China’s megadeals fail to offset slowdown
中企海外并购“存活率”引发担忧
广州金融翻译公司：“我曾见证一些客户在六个月时间里，态度从‘太好了，让我们找个中国买家’，转为对中国金主深感担忧。”
China’s record-breaking demand for overseas assets underpinned cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the first half of the year — but confidence that the country’s corporations can drive further dealmaking has waned, after several groups recently dropped out of bid talks at key moments.
中国对境外资产创纪录的需求，在今年上半年支撑了多起跨境并购交易。然而，在多个集团最近在关键节点退出竞购谈判之后，人们对中国企业进一步推动并购交易活动的信心已经减弱。广州金融翻译公司。
Chinese companies agreed to $121.1bn in cross-border deals between January and June, according to data from Thomson Reuters, smashing the country’s all-time record for full-year outbound M&A, which was set at $111.5bn in 2015.
根据来自汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)的数据，今年1月份到6月份，中国企业达成了1211亿美元的跨境并购交易，稳超2015年创下的全年对外并购交易额最高纪录——1115亿美元。广州金融翻译公司。
This aggressive buying by some of China’s largest state-owned and private enterprises contrasted sharply with the slowest first-half for global M&A since 2013. Activity in North America and Europe fell away as markets responded to political instability ahead of the US presidential election and the UK vote to leave the EU.
这轮由部分中国最大国企和民企掀起的收购狂潮，与2013年以来全球并购活动最疲软的上半年形成了鲜明对比。出于市场对美国总统选举和英国脱欧公投前的政治不稳定性的回应，北美和欧洲的并购活动出现了下滑。广州金融翻译公司。
Global cross-border deals totalled $580.6bn during the six months, a decrease of about 4 per cent on the same period a year ago. Groups based in China accounted for 21 per cent of all cross-border activity as deal value sank in every major region across the globe.
在这六个月期间，全球跨境并购交易总规模为5806亿美元，同比下滑约4%。而在全球每个主要地区的交易规模下跌之际，总部驻中国的企业开展的并购交易占了所有跨境并购活动的21%。
Total US and European M&A was down 27 per cent and 18 per cent respectively on the same period in 2015. Even voracious demand from Chinese buyers was not enough to increase cross-border dealmaking in Asia, where the total value of transactions plummeted 27 per cent.
2015年同一时期内，美国和欧洲总的并购交易规模分别下降了27%和18%。而即使是来自中国买家的狂热需求，也不足以提升亚洲的跨境交易活动规模，该地区的并购交易总规模下跌了27%。
“Chinese firms’ appetite for overseas assets continues to be robust, and is one of the few bright spots for global M&A in 2016,” says Mayooran Elalingam, head of mergers & acquisitions for Asia-Pacific at Deutsche Bank.
德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)亚太区并购业务主管马约兰•埃拉林加姆(Mayooran Elalingam)表示：“中国企业对境外资产的收购欲保持坚挺，它也是2016年全球并购活动的少数亮点之一。”广州金融翻译公司。
Demand for high technology, along with the weakening of the renminbi and slowing economic growth at home, were all factors that kept Chinese corporations on the hunt for assets abroad during the first half of the year, Mr Elalingam noted.
埃拉林加姆指出，对高科技的需求、人民币的疲软以及中国国内经济增长放缓，都是今年上半年促使中国企业寻找境外资产的原因。
Over the period, Chinese groups homed in on technology bid targets worth $26.0bn, far surpassing the $9.5bn spent during all of 2015 thanks to megadeals such as HNA Group’s $6bn acquisition US electronics distributor Ingram Micro in February.
由于多笔大规模交易的达成（比如今年2月海航集团(HNA Group)对美国电子产品分销商英迈(Ingram Micro)60亿美元的收购交易），这段时期内中国集团以高科技企业为目标的并购交易价值达到260亿美元，远远超过2015年全年的95亿美元并购开支。广州金融翻译公司。
However, it was a record breaking chemicals deal — state-owned ChemChina’s $44bn buyout of Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta, also in February — that became China’s largest-ever outbound acquisition.
不过，中国史上最大规模的境外收购却是一宗创纪录的化学产业并购交易，即同样发生在2月份的国企中国化工(ChemChina)对瑞士农用化肥企业先正达(Syngenta)440亿美元的收购交易。
More recently, though, some industry watchers have expressed growing doubts over the longevity of the country’s mega-dealmaking as more M&A negotiations involving Chinese groups come to nought.
不过，近日来，由于更多与中国企业有关的并购谈判夭折，对于中国大规模并购交易能否持久，部分业内观察人士表示了越来越大的怀疑。
Most recently, Zoomlion, one of China’s largest heavy equipment makers, gave up on its $3.4bn bid for US-based crane maker Terex after attempting to snuff out existing negotiations with Finland-based Konecranes.
