中國(guó)成為全球并購(gòu)大戶

A new class of Chinese dealmaker has joined theglobal heavyweights of mergers and acquisitions —business leaders with the connections, confidenceand backing to pursue their own multibillion-dollartakeovers, and even gatecrash others.

一批新的中國(guó)交易者加入了全球并購(gòu)巨頭的行列，這些商界領(lǐng)袖擁有人脈、信心和背景，他們?cè)谧分鹱约簲?shù)十億美元的收購(gòu)目標(biāo)之余，還大膽攪局別人的收購(gòu)交易。

In an otherwise lacklustre quarter for M&Aactivity, it was the bids and bargaining from China’sbiggest companies that drove the country’s cross-border deals to record highs, even aspreviously red-hot US takeover activity fell to a two-year low.

要不是來(lái)自中國(guó)大企業(yè)接連的出價(jià)和議價(jià)，推動(dòng)中國(guó)跨境交易屢創(chuàng)新高，今年首季并購(gòu)活動(dòng)將會(huì)低迷，即使此前紅火的美國(guó)并購(gòu)活動(dòng)也降至兩年低點(diǎn)。

China’s appetite for overseas assets helped push the overall value of cross-border M&Ato $311bn — representing a record 46 per cent of the $682bn in deals in the first quarter,according to Thomson Reuters data. Chinese deals, at $101bn, accounted for roughly a third ofthat cross-border activity, an all-time high.

湯森路透(Thomson Reuters)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，受中國(guó)對(duì)海外資產(chǎn)渴求的助推，今年一季度全球跨境并購(gòu)總價(jià)值達(dá)到3110億美元，占6820億美元交易總價(jià)值的46%，比例之高創(chuàng)下紀(jì)錄。中資交易總價(jià)值達(dá)到1010億美元，占跨境交易總額約三分之一，創(chuàng)下歷史最高紀(jì)錄。

They also took China’s percentage of total global M&A activity to its highest in anyquarter: 15 per cent of deals in the period involved an overseas Chinese acquirer.

首季中國(guó)在全球總體并購(gòu)活動(dòng)中的比例也達(dá)到了歷史最高點(diǎn)：該季度全球15%的交易涉及在境外收購(gòu)的中資買家。

China’s dealmaking surge helped to mask a 29 per cent fall in deal value in the US, to $256bn,as M&A activity was slowed by sharp market volatility in January. Europe’s first quartervalues improved on the year before, however, rising 11 per cent to $181bn.

中國(guó)并購(gòu)交易飆升，在某種程度上抵消了美國(guó)并購(gòu)交易下降的負(fù)面影響。美國(guó)并購(gòu)交易總價(jià)值下降29%，至2560億美元;受1月份市場(chǎng)大幅波動(dòng)影響，美國(guó)的并購(gòu)活動(dòng)有所放緩。但歐洲第一季度交易總價(jià)值比去年同期有所提高，同比上升11%，至1810億美元。

For a handful of politically-connected Chinese business leaders — such as Anbang Insurance’sWu Xiaohui, ChemChina’s Ren Jianxin and HNA Group’s Chen Feng — the takeover successes ofearly 2016 have served as an induction into an elite club of global dealmakers: those capableof consecutive billion-dollar deals in a matter of months.

對(duì)于一些有政壇人脈的中國(guó)企業(yè)領(lǐng)袖來(lái)說，比如安邦保險(xiǎn)(Anbang Insurance)的吳小暉，中國(guó)化工(ChemChina)的任建新(見上圖)，海航集團(tuán)(HNA Group)的陳峰，2016年初達(dá)成的這些收購(gòu)就像一塊敲門磚，敲開了全球交易者精英俱樂部的大門——里面都是些能在幾個(gè)月內(nèi)連續(xù)達(dá)成巨額交易的呼風(fēng)喚雨者。

In several cases, the businessmen have asserted their status with higher bids for existingtakeover targets — upending previously agreed deals, often with superior, all-cash offers.

有時(shí)這些企業(yè)領(lǐng)袖向現(xiàn)有的收購(gòu)目標(biāo)發(fā)出更高報(bào)價(jià)，經(jīng)常以更為誘人的全現(xiàn)金報(bào)價(jià)攪亂第三方已然達(dá)成的交易，顯露出自己的底氣。

That tactic was best highlighted in March by Anbang’s chairman, who stepped into a months-old deal between Starwood Hotels & Resorts and rival US hotel group MarriottInternational. Earlier this week, an emboldened Mr Wu raised his all-cash offer to $14bn forStarwood, heaping greater pressure on Marriott to increase its cash-and-stock bid. Despiterepeated questions about the source of his funding and warnings from the Chinese insuranceregulator, Mr Wu then attempted to put to rest questions over his ability to pay, telling Chinesemedia he had Rmb1tn in assets.

