私人股本難以跟中國礦企競爭

Private equity will find it increasingly difficult to compete with Chinese companies in bidding for strategic mining assets, according to $8.4bn private equity firm Denham Capital.

管理資產規模達84億美元的私人股本公司Denham Capital表示，私人股本將發現，它們在競購戰略礦業資產時，越來越難以跟中國企業競爭。

Firms in the sector have raised an estimated $7bn-$10bn to invest in metals and mining amid a commodity downturn that has pushed companies to shore up their balance sheets. But there has been little involvement so far in large deals.

隨着大宗商品的下行週期推動業內企業加強各自的資產負債表，私人股本公司已融資大約70億至100億美元準備投資於金屬和礦業資產。但迄今爲止，私人股本很少參與大型收購。

China Molybdenum has emerged as the main buyer of assets this year. The company bought Freeport-McMoRan’s stake in the Tenke Fungurume operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo for $2.65bn earlier this month and in April agreed to buy niobium and phosphate assets in Brazil from Anglo American for $1.5bn.

今年，洛陽鉬業(China Molybdenum)成爲主要的資產買家。本月早些時候，該公司以26.5億美元收購了麥克墨倫自由港(Freeport-McMoRan)在剛果民主共和國的Tenke Fungurume項目的股權，並在4月同意以15億美元收購英美資源集團(Anglo American)在巴西的鈮和磷酸鹽資產。

China will continue to acquire overseas copper mining assets to secure supply, Jerry Jiao, vice-president of state-owned China Minmetals, said in Chile last month.

中國五礦集團公司(China Minmetals)副總裁焦健(Jerry Jiao)上月在智利表示，中國將繼續在海外收購銅礦資產以保障供應。

“Chinese buyers have lower cost of capital than a PE firm, if an asset has strategic value a PE should not compete,” said Bert Koth, Denham’s Perth-based managing director responsible for mining investments.

“中國買家的資金成本低於私人股本公司，如果一項資產具有戰略價值，私人股本公司無法與之競爭，”Denham Capital位於珀斯的負責礦業投資的董事總經理伯特•科特(Bert Koth)說。

“For the few good, large high-profile assets, strategic (buyers) will always outbid PE.”

“對於少量優質、大型的引人注目的資產，戰略（買家）的報價將總是高於私人股本公司。”

For private equity the opportunity is instead in the medium and small-cap sector, Mr Koth said, where there is more distress and forced sellers.

科特說，私人股本公司的機會在於中小市值板塊，那裏有更多陷入困境、不得不變賣的賣家。

“There’s significant opportunity, but not in the high-profile transactions,” he said.

“存在重大的機遇，但不在引人注目的交易上，”他說。

Listed Chinese mining companies also trade at higher multiples compared to their western peers, he said. China Moly trades at a price to earnings ratio of 82 compared to 18 for Freeport.

他說，中國上市礦企的估值也高於西方同行。目前，洛陽鉬業的市盈率爲82倍，麥克墨倫自由港則爲18倍。

China Moly’s deal for Freeport’s DRC asset could be a strategic purchase of cobalt for China, a key material for batteries, according to analysts. Likewise, Chinese niobium demand is expected to increase as the country moves to producing high-strength steel.

分析師們表示，洛陽鉬業收購麥克墨倫自由港在剛果的資產，可能是一項戰略性收購，目的在於幫助中國獲取製造電池的關鍵原料鈷。同樣，隨着中國開始生產高強度鋼材，該國對於鈮的需求預計也會增加。

“China’s ‘top down’ strategy of acquiring assets with a vision of controlling the production of ore and higher margin goods further along the supply chain is still alive and well despite the country’s economic challenges,” said Chris Berry, an analyst at House Mountain Partners in New York.

“中國仍在執行那種着眼於沿着供應鏈控制礦石以及下游更高利潤率產品生產的‘自上而下’的資產收購戰略，儘管該國面臨着諸多經濟挑戰，”紐約House Mountain Partners的分析師克里斯•貝里(Chris Berry)說。