最近，中国最大的重型设备制造商之一中联重科(Zoomlion)，放弃了对美国起重机制造商特雷克斯(Terex)34亿美元的竞购。此前，中联重科曾试图对正在洽购后者的芬兰科尼集团(Konecranes)横刀夺爱。广州金融翻译公司。
Zoomlion had wooed Terex since December but, when faced with a fast-approaching deadline at the end of May, it backed out citing an inability to agree on price.
自去年12月以来，中联重科一直在争取与特雷克斯达成协议。不过，5月底面临日益临近的截止日期时，中联重科退出了这一并购，称原因是双方未能就并购价格达成一致。
“The jury is out on how sustainable this wave of Chinese deals will be because there are responsible acquirers and some less responsible ones,” says Hernan Cristerna, co-head of global M&A at JPMorgan Chase. “I’ve [seen] some clients’ attitude toward Chinese bidders go from boom to bust in six months, from ‘Great, let’s find a Chinese buyer’ to deep worries about some of them.”
摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)全球并购业务协同主管埃尔南•克里斯特纳(Hernan Cristerna)表示：“由于既存在负责任的收购方，也存在不那么负责的收购方，对于这轮中国并购交易活动能有多持久仍没有确定结论。我曾（见证）部分客户在六个月的时间内，对中国买家的态度从满怀热情到不感兴趣，从‘太好了，让我们找个中国买家’到对部分中国买家深感担忧。”广州金融翻译公司。
No deal better highlights the “bust” aspect of Chinese deal talks than Anbang Insurance’s $14bn bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in March.
没有哪一宗并购交易，能够比安邦保险(Anbang Insurance)今年3月对喜达屋酒店及度假村集团(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)140亿美元的竞购，更好地代表中国企业参与的并购谈判中不成功的那一面。
Beijing-based Anbang grabbed international headlines for two weeks as it ratcheted up its offer for the owner of the Sheraton and St Regis hotels — in an attempt to upend an existing deal between Starwood and Marriott International.
总部驻北京的安邦曾连续两周占据国际媒体的头条。当时，该集团提高了对这个喜来登(Sheraton)、瑞吉(St Regis)等酒店的东家的收购价码，试图击败喜达屋和万豪国际(Marriott International)此前已经达成的协议。
Amid rumours of a regulatory crackdown in China, the proposed deal eventually came crashing down at the end of March — with little explanation from Anbang. Then, in May, the company withdrew a regulatory application for its $1.57bn acquisition of Fidelity & Guaranty Life after a US regulator asked for more information from the buyer.
在中国监管机构出手打压的种种传闻中，这个交易计划最终在3月底夭折，安邦集团对此并未作出什么解释。接着，在今年5月，当一家美国监管机构要求买方提供更多信息之后，安邦撤回了为以15.7亿美元收购信保人寿(Fidelity & Guaranty Life)而向监管机构提出的申请。广州金融翻译公司。
“Sellers engaging with Chinese acquirers have to look carefully at the ability of such acquirers to ultimately obtain financing and other approvals and to deliver deal certainty,” warns Dietrich Becker, partner at Perella Weinberg. “Too many approaches have failed to result in successful transactions,”
Perella Weinberg合伙人迪特里希•贝克尔(Dietrich Becker)警告称：“与中国买家接触的卖方，不得不仔细考察这类收购方最终获取融资及其他许可、并确保协议完成的能力。有太多次接触未能转化为成功的交易。”
Regulatory influence has proved a factor in the fate of Chinese deals since the start of 2016. Most notably, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, shot down the $3bn acquisition of Philips lumileds lighting business by Chinese venture capitalist GO Scale in January.
监管方面的影响被证明是2016年年初以来，左右中国并购交易命运的一大因素。最引人注目的是，今年1月美国外商投资委员会(CFIUS)否决了中国风险资本集团GO Scale以30亿美元收购飞利浦(Philips)Lumileds照明业务的交易。广州金融翻译公司。
Regulatory concerns have also been mounting over ChemChina and its Syngenta acquisition, after the company was forced to refile its application to CFIUS in June — underlining the risks that Chinese groups face when targeting sensitive assets.
今年6月，在中国化工不得不向CFIUS重新提交申请之后，人们对中国化工及其对先正达的收购所涉及的监管风险也越来越担忧。此事凸显出中国集团并购敏感资产时所面临的风险。
Still, experts point out that the biggest factor now holding back further outbound investment from China is not the regulators but sellers’ fears that buyers will not complete.
不过，有专家指出，如今阻止中国进一步开展对外投资的最大因素，并不是监管机构，而是卖方对买方完不成交易的担忧。广州金融翻译公司。
“Chinese buyers are being cautious about selecting their investment targets, but the bigger problem may actually be that sellers are becoming reluctant to deal with Chinese buyers out of fear that they can’t close the deal,” says James Lidbury, a Hong Kong-based partner at US law firm Ropes & Gray.
