評(píng)論
打印
Tuesday, August 5, 2014 is likely to go down as one of the darkest days in the tempestuous history of Wall Street’s mergers and acquisitions market.
2014年8月5日星期二，這一天很可能會(huì)成為華爾街并購(gòu)市場(chǎng)紛亂歷史中最黑暗的一天。
In the space of a few fraught hours, deals worth $120bn collapsed, sending shock waves through the stock market and sparking concern about the sustainability of a transaction boom that has gathered pace since the start of the year.
在令人懊惱的短短幾個(gè)小時(shí)之內(nèi)，價(jià)值1200億美元的并購(gòu)交易不翼而飛，由此產(chǎn)生的沖擊波傳遍了股市，令人們不禁擔(dān)心：自年初開(kāi)始持續(xù)升溫的并購(gòu)交易熱潮還能否持續(xù)。
First to go down was 21st Century Fox’s $71bn attempt to buy Time Warner. The media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch blamed the death of the deal on Time Warner’s failure “to explore an offer which was highly compelling”.
第一宗取消的交易是21世紀(jì)?？怂构?21st Century Fox)對(duì)時(shí)代華納(Timer Warner)規(guī)模為710億美元的收購(gòu)。這家由魯伯特•默多克(Rupert Murdoch)控股的媒體公司將該交易的失敗原因歸結(jié)于時(shí)代華納未能“仔細(xì)考察一下原本極具吸引力的開(kāi)價(jià)”。
The announcement, coming just three weeks after Mr Murdoch made public his interest, bought an abrupt end to a takeover battle that many had expected to last for months.
該聲明的發(fā)布為一場(chǎng)許多人以為會(huì)持續(xù)數(shù)月的收購(gòu)大戰(zhàn)畫(huà)上了句號(hào)，而實(shí)際上距離默多克公開(kāi)其收購(gòu)意愿只有三周。
Within minutes of the news breaking, theories as to what had “really” caused the hard-charging media baron to walk away were flying. Investors, too, were ill prepared and sent shares in Time Warner down 11 per cent in after-hours trading. By contrast, Fox’s shares, which had declined steadily since it made its offer, rose 6.7 per cent.
這一新聞爆出之后，對(duì)這位強(qiáng)硬媒體大亨退出該交易“真實(shí)”原因的種種解讀在幾分鐘內(nèi)就傳遍市場(chǎng)。投資者對(duì)此也毫無(wú)準(zhǔn)備，致使時(shí)代華納的股價(jià)在盤(pán)后交易中大幅下跌11%。與此相反，盡管?？怂乖谔岢鍪召?gòu)要約后股價(jià)一直在穩(wěn)步下跌，消息傳出后其股價(jià)卻上升了6.7%。
Two hours later, and with New York beginning its descent into a sticky summer night, rumours started to emerge that Sprint, the mobile phone operator controlled by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son, had walked away from its own multibillion-dollar bid to acquire rival carrier T-Mobile US.
兩小時(shí)后，就在濕熱的夏夜降臨紐約之際，市場(chǎng)中開(kāi)始出現(xiàn)新的傳聞。傳聞表示，日本億萬(wàn)富翁孫正義(Masayoshi Son)控股的移動(dòng)電話(huà)運(yùn)營(yíng)商Sprint已撤出了對(duì)其對(duì)手、運(yùn)營(yíng)商T-Mobile美國(guó)(T-Mobile US)數(shù)十億美元的競(jìng)購(gòu)。
In this case, though, the collapse was less a result of bad dialogue than it was political resistance.
不過(guò)，該案例中交易的失敗與其說(shuō)是出于溝通不暢，不如說(shuō)是政治阻力所致。
In spite of never formally launching an offer, Mr Son has faced staunch opposition from regulators over the anti-trust issues arising from a deal that would have merged the US’s third- and fourth-largest mobile phone operators.
盡管從未發(fā)出正式收購(gòu)要約，對(duì)于這樣一宗會(huì)把美國(guó)第三大和第四大移動(dòng)電話(huà)運(yùn)營(yíng)商合并的交易，孫正義還是因反壟斷問(wèn)題遭遇了監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)的堅(jiān)決反對(duì)。
His patience – and perhaps stomach – for that fight finally ebbed during the past few days, ending a hypothetical battle with Washington that has dragged on since late last year. The decision to do so wiped 15 per cent from Sprint’s market value, while shares in T-Mobile US fell 9 per cent.
他對(duì)（與監(jiān)管方）抗?fàn)幍哪托模ɑ蛟S應(yīng)該說(shuō)是欲望）終于在過(guò)去幾天里消散，從而結(jié)束了自去年底拖延至今的這場(chǎng)與華盛頓間假想中的抗?fàn)帯＿@一決定抹去了Sprint 15%的市值，而T-Mobile美國(guó)的股票則下跌了9%。
To further complicate matters, it emerged earlier on Tuesday that T-Mobile US was preparing to formally reject an unsolicited $15bn bid for part of the company from French mobile phone operator Iliad.
令局面愈發(fā)復(fù)雜的是，周二早些時(shí)候有消息傳出，T-Mobile美國(guó)正準(zhǔn)備正式拒絕法國(guó)移動(dòng)電話(huà)運(yùn)營(yíng)商伊利亞特(Iliad)主動(dòng)提出的收購(gòu)要約。后者打算斥資150億美元收購(gòu)前者部分股份。
Accompanying these blockbuster failures, there were sideshows.
