金融英語閱讀：《“萬寶之爭”拉開中國敵意收購帷幕》

　　在這個時代，所有權分散且股價具有吸引力的中國企業(yè)將不得不防備身后的“黃雀”，這是中國向市場經(jīng)濟靠攏的自然進化。下面學習啦小編為大家?guī)斫鹑谪斀?jīng)雙語閱讀：《“萬寶之爭”拉開中國敵意收購帷幕》，希望大家喜歡!

　　There are not many countries where, in a corporate showdown pitting new money against old, the old money was made in the 1990s. 很少有國家在爆發(fā)一場“新錢”與“老錢”的企業(yè)爭奪戰(zhàn)時，“老錢”一方是20世紀90年代才成立的。

　　Such a battle is brewing in China, where a small insurer with less than 300 employees — privately held Baoneng Group — has built up the largest single stake in one of the country’s biggest property companies, China Vanke, which employs more than 38,000 people. 這樣一場戰(zhàn)斗正在中國打響。員工不到300人的小型私有保險商寶能集團(Baoneng Group)通過增持股票，成了中國房地產(chǎn)巨頭之一、員工超過3.8萬人的的萬科(China Vanke)的最大股東。

　　Vanke is also one of China’s best known corporate brands with a celebrity chairman, Wang Shi. Baoneng and its low-key founder, Yao Zhenhua, were largely unheard of until this year. 萬科還是中國最知名的企業(yè)品牌之一，董事長王石是知名人士。而寶能連同它低調(diào)的創(chuàng)始人姚振華在今年以前基本沒什么名氣。

　　Adding to the intrigue surrounding what could become China’s first full-blown hostile takeover battle, Vanke has sought a potential white knight in the form of Anbang, another private insurance group but one with a “princeling” pedigree: Anbang founder Wu Xiaohui is married to a granddaughter of Deng Xiaoping, the late paramount leader and architect of China’s economic transformation. 這起事件可能升級為中國第一宗全面的敵意收購，而使其更加耐人尋味的是，萬科已求助于一位潛在的白衣騎士，那就是安邦(Anbang)。安邦也是一家私有保險集團，但擁有“太子黨”背景，其創(chuàng)始人吳小暉是中國經(jīng)濟轉(zhuǎn)型的建筑師、已故最高領導人鄧小平的孫女婿。

　　Over recent months, Baoneng Group companies quietly amassed more than 20 per cent of Vanke’s Shenzhen- and Hong Kong-traded shares. Up to that point Vanke’s largest shareholder was state-owned conglomerate China Resources, with a 17 per cent stake. 近幾個月里，“寶能系”在深圳與香港股市悄然買下了萬科逾20%的股份。此前萬科的第一大股東是國有集團華潤(China Resources)，其持股比例為17%。

　　Mr Wang, 64, decried the development as one that could “ruin” his company’s brand. Vanke put a temporary halt to Baoneng’s stake-building by suspending trading in its shares on December 18, pending a “restructuring” announcement expected next month.

　　But according to Credit Suisse, which hosted two investor presentations by Vanke’s chairman on December 23, Mr Wang said there would be no poison pill and that all shareholders’ interests would be protected. Any new equity placement would also require the approval of investors in more than two-thirds of the company. 64歲的王石譴責寶能的增持行為，稱此舉可能“毀掉”萬科的品牌。萬科于12月18日申請股票停牌，暫時阻止了寶能的增持行為，停牌理由是下月預計將發(fā)布“重組”聲明。

　　Baoneng declined an interview request. Vanke did not respond to a request for comment. 但是，根據(jù)在12月23日為萬科董事長舉辦了兩場投資者交流會的瑞信(Credit Suisse)，王石表示不會實行毒丸計劃，所有股東的利益會得到保護。此外，任何新的股權配售都需要超過三分之二的萬科投資者批準。

　　Mr Wang is not used to playing defence. He has been a fixture of China Inc since the mid-1990s, when Vanke began building a name for itself in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen. 寶能拒絕了采訪要求。萬科沒有回應記者的置評請求。

　　A former railway official and then foreign trade official in Guangdong province, Mr Wang abandoned the civil service and “jumped into the sea” of commerce just as Deng’s historic economic reforms were gathering pace in the 1980s. 王石并不習慣采取防守姿態(tài)。上世紀90年代中期，萬科開始在南方繁華城市深圳創(chuàng)建品牌，王石從此成了中國企業(yè)界的頭面人物。

　　After dabbling in foreign trade, he made a well-timed entry into the property sector and soon cemented Vanke’s reputation as a widely admired developer of quality residential housing in the country’s largest and richest urban centres. 王石曾任鐵路局官員，隨后又成為廣東省外貿(mào)官員。上世紀80年代，就在鄧小平的歷史性經(jīng)濟改革加快步伐之際，王石放棄了公務員職位，“下海”經(jīng)商。

　　Jeffrey Gao, a Hong Kong-based property analyst with Nomura, says Vanke’s financial performance has been impressive. The developer achieved an 18 per cent return on equity in 2014 compared to an average of 10 per cent for listed Chinese companies. 王石先是涉足外貿(mào)領域，隨后在有利時機進入房地產(chǎn)行業(yè)，很快鞏固了萬科的聲譽。通過在中國最大、最富有的城市中心開發(fā)優(yōu)質(zhì)住宅，萬科成為廣受贊譽的開放商。