今年3月，安邦董事長(zhǎng)闖入喜達(dá)屋酒店及度假村國(guó)際集團(tuán)(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手美國(guó)酒店集團(tuán)萬(wàn)豪國(guó)際(Marriott International)已進(jìn)行了數(shù)月的交易，正是該戰(zhàn)術(shù)的最佳示范。本周早些時(shí)候，吳小暉信心十足地對(duì)喜達(dá)屋提出140億美元的全現(xiàn)金報(bào)價(jià)，給萬(wàn)豪施加提高其現(xiàn)金加股票報(bào)價(jià)的更大壓力。盡管這筆潛在交易的資金來(lái)源一再引起疑問，而且中國(guó)保險(xiǎn)監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)發(fā)出警告，但吳小暉試圖打消外界對(duì)其支付能力的疑慮，他向中國(guó)媒體表示，他有1萬(wàn)億元人民幣的資產(chǎn)可以動(dòng)用。(此后，據(jù)報(bào)道，安邦牽頭的財(cái)團(tuán)上周四晚發(fā)布聲明稱，出于多方面的市場(chǎng)考慮，該財(cái)團(tuán)決定不再繼續(xù)推進(jìn)對(duì)喜達(dá)屋的收購(gòu)。)

Anbang’s original bid for Starwood came just one day after it had secured a $6.5bn deal for 15prime US luxury hotel properties owned by private equity group Blackstone.

就在向喜達(dá)屋提出首次報(bào)價(jià)的前一天，安邦剛達(dá)成了一筆65億美元的交易，收購(gòu)了私人股本集團(tuán)黑石(Blackstone)旗下15家高檔的美國(guó)豪華酒店地產(chǎn)。

“You get extra points for certainty right now because we are closer to a ‘risk-off’ than a ‘risk-on’market,” explains Michael Carr, global co-head of M&A at Goldman Sachs, who says thispartly explains why Chinese companies are winning the fiercest bidding wars.

高盛(Goldman Sachs)全球并購(gòu)主管邁克爾•卡爾(Michael Carr)解釋道：“眼下確定性可以帶來(lái)加分，因?yàn)槭袌?chǎng)情緒更接近‘避險(xiǎn)’，而非‘冒險(xiǎn)’。”他表示，這在一定程度上解釋了為什么中國(guó)企業(yè)在激烈的競(jìng)購(gòu)戰(zhàn)中頻頻勝出。

In February, ChemChina succeeded in the the biggest outbound acquisition a Chinesecompany has made to date with its $44bn all-cash buyout of Swiss agrochemical companySyngenta — the largest-ever takeover in the chemical sector. It came a mere four months afterchairman Ren finalised a $7.7bn takeover of Italian tyremaker Pirelli.

今年2月，中國(guó)化工以440億美元全現(xiàn)金報(bào)價(jià)成功收購(gòu)瑞士農(nóng)業(yè)化學(xué)品企業(yè)先正達(dá)(Syngenta)，這是中國(guó)企業(yè)迄今達(dá)成的最大一樁海外收購(gòu)，也是化工行業(yè)有史以來(lái)最大一筆收購(gòu)。而就在短短4個(gè)月之前，中國(guó)化工董事長(zhǎng)任建新敲定了對(duì)意大利輪胎制造商倍耐力(Pirelli) 77億美元的收購(gòu)。

Chinese aviation and logistics conglomerate HNA Group also returned to the market in thefirst quarter, agreeing to buy US electronics distributor Ingram Micro for $6bn in February. Justmonths earlier, group chairman Chen Feng had added US-listed aircraft lessor Avolon Holdingsfor $2.6bn and closed a $2.8bn takeover of airport operator Swissport last year.

海航集團(tuán)也在今年第一季度重返并購(gòu)市場(chǎng)，這家中國(guó)的航空和物流集團(tuán)在2月份同意以60億美元收購(gòu)美國(guó)信息技術(shù)經(jīng)銷商英邁(Ingram Micro)。就在幾個(gè)月之前，海航董事長(zhǎng)陳峰以26億美元將在美國(guó)上市的飛機(jī)租賃公司Avolon Holdings收入囊中，去年還曾以28億美元買下機(jī)場(chǎng)運(yùn)營(yíng)商瑞士空港(Swissport)。

But this spate of deals has not been solely based on the personalities of the chairmenthemselves. Experts say low interest rates, coupled with a growing reliance on in-houseinvestment banking expertise on the mainland, have enabled the wave of first-quarter deals.

但這一連串的交易并不完全基于企業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的個(gè)性。專家們表示，低利率，再加上日益信賴國(guó)內(nèi)的投行專長(zhǎng)，推動(dòng)了中國(guó)企業(yè)第一季度對(duì)外收購(gòu)大潮。

“Now they have the liquidity and sophistication to do this,” says Raghu Narain, head ofcorporate advisory at Natixis. “These leaders have been able to amalgamate the resourcesthat have allowed them to go out.”

法國(guó)外貿(mào)銀行(Natixis)的企業(yè)咨詢主管拉古•納拉因(Raghu Narain)表示：“現(xiàn)在他們有流動(dòng)性和成熟度進(jìn)行并購(gòu)。這些領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人能夠整合讓他們走出去的資源。”

China’s central bank has cut interest rates six times during the past year and a half, loweringthe cost of bank financing. In addition, mainland regulators have recently grantedpermission, or so-called “road passes”, for multiple companies to hunt down the sametakeover target.

