Lex專欄:盈德氣體不光彩的內鬥
Like the stuff it makes, some bosses at Hong Kong-listed Yingde Gases are invisible these days. In November, chairman Zhao Xiangti fired Zhongguo Sun and Trevor Raymond Strutt, who had run the company. Despite disappearing as executives, they remained directors, doing their best to oust the chairman. A full clean-out of the board is necessary to clear the air.
這些天，香港上市的盈德氣體(Yingde Gases)的一些老闆是看不見的，就像該公司的產品一樣。去年11月，現任盈德董事會主席趙項題炒掉了當時掌管該公司的孫忠國和特雷弗?雷蒙德?斯特拉特(Trevor Raymond Strutt)。儘管二人不再擔任高管，但他們仍然是董事，並且竭盡全力驅逐趙項題。爲了平息風波，盈德董事會需要全面洗牌。This dust-up reflected unhappiness about swelling foreign currency debt over the past five years. The share price accordingly tanked roughly 70 per cent. Chairman Zhao, with friendly shareholders, controls about 17 per cent. The ousted pair have 29 per cent.
此次內訌反映出股東對過去五年盈德不斷累積的外幣債務的不滿。股價因此下跌近70%。趙項題以及與之交好的股東，控制着約17%的股份。而被驅逐的二人控制着29%的股份。An attempt late last year by the chairman to dilute Messrs Zhongguo and Strutt by issuing new equity was blocked by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission. One reason for his bravado was that Messrs Zhongguo and Strutt, as offshore directors to this mainland company, do not have legal control over the company’s official seals. These are required for all financial transactions.
去年年底趙項題想要通過發行新股來稀釋孫忠國和斯特拉特所持股份，被香港證監會(SFC)叫停。趙項題敢於這麼做的一個原因是，作爲這家內地公司海外董事的孫忠國和斯特拉特，對公司的公章沒有合法控制權。所有財務交易都需要公章。
The pressure and volume of a gas are inversely proportional. A board’s cohesion and vulnerability to takeovers of a listed company are related in the same way.
氣體的壓力和體積是成反比的。一家上市公司董事會的凝聚力和麪對被收購的脆弱性同樣也是此消彼長的關係。Air Products of the US, offered HK$5.50 for Yingde in January, far above the $2.87 level where Yingde had last traded. Yet Air Products claims Yingde delayed due diligence.
1月，美國空氣產品公司(Air Products)報價每股5.5港元收購盈德，遠高於盈德此前每股2.87港元的股價。不過空氣產品公司聲稱盈德推遲了盡職調查。Yesterday brought a new gust to roil the dust: alternative asset manager PAG Capital has offered HK$6 for Yingde. This time the opposed parties in this sad saga publicly agreed to the PAG proposal. Who cares why. The fury of the row raises questions over the suitability of all directors involved, no matter how many shares they own.
昨天這場風波再起波瀾：另類資產管理公司太盟亞洲資本(PAG Capital)報價每股6港元收購盈德。這一次這場鬧劇中的敵對雙方均公開同意了太盟亞洲資本的要約。誰又在乎其中原因呢。這場激烈內鬥引發了人們對相關董事（無論他們持有多少股份）是否稱職的質疑。Shareholder consultancy ISS agrees. It proposes that independent shareholders vote out both board factions at the upcoming annual meeting. Yingde needs a stronger, more independent board. As for the bid, minorities should wait for a higher one to materialise.
股東諮詢服務公司“機構股東服務公司”(ISS)對此表示贊同。它建議獨立股東在即將到來的年會上投票驅逐這兩派。盈德需要更強大、更獨立的董事會。至於收購報價，少數股東應該等待更高的報價出現。