　　Unusually for his peer group, Mr Wang has cultivated a celebrity profile as an avid mountain climber, parachutist and environmentalist. He has taken sabbaticals to study at prestigious overseas universities such as Harvard and Cambridge, while gossip websites track his love life with enthusiasm. 野村(Nomura)駐香港的房地產(chǎn)分析師高劍鋒(Jeffrey Gao)表示，萬科的財務表現(xiàn)一直令人印象深刻。這家開放商在2014年實現(xiàn)了18%的股本回報率，相比之下，中國上市公司的平均股本回報率為10%。

　　He is also unusual amongst Chinese entrepreneurs in not having sought to retain a controlling stake in the company he founded, leaving him vulnerable to unwanted suitors. 與同齡群體不同，王石為自己塑造了一種名人形象——執(zhí)著的登山者、跳傘愛好者、環(huán)保主義者。他利用休假到海外名校——如哈佛(Harvard)、劍橋(Cambridge)——游學，而八卦網(wǎng)站也熱衷于追蹤他的感情生活。

　　“Wang is always on social media,” says Edward Tse, a veteran China consultant and author of a recent book on the country’s entrepreneurial “disruptors”. “Before he seemed untouchable but he’s actually at very serious risk right now. That is what has drawn everyone’s attention.” 他還有一個不同于其他中國企業(yè)家的獨特之處——從未試圖在自己創(chuàng)立的公司保留控股權，這使得他容易受到不請自來的收購者的覬覦。

　　By contrast, Mr Wang’s nemesis at Baoneng was almost unheard of before Vanke’s criticism of his share purchases put him on the map. Mr Yao, 45, studied industrial management and food engineering at university. His first company was a grocery chain, from which he quietly expanded into logistics, property and eventually insurance. “王石總是在社交媒體上曝光，”資深中國顧問、近期出版的《中國的商業(yè)顛覆者》(China’s Disruptors)一書作者謝祖墀(Edward Tse)說，“以前他似乎高高在上，而現(xiàn)在他實際上面臨非常嚴重的風險。這正是吸引每個人注意的地方。”

　　Mr Yao now stands on the cusp of becoming Communist China’s first corporate raider. 相比之下，在萬科對寶能購股行為的指責使后者一舉成名之前，幾乎沒人聽說過王石的這個死對頭。45歲的姚振華大學期間學習的是工業(yè)管理以及食品工程專業(yè)。他創(chuàng)立的首家公司為一家連鎖超市，后來將業(yè)務悄然擴展至物流、房地產(chǎn)以及最終的保險業(yè)。

　　Some analysts think Mr Yao spotted an opportunity that could herald a new corporate era in which Chinese companies with diversified ownership structures and attractive share prices will have to watch their backs. 姚振華如今即將成為共產(chǎn)黨統(tǒng)治的中國的首位“企業(yè)掠奪者”(corporate raider)。

　　“This is a natural evolution in China’s development into more of a market economy,” Mr Tse says. “You had a situation where Vanke’s share price was depressed for a long time and its ownership is quite diversified.” 有分析師認為，姚振華發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個可能開啟新的企業(yè)時代的機遇，在這個時代，所有權分散且股價具有吸引力的中國企業(yè)將不得不防備身后的“黃雀”。

　　Others say Mr Yao may not need to launch a bid for full control of Vanke to achieve his aims. Mr Gao at Nomura argues that it makes sense for Chinese insurance companies like Baoneng and Anbang to invest in property developers with good portfolios for purely financial reasons. “這是中國向市場經(jīng)濟靠攏的自然進化，”謝祖墀說，“萬科的股價曾經(jīng)低迷了好一陣，而其所有權相當分散。”

　　Many have done exactly that as returns from equities and other investments shrink and the government eases restrictions that previously limited their property exposure. According to Mr Gao, the average dividend yield for China’s listed property developers is around 5 per cent, while insurance companies have averaged annual investment returns of 4.7 per cent over the past decade. 也有人稱，姚振華或許不需要獲得對萬科的完全控制就可以實現(xiàn)自己的目標。野村的高劍鋒認為，像寶能、安邦這樣的中國保險公司純粹出于財務原因而投資擁有優(yōu)良資產(chǎn)組合的房地產(chǎn)開發(fā)商是有道理的。

　　The dividend yield on Vanke’s Shenzhen-listed shares has fallen to 2 per cent because of the jump in the share price linked to Baoneng and Anbang’s recent stake-building. But the company has said it plans to increase its dividend payout. 隨著股票及其他投資的回報縮水，隨著政府放松此前對房地產(chǎn)敞口的限制，許多保險商實際上都在這樣做。高劍鋒表示，中國上市地產(chǎn)開發(fā)商的平均股息收益率約為5%，而保險公司過去10年的年均投資回報率為4.7%。

　　An additional benefit for Baoneng is that, having acquired more than 20 per cent of Vanke, it can now classify the developer as an associate and therefore include its dividends in its own profit and loss statement. 由于寶能和安邦的近期增持引起股價暴漲，萬科深圳上市股票的股息收益率已降至2%。但該公司已表示計劃增加派息。

　　If that were Mr Yao’s goal, however, he could have stopped his stake-building in Mr Wang’s company at 20.1 per cent. He did not. Unless a truce can be negotiated during Vanke’s trading suspension, hostilities will resume next month. 對于已獲得萬科逾20%股份的寶能而言，額外的好處是，它現(xiàn)在可以將萬科列為自己的聯(lián)營企業(yè)，從而將萬科的股息納入自己的損益表。

　　Additional reporting by Wan Li and Luna Lin 然而，如果這是姚振華的目標，他本可以在增持至20.1%時停下來。但他沒有這么做。除非在萬科停牌期間雙方能達成妥協(xié)，否則這種敵對狀態(tài)將在下個月重現(xiàn)。