中國如何收購好萊塢公司
Last week Relativity Media, a Hollywood film studio, filed for bankruptcy protection. But even before its fall from grace, Chinese companies including Alibaba Pictures,Baidu,Dalian Wanda,Tencent and Huayi Brothers Media Corp had been eyeing the business closely.
上週，好萊塢製片公司相對論傳媒(Relativity Media)提交了破產保護申請。但在好萊塢電影失去曾經的榮耀之前，包括阿里影業(Alibaba Pictures)、百度(Baidu)、大連萬達(Dalian Wanda)、騰訊(Tencent)和華誼兄弟(Huayi Brothers Media Corp)在內的中國公司一直密切關注着這一行業。
A lot of Chinese money has already found its way into California. In the past year Chinese investors have put billions into Silicon Valley companies including Uber, Airbnb and LinkedIn.
大筆中國資金已經設法進入了加州。在過去一年裏，中國投資者斥巨資與包括優步(Uber)、Airbnb和領英(LinkedIn)在內的硅谷公司展開合作。
But of late China Inc has become increasingly focused on the US film industry — in a bid to crack how to make Hollywood blockbusters with Chinese characteristics. This relationship has a natural complementarity. US studios have the know-how but are cash-strapped and risk averse, while the Chinese have abundant capital and an appetite for risk, which lends itself to financing films.
但最近，中國公司日益聚焦於美國電影行業，以期弄明白如何製作出具有中國特色的好萊塢大片。這種關係有一種天然的互補性。美國電影公司擁有專業技能，但資金緊張且厭惡風險，而中國公司資本充足，願意冒險，這對電影融資來說最合適不過了。
Hunan Television and Broadcast, a government-controlled company, has already put $375m into Lions Gate Entertainment, the studio behind the blockbuster action film series The Hunger Games.
中國國有控股公司——湖南電廣傳媒(Hunan Television and Broadcast)已經斥資3.75億美元，與曾製作發行系列動作大片《飢餓遊戲》(The Hunger Games)的獅門娛樂(Lions Gate Entertainment)開展合作。
Fosun, a privately held conglomerate, plans to spend up to $200m backing Studio 8, an independent studio founded by Jeff Robinov, former head of Warner Brothers. And an arm of Citic, the Chinese state-owned group, has committed $125m to a venture run by Dick Cook, a former Walt Disney executive.
私人控股公司復星集團(Fosun)計劃斥資至多2億美元投資於獨立製片公司Studio 8，後者由華納兄弟(Warner Brothers)前總裁傑夫圠賓諾夫(Jeff Robinov)創立。中國國有集團公司中信集團(Citic)旗下子公司承諾拿出1.25億美元投資於由華特迪士尼(Walt Disney)前高管迪克錠克(Dick Cook)運營的一家公司。
Certainly, the economic fundamentals make sense. China is already the second-largest movie market after the US by value of tickets sold, and it is expected to become the largest by 2020. If the country is to shift from a manufacturing-led, export-driven economy to one based on domestic demand and services, entertainment will become ever more important.
當然，從經濟基本面來說這也是合理的。按票房收入計算，中國現在已經是僅次於美國的全球第二大電影市場，並有望到2020年成爲全球最大的電影市場。如果中國經濟從製造業占主導地位的出口驅動模式轉向基於內需和服務的模式，娛樂業將會變得前所未有的重要。
For non-Chinese companies seeking to profit from this growth market, local partnerships offer a way of keeping a greater share of revenues. Regulations restrict the number of entirely foreign films that can be shown and the percentage of box revenues that foreign studios may collect.
對尋求從這種增長型市場獲利的外資公司來說，與當地企業合作可以獲得更大的收入份額。中國監管機構對國內播放的外國電影數量以及外國電影公司獲得的票房收入比例做出了限制。
It is for these reasons that Chinese technology companies have been visiting Los Angeles in search of content, strategic investors and film distributors. A few months ago, Sequoia Capital China was part of a large contingent of Chinese entrepreneurs that spent days with executives at Fox,Sony Pictures Entertainment and STX Entertainment.
正是出於這些原因，中國科技公司一直前往洛杉磯尋求內容、戰略投資者和電影發行商。幾個月前，一個規模龐大的中國企業家代表團與福克斯(Fox)、索尼電影娛樂公司(Sony Pictures Entertainment)和STX娛樂(STX Entertainment)的高管進行了數天的接觸，紅杉中國(Sequoia Capital China)就在其中。
New companies are also looking at getting involved. Li Ruigang, former president of Shanghai Media Group, is heading China Media Capital, a vehicle to invest in content on both sides of the Pacific. Some of the most successful technology entrepreneurs and investors in China want to take big stakes in CMC. In addition, some strategic players are considering partnering with online asset management firms in China to help crowdfund potential acquisitions.
新公司也在考慮涉足其中。上海文廣新聞傳媒集團(SMG)前總裁黎瑞剛執掌了華人文化產業投資基金（China Media Capital，簡稱CMC），後者是一家投資於太平洋兩岸內容的機構。中國一些最爲成功的科技企業家和投資者希望大規模入股CMC。此外，一些戰略投資者正考慮與中國在線資產管理公司建立合作關係，以幫助衆籌資金、執行潛在的收購。
Donald Tang, a former Bear Stearns executive who shuttles between Los Angeles and Shanghai, has formed a venture with backing from Tencent and others to capitalise on this trend. He has already orchestrated two of the biggest marriages between Hollywood and China: he was deeply involved in Dalian Wanda’s $2.6bn purchase of AMC, the US’s second-biggest cinema chain, and Huayi’s commitment to put hundreds of millions of dollars into STX (which also has money from China-based Hony Capital and the growth capital arm of TPG, the private equity firm).
在騰訊和其他機構的支持下，在洛杉磯和上海之間穿梭的貝爾斯登(Bear Stearns)前高管唐偉(Donald Tang)成立了一家合資企業以利用這種趨勢。在好萊塢與中國的最大規模的合作交易中，唐偉已經策劃了其中兩宗：他深度參與了大連萬達斥資26億美元收購美國第二大電影院線AMC，以及華誼兄弟承諾向STX投資數億美元的交易，後者也獲得了中國弘毅投資(Hony Capital)和私人股本公司TPG旗下增長資本部門的資金。
Of course, the Chinese are not the first to succumb to the lure of Hollywood. But whether they succeed will depend on their willingness to accept a reliance on intermediaries and co-investors, such as Mr Tang. “They have a lot of ambition but not a lot of knowledge,” says one mainlander familiar with the Chinese initiatives.
當然，中國人並非是首批被好萊塢魅力征服的投資者。但他們能否成功，將取決於他們是否願意依賴中介機構和唐偉等合作投資者。一位熟悉中國舉措的大陸人表示：“他們野心勃勃，但缺少深厚知識。”
Historically, Chinese companies have been reluctant to pay for advice — or acknowledge their need for it. Yet it is often not enough simply to pay the highest price. Sellers want certainty that a deal will be done, but all too often Chinese buyers fail, either because they cannot get approval or because they lack the financing. Still, one day it will probably be a Chinese dragon that roars out from American movie screens before the opening titles roll.
從歷史上來看，中國公司一直不願爲諮詢意見或者所需信息付費。然而，僅僅支付最高價通常還不夠。賣家當然希望達成協議，但中國買家一再失敗，原因要麼是無法獲批，要麼是它們缺少資金。不過，總有一天，在片頭字幕滾動之前，美國電影屏幕上很可能有一條中國龍呼嘯而至。
