安邦爲何沒能拿下喜達屋
As he summoned executives to his 26th-floor office on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue last month, Wu Xiaohui seemed to have achieved the improbable feat of transforming himself from a low-level regional bureaucrat into one of China’s most politically-connected global tycoons before the age of 50. Now he was ready for his most ambitious act yet.
上月召集高管們到他在曼哈頓第五大道位於第26層的辦公室開會時，吳小暉似乎已經取得了一項了不得的成就：出身基層地方官員的他，不到50歲就已成爲中國政治人脈最雄厚的全球商業大亨之一。現在，他準備實施平生最雄心勃勃的壯舉了。
The chairman of Anbang, a fast-moving but little understood Chinese insurer, had acquired his US headquarters with views of some of New York’s greatest properties only last year. Now, just a block from the St Regis Hotel — John Jacob Astor’s 1904 temple to hospitality — he presented his team with a proposal: a $13bn deal that would make him the operator not only of that historic property but also its parent, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, owner of the W, Westin and Sheraton brands.
身爲安邦(Anbang)——一家發展快速但外界所知不多的中國保險公司——董事長，吳小暉去年纔買下能看到一些紐約最偉大建築的美國總部。如今，在距離瑞吉酒店(St Regis Hotel)——約翰•雅各布•阿斯特(John Jacob Astor)1904年創建的酒店業神殿——僅一個街區的地方，他向他的團隊提議：敲定一筆130億美元的交易，不僅可以讓他成爲這家歷史悠久的酒店物業的運營商，還可以將其母公司喜達屋酒店及度假村國際集團(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)收入囊中。喜達屋是W酒店、威斯汀(Westin)和喜來登(Sheraton)等品牌的所有者。
The problem was that Starwood had already rebuffed Mr Wu three times, in August, September and November, dissatisfied with details of the Chinese group’s bid, including its financing. Since then, Starwood had agreed a mostly stock-based sale to Marriott International, a US rival, in a deal initially worth $12.2bn but which had slumped in value as markets slid.
問題是，喜達屋已經在去年8月、9月和11月三次拒絕了吳小暉，它對這家中國集團的收購方案中有關融資等方面的細節並不滿意。之後，喜達屋同意了美國酒店集團萬豪國際(Marriott International)提出的以換股爲主的收購建議。這筆交易剛提出時價值爲122億美元，但隨着市場下滑，交易價值也有所縮水。
To the strong-willed, inexhaustible Mr Wu, this looked like an opportunity. However, a debate ensued in Anbang’s offices. “Most senior managers disagreed,” says one participant. “We suggested that Marriott was well-connected, not only in the US but also in China. There would be a lot of publicity. But we all knew he [Mr Wu] is the chairman. He is the only decision maker. Everybody follows him.”
對於意志堅定、不知疲倦的吳小暉而言，這似乎是一個很好的機會。然而，安邦的辦公室內掀起了一場爭論。“多數高層都不同意，”一名參加了會議的人士表示，“我們提出萬豪不管是在美國還是在中國都有良好的關係。媒體會大量報道。但是我們都知道他（吳小暉）纔是董事長，他是唯一的決策者，每個人都要聽他的。”
And the boss, who is not fluent in English, had made his mind up: Anbang would unleash one of the fiercest bid battles in recent memory and attempt to strike China’s biggest deal in the US. He would ultimately fail. But his efforts would symbolise China’s rising role in global business, providing insights into its outward ambitions and the obstacles it must overcome to compete on the international stage.
而這位英語講得並不流利的老闆已經下定了決心：安邦將發動一場近期最激烈的競購戰，以圖敲定中國企業在美國的最大一筆交易。他最終可能會失敗。但是他的努力將象徵着中國在全球商業界的日益崛起，向世界展示其走出國門的抱負，摸索在國際舞臺上參與競爭所必須克服的障礙。
When, in March, Starwood revealed it had received an unsolicited, all-cash proposal from an Anbang-led group at $76 per share — valuing the US company at $13bn — it caused a sensation. It raised the unthinkable prospect of a Chinese upstart wresting an agreed bid from a US business with an 89-year record.
3月，喜達屋披露，其收到了一個以安邦爲首的財團主動發出的每股76美元（對喜達屋估值達到130億美元）的全現金收購要約，消息立即引起了轟動。一個意想不到的前景呈現在人們眼前：一家新崛起的中國公司，要從一家有89年曆史的美國企業手中搶奪一樁業已敲定的收購交易。
Marriott had been within weeks of getting shareholder approval for its acquisition of Starwood — a deal that would make it the world’s largest hotel company. This time, Starwood saw “very convincing evidence” that Mr Wu had the cash in the US to complete the deal, says one person close to Starwood, which was working with Lazard, Citigroup, and law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. “We had very high stakes if we messed up,” the person says. After a week of negotiations, Anbang’s $76-a-share proposal had become an agreed $78-a-share offer.