中國(guó)央行在過去一年半時(shí)間里6次降息，從而降低了銀行融資成本。此外，內(nèi)地監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)最近發(fā)放許可，即所謂的“路條”，允許多家公司競(jìng)購(gòu)?fù)皇召?gòu)目標(biāo)。

In November, Beijing Enterprises Water Group, Beijing Capital Group and China EverbrightInternational, were all found to be competing for German waste management company EEW.Beijing Enterprise won the contest in February for $1.6bn.

去年11月，北控水務(wù)集團(tuán)(Beijing Enterprises Water Group)、北京首都創(chuàng)業(yè)集團(tuán)(Beijing CapitalGroup)和中國(guó)光大國(guó)際(China Everbright International)被發(fā)現(xiàn)全都在競(jìng)購(gòu)德國(guó)廢棄物管理公司EEW。北控水務(wù)在今年2月以16億美元贏得競(jìng)標(biāo)。

Miranda So, a Hong Kong-based partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, says: “A ‘road pass’may not mean exclusivity for a Chinese buyer, as we have seen cases where a second Chinesebuyer enters bidding for the same asset.”

達(dá)維律師事務(wù)所(Davis Polk & Wardwell)駐香港的合伙人Miranda So表示：“‘路條’未必意味著某個(gè)中國(guó)買家獲得排他性，因?yàn)槲覀兛吹竭^第二個(gè)中國(guó)買家競(jìng)購(gòu)相同資產(chǎn)的案例。”

Even as M&A activity slumped in the US, the trend of large corporates seeking to lowertheir US tax bills by acquiring an overseas-headquartered rival remained prevalent.

即使在美國(guó)并購(gòu)活動(dòng)驟降之際，大企業(yè)尋求通過收購(gòu)總部位于海外的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手來(lái)降低美國(guó)稅負(fù)的趨勢(shì)依然盛行。

For example, US conglomerate Johnson Controls agreed a $20bn reverse takeover of Ireland-based Tyco International — a deal that would have the same effect as a so-called ‘tax inversion’.

例如，美國(guó)企業(yè)集團(tuán)江森自控(Johnson Controls)同意以200億美元逆向收購(gòu)總部位于愛爾蘭的泰科國(guó)際(Tyco International)，該協(xié)議將與所謂的“稅負(fù)倒置”有異曲同工之妙。

Meanwhile, US company IHS agreed to combine in a $13bn all-stock deal with UK-basedfinancial information provider Markit in a deal that would create a corporate informationpowerhouse based in London — and also lower its tax bills.

與此同時(shí)，美國(guó)公司IHS簽署了130億美元的全股權(quán)交易，同意與英國(guó)金融信息提供商Markit合并。該交易將產(chǎn)生一個(gè)總部位于倫敦的企業(yè)信息巨擘，同時(shí)也會(huì)降低該公司的稅負(fù)。

Anu Aiyengar, JPMorgan’s head of M&A in North America, said deal activity had sloweddown in certain sectors such as healthcare and tech, which were very busy in 2015, whileothers — such as financial services and industrials — have picked up.

摩根大通(JPMorgan)北美并購(gòu)主管阿努•艾延加(Anu Aiyengar)表示，交易活動(dòng)在醫(yī)療和科技等特定行業(yè)減緩——這些行業(yè)的并購(gòu)活動(dòng)在2015年非常紅火——同時(shí)金融服務(wù)和工業(yè)企業(yè)等其他部門的并購(gòu)活動(dòng)開始啟動(dòng)。

Bankers say one area that remains ripe for further dealmaking is the consumer sector, whichproduced some of last year’s blockbuster transactions but saw relatively little dealmakingactivity in the first quarter.

銀行家們表示，有望涌現(xiàn)進(jìn)一步交易的領(lǐng)域是消費(fèi)板塊。該板塊去年出現(xiàn)了一些大筆交易，但今年一季度的交易撮合活動(dòng)相對(duì)較少。

Jens Welter, head of consumer and retail group at Credit Suisse, says the buyers are there.

瑞信(Credit Suisse)消費(fèi)者和零售事業(yè)群主管延斯•韋爾特(Jens Welter)表示，買家正在物色機(jī)遇。

“Strategic acquirers continue to be very confident and those that pursue a specific strategyare being rewarded when it comes to M&A . . .” he says. “Overall, the larger deals thatcaptured the headlines last year were highly complex and relied on intricate structures. Someof that will continue to happen in highly consolidated sectors.”

他說：“戰(zhàn)略收購(gòu)者繼續(xù)非常自信，就并購(gòu)而言，那些追逐具體戰(zhàn)略的人得到了回報(bào)……整體而言，去年登上新聞?lì)^條的較大型交易非常復(fù)雜，依賴錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的架構(gòu)。其中一些交易將繼續(xù)出現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)高度整合的行業(yè)。”