美国瑞格律师事务所(Ropes & Gray)驻香港合伙人詹姆斯•利德伯里(James Lidbury)表示：“中国买家对选择投资目标十分小心。然而，实际上更大的问题可能是，由于担心中国买家无法完成交易，卖方正变得不愿与中国买家打交道。”广州金融翻译公司。
Mr Lidbury points out that US-based Fairchild Semiconductor rejected a $2.5bn bid from China Resources Microelectronics and Hua Capital in February, in favour of a lower offer from a US group.
利德伯里指出，今年2月总部驻美国的飞兆半导体(Fairchild Semiconductor)拒绝了来自华润微电子(China Resources Microelectronics)和华创投资(Hua Capital)的25亿美元的收购要约，选择了开价更低的一家美国集团。
It is not the only company to spurn a Chinese suitor in favour of a bidder it deems more reliable, he says. “It’s happening all the time in less visible situations,” says Mr Lidbury.
利德伯里表示，这并非唯一一家拒绝中资公司、选择自己认为更可靠的竞标者的公司，“在不那么显眼的地方，情况一直都是这样”。
Cross-border loans for cross-border deals
为跨境交易提供跨境贷款
All spending sprees have to be paid for somehow, writes Jennifer Hughes. And, in the case of China’s outbound merger and acquisition binge, that has meant loans in some unusual structures — as well as record borrowing overseas by the country's biggest banks.
所有的收购交易都得有资金来源。就中国的对外并购狂潮而言，这意味着一些非常规结构贷款以及中国大型银行创纪录的海外借贷。广州金融翻译公司。
ChemChina’s $44bn acquisition of Switzerland’s Syngenta was only the second example of a Chinese deal involving loans taken against the target, not just the acquirer (the first was its takeover of Pirelli last year). This time, a group of 12 European banks agreed a $15bn bridge loan which relies on cash flow from Syngenta, while China Citic Bank is still in the process of raising the other $30bn in equity and debt backed by ChemChina itself.
中国化工宣布以440亿美元收购瑞士先正达，这只是中国企业参与的并购中第二例针对收购目标、而不仅仅是收购方发放贷款的交易——第一个例子是去年中国化工收购倍耐力(Pirelli)。这一次，一个由12家欧洲银行组成的银团同意提供150亿美元的过桥贷款——依赖先正达的现金流进行偿还——同时中信银行(China Citic Bank)仍在通过中国化工自己担保的股权和债务，筹集剩下的300亿美元。
“It’s unusual, but it does allow you to tap two investor bases,” says one senior finance arranger. “Financing the target suited European names who maybe don’t want such China exposure. And a lot of Chinese banks would rather lend to ChemChina. It may not be the stronger credit of the two, but they have the cover of state backing.”
一位资深的财务安排人士表示：“这是非常规的，但它的确允许你利用了两个投资者群体。为收购目标融资迎合了那些可能不想对中国有风险敞口的欧洲公司。许多中资银行则更希望向中化提供贷款。中化可能没有它的收购目标靠谱，但这些中资银行有政府撑腰。”广州金融翻译公司。
Syndicated loans related to Chinese deals reached $34.5bn in the first half of the year, according to Dealogic, up by three-quarters on 2015’s full-year volume.
Dealogic数据显示,今年上半年，与中国参与的交易有关的银团贷款达到345亿美元，比2015年全年规模还要高出四分之三。
A similar jump in activity was also evident in Chinese banks’ record borrowing overseas, rather than at home. This year, the country’s biggest policy banks, led by ICBC and Bank of China, have borrowed $12.2bn — mostly in dollars and through their offshore branches from Hong Kong and Singapore to Dubai and New York.
类似的收购活动飙升也体现在中资银行创纪录的海外、而非国内借贷上。今年，以工商银行(ICBC)和中国银行(Bank of China)为首的中国大型银行借贷了122亿美元，大多数是美元计价，并通过它们从香港和新加坡到迪拜和纽约的海外分支机构完成。
Raising deal funds offshore helps to avoid putting immediate pressure on the weakening renminbi to pay for acquisition and, if funds are spare, they can be remitted home, thereby helping bolster the currency.
从海外筹集交易资金，有助于避免对外支付收购价款对不断走弱的人民币造成直接压力，如果从海外筹集的资金有富余，还可以汇回国帮助提振人民币汇率。广州金融翻译公司。
Bankers say that finding $44bn for ChemChina will not mark the end of creative deal funding. “The amount of blue-sky thinking required depends on the size of the deal — the bigger ones will need more innovative financing,” says Stephen Williams, head of global banking for Southeast Asia at HSBC.
银行家表示，此次为中化交易筹资440亿美元时所采用的创造性融资安排，未来还将大显身手。汇丰银行(HSBC)东南亚区国际银行业主管史蒂芬•威廉斯(Stephen Williams)表示：“需要多少创造性思维取决于交易的规模——较大规模的交易将更需要更具创意的融资方式。”