萬豪有數週時間爭取股東批准其收購喜達屋——該交易會使其成爲全世界最大的酒店集團。一名熟悉喜達屋的知情人士稱，這一次，喜達屋看到了“非常具有說服力的證據”，表明吳小暉在美國有資金來完成交易。當時喜達屋正與瑞德(Lazard)、花旗集團(Citigroup)以及克拉瓦斯-斯溫-穆爾律師事務所(Cravath, Swaine & Moore)合作。“如果我們搞砸了，我們會面臨非常高的風險，”這位人士表示。在經過一週的協商後，安邦的報價由原先的每股76美元，增加到了每股78美元。
Like the other entrepreneurs who have driven China’s overseas dealmaking boom, Mr Wu relied on a formidable network built through prior deals.
與其他推動中國海外併購潮的企業家一樣，吳小暉也依賴於在以往交易中建立起來的強大人脈網。
Chief among these was Jon Gray, who runs the real estate practice at Blackstone, the influential buyout group and asset manager. Mr Gray sold Mr Wu Manhattan’s Waldorf Astoria hotel from Blackstone-controlled Hilton Worldwide in 2014 for $2bn, his Fifth Avenue headquarters for $415m and 16 US luxury hotels, including New York’s Essex House, for $6.5bn.
其中以在黑石(Blackstone)負責房地產業務的喬恩•格雷(Jon Gray)爲首，黑石是一家頗具影響力的收購集團和資產管理公司。2014年，格雷以20億美元的價格將黑石控股的希爾頓酒店集團(Hilton Worldwide)旗下的紐約華爾道夫酒店(Waldorf Astoria)賣給了吳小暉，同時還把其位於第五大道的總部和16家美國豪華酒店——包括紐約艾塞克斯豪斯(Essex House)——分別以4.15億美元和65億美元的價格賣給了他。
Mr Wu also brought in investment bankers from PJT Partners, a boutique advisory firm that spun out of Blackstone over a year ago, to assist him.
吳小暉還請來PJT Partners的投行家助自己一臂之力，PJT Partners是一年多前從黑石剝離出來的專業諮詢公司。
This time, Mr Wu calculated that the presence of partners would aid his effort. He contacted Chris Flowers, a US private equity executive from whom he had bought a Belgian insurer and whose JC Flowers investment firm previously occupied the 26th-floor office that Anbang now controlled. Fred Hu, founder of Chinese private equity firm Primavera Capital and a former Goldman Sachs executive, also came on board. Mr Hu, originally from Hunan, is believed to have close ties with former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji.
這一次，吳小暉盤算着這些合作伙伴應該可以幫助他實現收購。他聯繫了美國私募高管克里斯•弗勞爾斯(Chris Flowers)，他曾從後者的手中收購了一家比利時保險公司，此外弗勞爾斯的JC Flowers投資公司之前佔據着安邦現在控制的第26層辦公室。高盛(Goldman Sachs)前高管、中國私募股權公司春華資本(Primavera Capital)的創始人胡祖六(Fred Hu)也加入進來。胡祖六原籍湖南，據信與中國前總理朱鎔基關係密切。
These two put up only a fraction of the funds for the deal, say several people familiar with the Anbang bid. “He could have had stronger partners,” says one person close to Anbang. “But he did not want that. He wanted to control everything.” Mr Flowers declined to comment and Mr Hu did not respond to requests for comment. Another person close to the process says even his advisers had little sway: “American investment bankers know how to do American M&A, but he [Mr Wu] did it in his own style.”
多位熟悉該交易的知情人士稱，弗勞爾斯和胡祖六在這筆交易中只會出一小部分資金。“他本可以找到更厲害的合夥人，”一位熟悉安邦的人士表示，“但是他不想那樣。他希望掌控一切。”弗勞爾斯拒絕置評，胡祖六沒有迴應置評請求。另一位熟悉事情經過的人士稱，即使吳小暉的顧問也施加不了什麼影響：“美國投行家知道如何運作美國的併購交易，但是他（吳小暉）我行我素。”
Marriott’s leadership felt the pressure to act quickly. “This was not a bluff,” says Arne Sorenson, chief executive of Marriott. “These guys [Anbang] are for real. You don’t come in with a $13bn fully financed offer unless you are serious.” Mr Sorenson, while in Cuba with a US presidential delegation, spent the weekend agreeing a new cash-and-stock bid for Starwood worth $79.53 a share.
