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Sharp move. This week, struggling Japanese electronics company Sharp promoted Hon Hai to the front of the queue in its search for a buyer. As well it might: the Taiwanese contract manufacturer also known as Foxconn is offering the highest price — about $5.5bn for the equity, more than double the only other offer.
精明的決策。本周，陷入困境的日本電子企業(yè)夏普(Sharp)將鴻海(Hon Hai)列為優(yōu)先考慮的出售對象。這樣也好，這家臺灣代工制造商——又名富士康(Foxconn)——提出了最高報價：以大約55億美元收購其股權(quán)，是唯一另外報價的兩倍多。
This would be great for Japan. It shows an unexpected willingness to let market forces rule rather than rescue a dying national champion. The other bidder in the running is the state-owned Innovation Corporation of Japan. Despite the difference in pricing, Sharp initially backed that bid, hoping to keep its technology in Japanese hands. A similar intent was behind suggestions that Sharp should merge with units of ailing compatriot, Toshiba, a deal also supported by INCJ.
這對日本將是一個極好的消息。它表明日本出人意料地愿意讓市場力量發(fā)揮作用，而非紓困一家瀕危的國家冠軍企業(yè)。另一個競購者是日本國有的“產(chǎn)業(yè)革新機(jī)構(gòu)”(INCJ)。盡管報價上存在顯著差異，但夏普最初支持INCJ的報價，目的是將其技術(shù)留在日本。此外還有人出于類似意圖提議，夏普應(yīng)該與同樣陷入苦苦掙扎的本國企業(yè)東芝(Toshiba)旗下的部門合并，這也得到INCJ的支持。
Not so great for patient suitor Hon Hai, which has been eyeing Sharp for at least four years. In 2012, Hon Hai tried to buy one-tenth of the company, but was rebuffed because it wanted management influence. Compared with the sum Hon Hai offered then — valuing Sharp’s equity at more than $8bn — $5.5bn may seem a good deal. In 2012 its market capitalisation was $6.4bn until Hon Hai’s bid came along. But Hon Hai is still paying up: Sharp’s equity traded at well below $2bn before deal talk emerged this year.
對頗有耐心、至少覬覦夏普4年的鴻海來說，事情則沒有那么美好。2012年，鴻海曾試圖收購夏普10%的股份，但由于它想要管理上的話語權(quán)而遭到拒絕。與鴻海當(dāng)時的報價（對夏普的估值超過80億美元）相比，55億美元似乎是不錯的交易。2012年，夏普市值為64億美元——直至鴻海提出報價。但鴻海仍付出了高價：在今年談判消息出現(xiàn)之前，夏普的市值遠(yuǎn)低于20億美元。
Not only is Sharp pricey, the fit of the two companies is not obvious. True, they are already connected through their relationship to Apple: Sharp makes screens for iPhones, which Foxconn assembles. Foxconn chairman and founder Terry Gou also has a personal investment in one of Sharp’s production facilities. At best, ownership of Sharp’s screen technology might give Hon Hai greater leverage over Apple. But this does not justify the premium for Sharp’s other businesses, which run from fridges to solar cells.
不僅僅是夏普價格高昂，這兩家公司的組合效應(yīng)也不是很明顯。沒錯，它們已通過各自與蘋果(Apple)的關(guān)系聯(lián)系在一起：夏普為iPhone生產(chǎn)屏幕，富士康負(fù)責(zé)組裝iPhone。富士康董事長和創(chuàng)始人郭臺銘(Terry Gou)個人還入股了夏普的一家生產(chǎn)廠。擁有夏普的屏幕技術(shù)最多可能會讓鴻海擁有相對于蘋果的更大談判優(yōu)勢。但這不能證明高價買下夏普其他業(yè)務(wù)（從冰箱到太陽能電池）的合理性。
If Sharp does sell to Hon Hai, Japan should be applauded. The same cannot be said for Hon Hai.
如果夏普果真出售給鴻海，人們應(yīng)該對日本鼓掌祝賀。但同樣的話不適用于鴻海。
