亨氏收購卡夫締造全球第五大食品公司
Heinz is to take over Kraft Foods to create one of North America’s biggest food companies in the latest blockbuster deal engineered by the formidable tandem of Warren Buffett and Brazil’s 3G Capital.
亨氏(Heinz)將收購卡夫食品(Kraft Foods)，締造北美最大食品公司之一。這一最新出爐的鉅額交易是在沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)和巴西3G資本(3G Capital)的強大合作下促成的。The deal will create a company valued at $100bn including debt which brings together some of the biggest household brands in the US, ranging from Heinz ketchup to Jell-O desserts and Kool-Aid drinks.
這筆交易將創造一個含債務在內價值1000億美元的公司，彙集美國最大的幾個家喻戶曉的品牌，其中包括亨氏番茄醬、Jell-O甜點以及Kool-Aid飲料。
The takeover — the world’s largest M&A transaction so far this year — marks another step in the conquest of the US food industry by a Brazilian private equity group noted for its meticulous scrutiny of operational detail.
此次收購是今年迄今全球最大的併購交易，它標誌着一家以對經營細節一絲不苟著稱的巴西私人股本公司對美國食品行業的進一步征服。
Led by three Brazilians who invest funds raised from the world’s wealthiest families, 3G wages its campaigns on large US consumer groups that have struggled to grow and where aggressive cost-cutting measures can rapidly improve profitability.
3G的領導者是三個巴西人，他們的投資資金是從全球最富有的家族募集的。3G將目標鎖定於難以保持增長的美國大型消費者產品集團，這些集團如果採取積極的削減成本措施，就能迅速提高盈利能力。Over the past seven years, the group has masterminded takeovers of Heinz, fast-food chains Burger King and Tim Hortons as well as beer giant Anheuser-Busch.
過去7年裏，3G策劃的收購活動包括亨氏、快餐連鎖店漢堡王(Burger King)和提姆霍頓(Tim Hortons)，以及啤酒巨頭安海斯-布希(Anheuser-Busch)。Its record and style has drawn the unstinting praise of Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett, who has teamed up with 3G on each of its past three large food deals.
3G的記錄和風格令伯克希爾哈撒韋公司(Berkshire Hathaway)的沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)稱讚不已。在近期三筆食品行業大規模收購交易中，巴菲特每次都與3G聯手。The cash and stock transaction will see 49 per cent of the new group go to Kraft shareholders who will also receive a $10bn special dividend, worth $16.50 for each Kraft share. That sum will be paid by Mr Buffett and 3G, who will hold 51 per cent of the new group.
此次現金加股票的交易完成後，卡夫股東將持有新公司49%的股份，並可獲得100億美元的特別股息，相當於每股16.50美元。這筆款項將由巴菲特和3G支付，他們將持有新公司51%的股份。The agreement to create the Kraft Heinz Company came together in less than two months, with Heinz chairman Alex Behring approaching his counterpart at Kraft, John Cahill, about a deal in late January. Kraft shares jumped 39.4 per cent to $85.51 on Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of $50.2bn.
今年1月底，亨氏董事長亞歷克斯•貝林(Alex Behring)就一筆交易接洽了他在卡夫的對手約翰•卡希爾(John Cahill)，不到兩個月時間就達成了創建卡夫亨氏(Heinz Company)的協議。卡夫股價週三大漲39.4%，至85.51美元，使該公司的市值達到502億美元。The deal creates a combined business with annual revenues of $29bn, making it the fifth-biggest food and beverage company in the world.
合併後，卡夫亨氏的年營業收入將達290億美元，成爲全球第五大食品和飲料公司。“This is my kind of transaction, uniting two world-class organisations and delivering shareholder value,” Mr Buffett said.
巴菲特說：“這就是我青睞的那種交易，合併兩個世界級的組織，實現股東價值。”
