分众传媒拟借壳在中国上市

Focus Media Holding, a Chinese billboard company that abandoned its New York listing after an attack by a prominent short seller, is set to go public again via a reverse takeover.

中国广告公司分众传媒控股有限公司(Focus Media Holding)将通过逆向收购再次上市。此前，该公司曾因受到一家著名卖空机构的攻击而放弃在纽约上市。

Jiangsu Honda, a silicon rubber manufacturer listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, said late on Tuesday that it would pay Rmb45.7bn ($7.4bn) for Focus.

周二晚些时候，在深圳证券交易所(Shenzhen Stock Exchange)上市的硅橡胶生产商江苏宏达新材料(Jiangsu Honda，简称宏达新材)表示，该公司将以457亿元人民币(合74亿美元)置换分众传媒资产。

The company’s return to China highlights the spending power of groups whose shares have been boosted by soaring equity markets and Asian investors’ increasing willingness to back companies previously attacked by western short sellers.

该公司重返中国，一方面凸显出那些因股市暴涨而导致股价大幅提升的企业集团购买力大增，另一方面则凸显出亚洲投资者越来越愿意支持此前曾受西方卖空者攻击的企业。

With the backdoor listing, investors led by the Carlyle Group will have almost doubled their money after paying $3.7bn for Focus Media in May 2013.

通过这次借壳上市，以凯雷集团(Carlyle Group)为首的投资者将斩获近一倍的回报。它们在2013年5月斥资37亿美元收购分众传媒。

The Chinese advertising company had been listed on Nasdaq but was taken private after research group Muddy Waters alleged in November 2011 that it exaggerated the number of billboards it had and overpaid for acquisitions.

这家中国广告公司原本在纳斯达克(Nasdaq)上市。然而，2011年11月研究集团浑水(Muddy Waters)指控该公司夸大旗下拥有的广告牌数量，并在并购交易中出资过多。该公司在那之后被转为私人控股。

At the time, shares in Focus Media, which denied the accusations as “innuendo, fell as much as 40 per cent.

当时，分众传媒否认了这一指控，称其是一种“歪曲，但股价下跌幅度仍高达40%。

So far this year the tech-heavy Shenzhen Composite has more than doubled, while last month the Shanghai Stock Exchange gained 14 per cent in seven days, reaching its highest since 2008.

今年迄今，偏重高科技企业的深证成指(Shenzhen Composite)已上涨超过一倍。与此同时，上海证券交易所(Shanghai Stock Exchange)上月曾在7天内上涨14%，达到2008年以来的最高点。

If MSCI opts to include Chinese A shares in its global indices, a decision due to be announced next week, that would add even more fuel to the country’s equity markets.

下周，摩根士丹利资本国际(MSCI)将公布是否将中国的A股纳入全球指数。如果它选择这么做，将为中国股市平添更多助力。

Jiangsu Honda, which will pay a mixture of cash and stock for Focus Media, also announced a Rmb5bn placement to help fund the deal. The transaction requires approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, but reverse takeovers typically draw less scrutiny than initial public offerings.

宏达新材将以现金和股票置换分众传媒资产。此外，该公司还公布了50亿元人民币的配股计划，为这笔交易提供资金。该交易需要得到中国证监会(China Securities Regulatory Commission)的批准，不过逆向收购面临的审核通常弱于首次公开发行(IPO)。

Research groups specialising in short selling emerged as a force to be reckoned with in Asia in 2011 when Muddy Waters attacked the veracity of accounts published by Toronto-listed Sino-Forest. The Chinese forestry company later collapsed.

2011年，专长于卖空的研究集团开始成为亚洲股市上一支不可忽视的力量。就在那一年，浑水公司抨击在多伦多上市的嘉汉林业(Sino-Forest)所公布账目的真实性。嘉汉林业是一家中国林业公司，后来未能逃脱破产命运。

In March 2014, investors led by Temasek offered to pay $2.1bn for the shares they did not control in Olam, an agricultural commodities trader that was also criticised by Muddy Waters. The Singapore investment agency also backed an Olam rights offer designed to squeeze short sellers.

2014年3月，以新加坡投资机构淡马锡(Temasek)为首的投资者曾斥资21亿美元，收购奥兰(Olam)未被淡马锡控制的股份。奥兰是一家农业大宗商品交易商，也曾受到浑水批评。为此，淡马锡还投入资金支持奥兰配售新股，以挤压卖空者。

Evergrande, a Chinese property developer listed in Hong Kong, also beat back an attack by another short seller, Citron Research.

在香港上市的中国房地产开发商恒大(Evergrande)，也曾击退另一家卖空机构香橼研究(Citron Research)的攻击。

More recently, Hong Kong-listed Tianhe Chemical suspended trading in its shares for five weeks while it drafted a rebuttal to criticisms levelled by Anonymous Analytics. Its stock has yet to recover from the attack.

更近的例子是，在香港上市的天合化工(Tianhe Chemical)股票停牌五周，以起草针对相关批评的辩驳材料。这些批评发自一家名为匿名分析(Anonymous Analytics)的机构。该公司股票至今未从那次攻击恢复过来。