巴菲特看好潜在收购机会

Warren Buffett said he was -“salivating at the thought of spending some of Berkshire Hathaway’s $40bn of cash on a big acquisition as he revealed that two $20bn deals had fallen through this year over price.

沃伦·巴菲特(Warren Buffett)表示，伯克希尔-哈撒韦(Berkshire Hathaway)拥有400亿美元的现金储备，只要一想到可用其中的部分资金进行大型收购，他就感到“垂涎三尺。他还透露称，今年以来共有两个金额达200亿美元的收购交易因为价格因素而告吹。

The billionaire investor told CNBC he was unwilling to compete with other bidders in his pursuit of companies to add to the candy-to-cargo-train conglomerate he controls.

这位亿万富翁投资人对CNBC表示，他在进行收购、以扩大自己掌控的包含从糖果到货运火车等多个行业的企业集团时，不愿意卷入竞购战。

Mr Buffett rarely sells a company absorbed by Berkshire, which has a $217bn market value, and prefers to negotiate directly rather than participate in an auction that might drive up a company’s price.

巴菲特很少将已由伯克希尔收购的公司再度出售，并且更愿意与收购目标直接沟通，而非参加可能推动收购价格走高的竞标活动。目前伯克希尔的市值高达2170亿美元。

His last big deal was the takeover of chemicals group Lubrizol for $9.7bn, agreed in early 2011, a transaction that also saw senior lieutenant David Sokol depart under a cloud due to transactions in Lubrizol stock.

他最近的一次大型交易是2011年初达成的以97亿美元的价格对化学品集团路博润(Lubrizol)的收购。该交易还导致巴菲特的主要副手大卫·索科尔(David Sokol)引咎辞职，原因是他在伯克希尔收购路博润之前买入了路博润的股票。

There are 75 companies in the S and P 500 with market values of $15bn to $20bn, including groups such as food manufacturer Heinz, Johnson Controlsand energy supplier Con Edison.

在标普500指数的成分股公司中，有75家的市值在150亿美元至200亿美元之间，这其中包括食品生产商亨氏(Heinz)、江森自控(Johnson Controls)以及能源供应商爱迪生电力公司(Con Edison)。

The prospect of changes to US tax laws in the new year, which may see the long-term capital gains rate rise from 15 per cent, could also prompt owners of large privately held businesses to consider a sale.

鉴于美国税收制度明年或有所变化的预期，特别是长期资本利得税率可能较目前的15%有所上调，大型私营企业的所有者也在考虑卖掉自己的公司。

In May, Mr Buffett told shareholders gathered in an Omaha stadium for Berkshire’s annual meeting that if he failed to find a $20bn deal this year, he would consider a $30bn acquisition next year. Since that meeting, the company’s stock is up 16 per cent to $131,200 per share.

今年5月，一年一度的伯克希尔股东大会在奥马哈的一座体育馆里举行。巴菲特在会上向股东们表示，如果自己今年未能达成一笔规模达到200亿美元的收购交易，下一年将考虑进行规模高达300亿美元的收购。自此次会议以来，伯克希尔的股价上涨了16%，至每股13.12万美元。

Mr Buffett said yesterday he had bought about 15 small businesses this year to “bolt on, including 63 Media General newspapers for $142m .

巴菲特昨日表示，今年他已收购了约15家小型企业以“扩充实力，其中包括以1.42亿美元的价格收购Media General旗下的63家报纸。

Mr Buffett also said he remained bullish on the US economy, which he expected to continue “inching ahead as the housing market recovered, even as global growth slows. Berkshire’s businesses have begun to see a pick-up in demand and he said he expected them to hire about 8,000 people this year.

巴菲特还表示，他依然看好美国经济前景，预计随着住房市场复苏，美国经济将继续“小步向前，即使同期全球经济增长有所放缓。伯克希尔自身业务的市场需求已有所回升，巴菲特预计公司今年将新招聘约8000名员工。