安邦 積極打造多元化投資集團
When Marriott International swooped in last November to trump a smaller rival’s offer for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the last-minute upset was set to create the world’s largest hotel company by rooms.
去年11月，萬豪國際(Marriott International)發動奇襲，一舉打敗另一個規模較小的競爭對手，與喜達屋酒店及度假村集團(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)達成收購協議。這最後一刻的翻盤在當時看將會創造以客房數量計全球最大的酒店企業。
But if a group led by Chinese insurer Anbang has its way, those plans will not only unravel but also establish a new challenger in the global lodging industry with ambitions to grow rapidly through acquisitions.
但如果中國保險集團安邦(Anbang)領銜的財團獲得成功，不僅會瓦解萬豪的上述計劃，還將在全球酒店業確立一個新的挑戰者，而其抱負是通過收購實現快速增長。
On Monday, Starwood revealed it had begun talks with an unnamed group — later confirmed as a consortium led by Anbang — that has offered almost $13bn for the owner of the Sheraton, W Hotels and St Regis chains.
週一，喜達屋宣佈已與一個匿名財團展開談判，隨後證實是安邦牽頭的財團。該財團向這家擁有喜來登(Sheraton)、W酒店(W Hotels)、瑞吉(St Regis)等品牌的酒店業巨頭髮出了近130億美元的收購要約。
The all-cash bid from the Chinese group is worth $76 a share, Starwood said, adding that it remained committed to its already agreed deal with Marriott. However, the US company noted the value of Marriott’s cash-and-stock offer had fallen to $63.74, driven by a decline in that company’s stock price since November.
喜達屋表示，中國財團的全現金報價相當於每股76美元，該公司同時表示仍致力於此前與萬豪已商定的協議。但這家美國公司指出，受去年11月以來萬豪股價下跌影響，萬豪提出的現金加股票的報價價值已下降到每股63.74美元。
For Anbang, which started as a regional car insurance business in China 12 years ago, a Starwood takeover would be the climax of a rapid transformation into a diversified investment group. Over the past 18 months, Anbang has spent more than $23bn — without counting its offer for Starwood — to accumulate a sprawling list of global assets that span financial services, real estate and lodging.
12年前從一家中國地區性汽車保險公司起步的安邦，如果能夠成功收購喜達屋，其向多元化投資集團的快速轉型將達到高潮。過去一年半里，不含對喜達屋的報價，安邦已投入逾230億美元，積攢了一張橫跨金融服務、房地產和酒店業的龐雜的全球資產名單。
Led by Wu Xiaohui, its politically connected chairman, Anbang has used the income from its growing insurance business to fund its overseas ambitions. The company had assets worth more than Rmb800bn ($123bn) as of February last year.
在具有政治人脈的董事長吳小暉的帶領下，安邦用不斷增長的保險業務帶來的收入，爲其海外抱負提供資金。截至去年2月，這家公司資產價值已超8000億元人民幣（合1230億美元）。
Mr Wu is married to the granddaughter of Deng Xiaoping, China’s former leader and the architect of the country’s transition out of a planned economy, and Anbang has an opaque ownership structure that includes associations with other prominent families. The company has also demonstrated what The Economist has called an “unusually good” ability to navigate China’s complex bureaucracy.
吳小暉的妻子是中國前領導人、改革開放總設計師鄧小平的外孫女。安邦的所有權結構不透明，該公司可能與其他顯赫家族也有聯繫。在與中國複雜的官僚機構打交道方面，這家公司也展現出被《經濟學人》(The Economist)稱爲“異常出色”的能力。
Analysts have questioned the company’s aggressive approach to M&A, saying Anbang risks undermining the profitability of its core business as it gambles on high-risk investments in other areas.
分析師對這家公司激進的併購策略提出質疑，稱安邦將賭注押在其他領域的高風險投資上，有削弱其核心業務盈利能力的風險。
Growth expectations are being fuelled by China’s low rate of insurance penetration, giving providers room to catch up with western peers. Premiums were only 3 per cent of China’s gross domestic product in 2014, compared with 7 per cent in the US and 11 per cent in Japan, according to Swiss Re.
中國的保險普及率較低，這支撐了安邦的增長預期，因爲這爲保險供應商提供了追趕西方同行的空間。根據瑞士再保險公司(Swiss Re)的數據，2014年中國的保費僅爲國內生產總值(GDP)的3%，而美國爲7%，日本爲11%。
However, in China’s life insurance market, Anbang is dwarfed by listed rivals China Life and Ping An, with a market share of just 4 per cent.
