkes abruptly ended the lunch to consult with his board, said a person familiar with the situation.
一位熟悉當時情況的人士表示，當凱里提到這一方案時，比克斯突然終止了午餐，以便與他的董事會商討此事。
An $80bn bid is the second-largest media and entertainment deal, according to data from Thomson Reuters, after AOL’s ill-fated $164bn takeover of Time Warner in 2000.
根據湯森路透(Thomson Reuters)的數據，800億美元的開價在媒體和娛樂產業中是史上規模第二大交易，排在2000年美國在線(AOL)斥資1640億美元收購時代華納的交易之后——那場收購結局不佳。