除了這些重磅炸彈，市場(chǎng)中還有一些令人失望的“墊場(chǎng)戲”。
Walgreens, the US drug store chain, is poised on Wednesday to push ahead with its well trailed $10bn acquisition for the rest of Alliance Boots, the UK pharmacy that it bought a majority stake in last year.
周三，美國(guó)藥品連鎖店沃爾格林(Walgreens)正隨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備推進(jìn)對(duì)英國(guó)藥店聯(lián)合博姿(Alliance Boots)剩余股份的買(mǎi)入。這一100億美元的并購(gòu)交易目前進(jìn)展順利，去年該公司就已買(mǎi)入聯(lián)合博姿多數(shù)股份。
Crucially, however, the US company is expected not to use the transaction to re-domicile its headquarters to Europe – a move known as a tax inversion. By moving away from the US’s high corporate tax rate, Walgreens would have saved billions of dollars. But the company has bowed to intense political rather than investor pressure. Its shares fell 4.2 per cent.
然而，關(guān)鍵在于這家美國(guó)公司預(yù)計(jì)不會(huì)借這次并購(gòu)交易將總部遷往歐洲——這是一種眾所周知的“稅收倒置(tax inversion)”手段。沃爾格林本可以以此規(guī)避美國(guó)過(guò)高的企業(yè)稅率，省下數(shù)十億美元。然而它卻選擇屈從于強(qiáng)大的政治壓力而不是投資者的壓力。為此，它的股價(jià)下跌了4.2%。
Not to miss out on the negative news flow for deal-making, the US Treasury reiterated its dislike of tax inversions, adding to a growing sense on Wall Street that Washington is going to act sooner rather than later to legislate against what has proved a deal-making catalyst this year.
此外，我們也不應(yīng)錯(cuò)過(guò)在促成交易方面的負(fù)面新聞：美國(guó)財(cái)政部(Treasury)重申了對(duì)“稅收倒置”行為的反對(duì)態(tài)度。目前，華爾街(Wall Street)日益強(qiáng)烈地感受到，美國(guó)政府將會(huì)盡早而不是更晚一些采取行動(dòng)，立法阻止“稅收倒置”行為——這種方式已在今年被證明是促成并購(gòu)交易的催化劑。而財(cái)政部的表態(tài)則令這種感覺(jué)愈發(fā)強(qiáng)烈。
Tuesday also marked something of a bloodbath in the billionaires’ club.
此外，周二億萬(wàn)富翁俱樂(lè)部的大面積悲劇也令人印象深刻。
Mr Murdoch and Mr Son, both seasoned winners in M&A, looked on as months of work – and with it some not insignificant reputational capital – evaporated. Stefano Pessina, the Italian billionaire and chairman of Alliance Boots, had been linked with a more senior role at Walgreens if the inversion went ahead. That now looks to be off the agenda. Meanwhile, Xavier Niel, the French tycoon who controls Iliad, is expected to find himself formally thwarted on Wednesday in a bid he made less than a week ago.
兩名并購(gòu)老手默多克和孫正義眼睜睜地看著幾個(gè)月的工作付之東流，一同打水漂的還包括部分決非無(wú)關(guān)緊要的名譽(yù)資本。意大利億萬(wàn)富翁、聯(lián)合博姿董事長(zhǎng)斯特法諾•佩希納(Stefano Pessina)一直被許以在沃爾格林的極高職位——如果避稅開(kāi)展下去的話(huà)。與此同時(shí)，控股伊利亞特的法國(guó)大亨沙維爾•尼爾(Xavier Niel)預(yù)計(jì)也會(huì)在周三發(fā)現(xiàn)，他在不到一周前提出的要約正式遭遇挫敗。
That so much could turn sour in a single day is unusual but perhaps timely.
一天之內(nèi)上演這么多反轉(zhuǎn)戲碼，確實(shí)非比尋常，不過(guò)這一天也許來(lái)得十分及時(shí)。
The M&A market has soared during the past six months, with the value of deals globally passing $2tn in July – the earliest point in the year it has done so since 2007. But even before the day of failed deals, there were questions about how long such a run would last, with Washington’s revulsion of tax inversions further damping animal spirits.
過(guò)去6個(gè)月里并購(gòu)市場(chǎng)已大幅擴(kuò)張，到7月份全球并購(gòu)交易的規(guī)模突破了2萬(wàn)億美元——這是2007年以來(lái)最快達(dá)到這一規(guī)模的一年。然而即便是在充滿(mǎn)失敗交易的這天以前，在美國(guó)政府對(duì)“稅收倒置”的厭惡情緒進(jìn)一步壓制市場(chǎng)的“動(dòng)物精神(animal spirits)”之際，仍有人在問(wèn)這波熱潮將持續(xù)多久。
Yet such are the vicissitudes of the M&A market that news of a fresh mega deal could easily swing sentiment back to positive and help salve the wounds of a traumatic Tuesday on Wall Street.
不過(guò)，并購(gòu)市場(chǎng)的波動(dòng)就是這樣，新的大規(guī)模交易的消息會(huì)輕而易舉地令市場(chǎng)情緒樂(lè)觀(guān)起來(lái)，并幫助撫平華爾街“黑色星期二”造成的傷痛。