不過在中國的壽險市場，與中國人壽(China Life)和中國平安(Ping An)這兩家上市競爭對手比起來，安邦相形見絀，市場份額僅有4%。
To help manage its buying spree, the company has hired a handful of experienced investment bankers — following a pattern among Chinese companies with an appetite for overseas assets, including Alibaba and Fosun. By bringing talent in-house, several Chinese groups have been able to avoid using global investment banks for many of their deals.
爲幫助自己管理好這場收購盛宴，安邦已效仿阿里巴巴(Alibaba)、復星(Fosun)等對海外資產感興趣的中國企業，聘請了一批經驗豐富的投資銀行家。通過引進人才到公司內部，一些中國集團已經可以在許多收購交易上不必藉助全球投資銀行。
As it has grown, the company’s connections have extended beyond its network in China. One of those has been with US alternative asset manager Blackstone, a relationship that has proved critical to Anbang’s expansion into lodging.
隨着公司的不斷壯大，安邦的關係網已經延伸到中國境外。其中就包括與美國另類資產管理公司黑石集團(Blackstone)建立的聯繫，事實證明，這一關係對安邦進軍酒店業至關重要。
In late 2014, Blackstone sold New York’s landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel to Anbang for nearly $2bn and just this weekend agreed a $6.5bn sale of 16 prime US hotels to the Chinese group.
2014年末，黑石將紐約地標華爾道夫酒店（Waldorf Astoria，見文首圖）以近20億美元出售給安邦，並在上週末同意以65億美元向這家中資集團出售在美國擁有16家豪華酒店的Strategic Hotels & Resorts。
After the Waldorf deal, Mr Wu appeared at Harvard University to declare his “win-win” approach to business between the US and China. He also highlighted his budding friendship with Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone’s chairman and chief executive, as well as Jonathan Gray, its head of real estate.
收購華爾道夫酒店之後，吳小暉現身哈佛大學(Harvard University)，闡述了自己關於中美商業合作的“雙贏”策略。他同時還強調了自己與黑石董事長兼首席執行官蘇世民(Stephen Schwarzman)以及該集團房地產業務負責人喬納森•格雷(Jonathan Gray)之間不斷升溫的友誼。
In that 2015 speech, Mr Wu said of Mr Gray: “Our relationship developed gradually from negotiation counterparties to close friends. I trust him deeply because he keeps his word. He is like a cheque book. As soon as a cheque is written, you can count on cashing it, and he doesn’t waste any time.”
在2015年的這次演講中，吳小暉談到格雷時說：“我跟他從談判對手變成了朋友，我非常信任他，他講話算數。我覺得他是做人、說話像支票一樣開了就算數，不浪費時間。”
Mr Wu was also not wasting any time by immediately setting his sights on Starwood. A regulatory filing on the company’s deal with Marriott reveals that an overseas company, identified as Anbang by a person familiar with the matter, made an non-binding offer to acquire Starwood last year. The original approach lacked any financing details, this person said, and Starwood’s executives were very concerned about Anbang’s ability to close the deal. Those concerns persist today, explaining Starwood’s decision to restate its support for Marriott’s offer on Monday.
吳小暉也沒有浪費任何時間，在收購華爾道夫酒店之後，他馬上將目標對準了喜達屋。喜達屋與萬豪的協議在監管機構的備案文件顯示，一家海外公司（一名知情人士確認爲安邦）去年向喜達屋發出了非約束性收購要約。該知情人士表示，最開始的要約缺乏任何融資細節，而喜達屋的高管非常擔憂安邦完成此項交易的能力。如今，這些擔憂仍未打消，這可以解釋爲什麼喜達屋週一做出了重申支持萬豪收購的決定。
This time, however, Anbang has enlisted support from investors including China’s Primavera Capital and JC Flowers & Co, the private equity outfit of US billionaire J Christopher Flowers.
然而，安邦此次爭取到了多家投資機構的支持，包括中國的春華資本(Primavera Capital)以及美國億萬富翁J•克里斯托弗•弗勞爾斯(J Christopher Flowers)旗下的私人股本機構JC Flowers & Co。
Mr Wu is now going head-to-head for Starwood with Marriott, a company deeply connected to America’s business establishment. If he succeeds, it will mark China’s biggest upset ever in a foreign takeover battle.
如今，爲了爭奪喜達屋，吳小暉正與萬豪展開激烈競爭，而後者在美國商界人脈頗深。如果吳小暉能成功，這將標誌着中國海外收購戰中最大的一場翻盤。
