巨額交易熱潮推動一季度全球交易量創(chuàng)新高

More than $50bn worth of takeovers were being lined up on Wednesday in a final flurry of dealmaking that saw global volumes exceed $1.2tn in a record breaking quarter.

周三，有逾500億美元的收購交易安排妥當，這是推動第一季度全球交易量達到創(chuàng)紀錄的逾1.2萬億美元的最后一波并購交易。

In the latest sign of how eager boardrooms are sparking a record number of “mega-deals”, Japan’s top drugmaker Takeda revealed it was weighing a $40bn takeover of Irish rival Shire.

日本主要制藥公司武田制藥(Takeda)透露，正考慮斥資400億美元收購愛爾蘭對手Shire，這是表明企業(yè)董事會熱切推動創(chuàng)紀錄數(shù)量的“巨額交易”的最新跡象。

Concho Resources, a US oil and gas producer, agreed to buy rival RSP Permian for $9.5bn including debt and CME Group, the Chicago exchange, agreed to buy Nex Group in a deal that valued the UK group at nearly $3.8bn.

美國石油和天然氣生產(chǎn)商Concho Resources同意以95億美元收購對手RSP Permian(包括債務)，芝加哥商品交易所集團(CME Group)同意斥資38億美元收購英國的Nex Group。

Despite a heightened level of political uncertainty, a potential US-led trade war against China and fraught Brexit negotiations, companies have embarked on an unprecedented number of big acquisitions this year. The value of $5bn-plus deals is more than triple year-ago levels, according to data provider Thomson Reuters.

盡管政治不確定性提高，美國可能牽頭對中國發(fā)起貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)，英國退歐談判困難重重，今年企業(yè)發(fā)起了空前數(shù)量的巨額收購。根據(jù)數(shù)據(jù)提供商湯森路透(Thomson Reuters)的數(shù)據(jù)，今年以來50億美元以上交易的價值達到去年水平的三倍多。

More than half of the $1.2tn worth of acquisitions in the first quarter — the fastest start to a year ever — have been worth in excess of $5bn.

今年第一季度宣布的1.2萬億美元收購中，超過一半交易的價值超過50億美元。今年也是收購交易活動起步最快的一年。整體活動水平比一年前高出67%，比2007年同期水平高出大約三分之一，2007年創(chuàng)下了上一個收購交易活動紀錄。

The overall level of activity is up more than 67 per cent from a year earlier and about a third ahead of 2007, the previous high-water mark for takeovers.

銀行家和律師們告訴英國《金融時報》，企業(yè)董事會希望防范顛覆性的技術威脅并加速增長，推動了巨額交易激增(有20多筆交易的價值至少達到100億美元)。

The surge of big transactions — with more than 20 deals worth at least $10bn — has been bolstered by a boardroom desire to head off disruptive technological threats and accelerate growth, according to bankers and lawyers who spoke to the Financial Times.

這些交易得益于全球經(jīng)濟增長加快和強勁的商業(yè)信心，以及美國去年通過的減稅措施，減稅讓企業(yè)擁有更強的活力進行大手筆收購。

The deals have been spurred by quickening global growth and robust business confidence, as well as tax cuts passed in the US last year that have added to the firepower for marquee acquisitions.

“在增長恢復元氣的環(huán)境中，企業(yè)感受到壓力，要證明其股票市盈率是合理的，”花旗集團(Citigroup)歐洲、中東和非洲并購業(yè)務負責人艾莉森•哈丁-瓊斯(Alison Harding-Jones)表示。

“In an environment where growth is back, companies feel the pressure to justify the multiples they are trading on,” said Alison Harding-Jones, Citigroup’s Europe, Middle East and Africa M&A head.

在英國、德國、西班牙和荷蘭交易活動加速的帶動下，歐洲的交易量比一年前水平翻了一番多。一些銀行家和律師預計，剝離資產(chǎn)的速度將加快，為私人股本集團敞開大門。

Dealmaking in Europe has more than doubled from year-ago levels, led by accelerating activity in the UK, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Some bankers and lawyers expect the pace of divestitures to accelerate, opening the door for private equity groups. 案例之一是凱雷(Carlyle)和荷蘭涂料生產(chǎn)商阿克蘇諾貝爾(Akzo Nobel)本周就后者的特種化學品業(yè)務達成的101億歐元交易(包括債務)。這筆收購是近年歐洲最大的私人股本交易之一。

That was apparent in a €10.1bn deal, including debt, clinched this week between Carlyle and Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel for the latter’s speciality chemicals business. The acquisition is one of the largest European private equity deals agreed in recent years.

世達律師事務所(Skadden Arps)并購交易負責人史蒂芬•阿爾卡諾(Stephen Arcano)表示，企業(yè)對潛在的政治風險很警惕，但目前還沒有證據(jù)表明交易談判的速度將在今年晚些時候放緩。

Stephen Arcano, head of M&A at Skadden, said that companies were being vigilant about potential political risks but for the time being there was no evidence that the pace of deal talks would slow down later in the year.

阿爾什•馬蘇迪(Arash Massoudi)，詹姆斯•豐塔內(nèi)拉汗(James Fontanella-Khan)補充報道

Additional reporting by Arash Massoudi and James Fontanella-Khan 譯者/徐行