萬豪的領導層感受到了壓力，覺得必須儘快採取行動。“這不是虛張聲勢，”萬豪首席執行官阿恩•索倫森(Arne Sorenson，見下圖)稱，“（安邦）這些人是動真格的。除非你是認真的，否則你不會拿來130億美元的全現金收購要約。”索倫森當時正作爲美國總統代表團的一員訪問古巴，他思考了一個週末，同意提出每股價值79.53美元的現金加換股的新收購方案。
Mr Wu was determined to return with a counter-offer, but cracks in his strategy were starting to show. Under capital controls in China, the State Administration for Foreign Exchange insists on approving sizeable transactions that involve moving money abroad. In addition, the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission limits transactions abroad to 15 per cent of the buyer’s total assets.
吳小暉決心再加價，但是這時他的收購策略開始顯出裂痕。按照中國的資本管制政策，中國國家外匯管理局(SAFE)堅持對涉及資本轉移至海外的大規模交易進行審批。此外，中國保監會(CIRC)規定，國內險商海外收購交易規模不得超過總資產的15%。
Mr Wu told his advisers that the regulators would not be an issue. “He used to boast that he knew everyone there from the chairman to the doorman,” says one person who participated in the process.
吳小暉告訴顧問們，監管機構不是問題。“他常誇口自己認識那裏從主席到門衛的所有人，”一位參與該過程的人表示。
However, the respected Chinese journal Caixin reported that regulators believed the transaction value would breach the 15 per cent limit.
然而，中國權威雜誌《財新》報道稱，監管部門認爲這筆交易的價值將違反15%的限制。
For the Starwood bid, Anbang had secured a commitment from the state-owned China Construction Bank. But after the Caixin report, CCB’s commitment became less clear, according to two people familiar with the situation.
對於收購喜達屋，安邦得到了中國建設銀行提供融資的承諾。但是，據兩名知情人士稱，在財新的報道出來後，建行的承諾變得不那麼確定了。
Mr Wu pressed on, raising his bid twice over the Easter weekend: first to $81 a share, then $82.75, or $14bn — hoping he was close to a knockout bid.
吳小暉繼續推進交易，在復活節那個週末兩次提高報價：第一次報價每股81美元，之後報價每股82.75美元（相當於估值140億美元）——希望他可以接近一錘定音。
Starwood said the latest Anbang proposal was likely to lead to a “superior offer” to Marriott’s terms, but privately pressed the Chinese bidder for greater clarity on financing and other details.
喜達屋稱安邦最後一次提議很可能成爲優於萬豪條款的方案，但是私底下敦促安邦提供關於融資等問題的更多細節。
As Anbang became less responsive, Starwood worried that the regulatory issues and questions over Anbang’s financing raised in the press were real. Those concerns proved well-founded last Thursday, when three letters arrived at Starwood — from Mr Wu, Mr Hu and Mr Flowers. They said the bidders were walking away, mysteriously citing “various market conditions”.
由於安邦變得沒那麼積極迴應，喜達屋擔心，媒體所提的監管問題以及圍繞安邦融資方面的疑問都是真的。上週四，這些擔憂得到了證實，喜達屋收到了三封信，分別來自吳小暉、胡祖六和弗勞爾斯。他們稱，這些競購者將要退出，並隱晦地表示是由於“不同的市場狀況”。
Was it fear of overpaying or pressures in China? One person with insight into the talks says China’s regulators had “clipped the wings” of its high-flying chairman, while a second person confirmed the problems were regulatory.
究竟是擔心出價太高，還是迫於國內壓力？一名瞭解談判內情的人士稱，中國監管機構“斬斷了”這位想要高飛的董事長的“翅膀”。另外一人證實問題出在監管方面。
A spokesman for Anbang denied its funding fell apart, that Mr Flowers and Mr Hu had put up only limited funds, and that its senior executives had doubts about a bid. “He wants to create a real international Chinese company and be the number one businessman in China,” says an Anbang insider. “But he was not well prepared, and he did not listen to advice. He was too impatient to do the deal.”
安邦一位發言人否認其融資破裂以及弗勞爾斯和胡祖六隻提供有限資金，也否認了安邦高管對競購抱懷疑態度。一位安邦內部人士表示：“他希望打造一家真正國際化的中國企業，成爲中國首屈一指的商人。但是他還沒做好充分準備，他不聽取建議。他太迫不急待，結果達不成交易。”
Regardless, the person close to Starwood says, Mr Wu made his mark. “They are using an insurance base to make interesting investments. The fact that they got this far is significant.”
不管怎樣，那位熟悉喜達屋的人士稱，吳小暉還是成功了。“他們正以保險爲根基去進行有意思的投資。他們能走這麼遠，這本身很有意義。”
