安邦調高對喜達屋收購報價
Anbang has fired a new shot in the fiercest bidding war dealmakers have seen in recent years, after the Chinese insurer raised its bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts to $14bn in its latest effort to trump a rival offer from Marriott International.
安邦(Anbang)在交易撮合者幾年來目睹的最激烈競購戰中打響新的一槍，這家中國保險商將其對喜達屋酒店及度假村(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)的收購報價提高至140億美元，這是安邦壓倒萬豪國際(Marriott International)報價的最新嘗試。
Starwood said on Monday that it was in talks with Anbang after the acquisitive Chinese insurer sweetened its all-cash offer to $82.75 per share, a non-binding proposal the US hotel operator said it was likely to consider superior to Marriott’s offer.
喜達屋週一表示，它正與安邦洽談，此前這家收購意識較強的中國保險商將其全現金報價調高至每股82.75美元。喜達屋這家美國酒店運營商表示，它很可能認爲這項不具約束力的要約優於萬豪的報價。
The new bid is $4.75 per share higher than the one Anbang made on March 18, and tops Marriott’s latest cash-and-stock offer, which was worth $78.12 at Monday morning’s share price.
新的報價比安邦在3月18日提出的報價高出每股4.75美元，而且高於萬豪最新的現金加股票報價，後者按週一上午的股價計算價值每股78.12美元。
Starwood, which owns the Sheraton, W Hotels and Westin brands, stressed that its board was still backing a merger with Marriott, however. The US group first agreed to acquire Starwood for $12.2bn back in November, but increased its cash-and-stock bid to $13.6bn last week in response to Anbang’s pursuit.
不過，旗下擁有喜來登(Sheraton)、W酒店(W Hotels)和威斯汀(Westin)等品牌的喜達屋強調，其董事會仍然支持與萬豪合併。同爲美資集團的萬豪最初在去年11月同意以122億美元收購喜達屋，但針對安邦加入競購，上週將其現金加股票出價調高至136億美元。
Starwood’s decision to hold on to the Marriott agreement highlights its resistance in accepting Anbang’s offer amid Chinese reports that Anbang’s US deals were at risk of being blocked by local regulators.
喜達屋董事會堅守與萬豪達成的協議，突顯其對於接受安邦出價的戒備心理。據中國媒體報道，安邦在美國追逐的交易有被中國監管機構封殺的風險。
Caixin, a respected non-state controlled Chinese financial magazine, reported last week that the China Insurance Regulatory Commission could use a rule that prevents insurance companies from investing more than 15 per cent of their total assets abroad to block the deal.
受人尊敬、非國家控制的中國財經雜誌《財新週刊》上週報道，中國保監會(CIRC)可能會援引“保險資金境外投資不超過總資產15%”的規則來阻止這筆交易。
People close to the Chinese company, which last year acquired the Waldorf Astoria in New York for $1.95bn without regulatory hurdles, said the report overstated the risks that the watchdog would block the deal. Another person said that Anbang had finance in places to close the deal.
安邦曾在去年斥資19.5億美元收購紐約華爾道夫酒店(Waldorf Astoria)，其間並未遭遇監管障礙。接近這家中資公司的人士稱，上述報道誇大了監管機構將封殺這筆交易的風險。另一名人士表示，安邦已落實收購資金，有能力完成交易。
However, Anbang, which is bidding for Starwood together with China’s Primavera Capital and US private equity group JC Flowers, has yet to disclose how it plans to finance the deal.
然而，正與中國春華資本集團(Primavera Capital Group)和美國私人股本集團JC Flowers聯手競購喜達屋的安邦，至今沒有披露它計劃如何爲這筆交易買單。
It unclear whether Marriott will make a counter-offer. After Anbang crashed Marriott’s deal with its $78-per-share offer few analysts or people involved in the negotiations believed that the US hotel operator would top the Chinese bid.
目前尚不清楚萬豪會不會發出還盤。在安邦之前以每股78美元的報價攪局萬豪交易後，幾乎沒有分析師或參與談判的人認爲，這家美國酒店運營商將超過中方的報價。
However, during a historic trip with US President Barack Obama to Havana on March 21, Marriott’s chief executive Arne Sorenson and his Starwood counterpart Thomas Mangas hammered out the terms of a fresh deal that beat Anbang’s bid.
然而，3月21日，在隨同美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)對哈瓦那展開歷史性訪問期間，萬豪首席執行官阿恩•索倫森(Arne Sorenson)和喜達屋首席執行官托馬斯•曼加斯(Thomas Mangas)敲定了一項擊敗安邦出價的新協議的條款。
For Marriott winning the battle against Anbang is crucial for the company’s future, as a deal with Starwood would turn it into the world’s largest hotel operator with a portfolio of 1.1m rooms in more than 5,500 hotels.
在這場競購戰中勝過安邦對於萬豪的未來至關重要，因爲與喜達屋聯姻將使其成爲世界上最大的酒店運營商，擁有110萬間客房和超過5500家酒店。
Marriott said it remained committed to its agreement with Starwood, adding its offer would create greater long-term value driven by a larger global footprint.
萬豪表示，將繼續致力於推進與喜達屋達成的協議，並補充稱，在更大全球影響力的推動下，其收購要約將創造更大的長期價值。
On March 21, Marriott offered $21 in cash and 0.80 of its own shares for each Starwood share. Marriott and Starwood shareholders are due to vote on this deal on April 8.
3月21日，萬豪提出爲喜達屋每股支付21美元現金外加0.80股萬豪股票。萬豪和喜達屋股東定於4月8日對這筆交易舉行投票。
However, Anbang’s founder and politically well-connected chairman, Wu Xiaohui, is also determined to expand the insurer’s portfolio outside of China.
不過，在中國政壇人脈深廣的安邦創始人和董事長吳小暉也決心拓展這家保險商在境外的投資組合。
Over the past two years, Anbang has been on an acquisitions binge, agreeing more than $32bn worth of deals. The latest include the $6.5bn bid for Strategic Hotels and Resorts, the $1.6bn acquisition of US insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life, and $1bn for a 63 per cent stake in Tong Yang Life Insurance of South Korea.
在過去兩年裏，安邦掀起了一股收購熱潮，總共達成逾320億美元的交易。最新的交易包括65億美元收購Strategic Hotels and Resorts，16億美元收購美國保險商美國信保人壽(Fidelity & Guaranty Life)，以及10億美元購得韓國東洋人壽(Tong Yang Life Insurance) 63%股權。
