Lex專欄：螞蟻金服收購速匯金失敗的啟示

It is time to face reality on cross-border M&A. Alibaba founder Jack Ma cosied up to the Trump administration earlier and more extensively than other business leaders. The flattery failed to deliver the goods. On Tuesday, the $1.2bn takeover of MoneyGram by Ant Financial, controlled by Mr Ma, was scuppered on national security concerns.

是時候面對跨境并購的現(xiàn)實了。阿里巴巴(Alibaba)創(chuàng)始人馬云(Jack Ma)比其他商業(yè)領袖更早、更賣力地向特朗普政府獻殷勤。這樣的奉承未能帶來好的結(jié)果。周二，馬云控制的螞蟻金服(Ant Financial)以12億美元收購速匯金(MoneyGram)的交易被美國外國投資委員會(CFIUS)以國家安全為由否決。

It has been obvious for some time that Chinese bids for US semiconductor assets are futile. With the demise of this payments merger, any Chinese company wanting to buy anything of significance in the US should give up.

一段時間以來很明顯的是，中國企業(yè)對美國半導體資產(chǎn)的競購是徒勞的。在這起支付服務并購交易告吹之后，所有想要在美國收購任何具有重要意義的東西的中國企業(yè)都應該放棄。

The work of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US is opaque and the MoneyGram deal may have faced scrutiny under the Obama administration over data security but it is hard not to detect the influence of China hawks in the administration.

美國外國投資委員會的工作是不透明的，在奧巴馬政府時期，這樣一筆收購速匯金的交易可能會在數(shù)據(jù)安全方面受到嚴格審查，但很難忽略政府中對華鷹派的影響。

US companies active in China should be wary of repercussions. And any US recipient of Chinese bid interest should engage only with extreme caution. After accepting $800m, or $13.25 a share, from Ant in January last year, MoneyGram then received a $15.20 a share offer from Euronet Worldwide, which despite its name is based in Kansas City. It is hard to criticise MoneyGram for preferring Ant’s subsequent $18 a share counter-offer but in hindsight that was the one to take.

在中國活躍的美國企業(yè)應該警惕負面反響。任何收到中國企業(yè)競購意向的美國企業(yè)都應該以極度謹慎的態(tài)度來應對。在去年1月收到螞蟻金服每股13.25美元、合計8.8億美元的收購要約之后，速匯金收到了Euronet Worldwide每股15.2美元的要約。盡管名字中帶有“世界”(Worldwide)，但Euronet Worldwide是一家總部位于堪薩斯城的企業(yè)。MoneyGram更青睞螞蟻金服在之后提出的每股18美元的要約無可指摘，但事后看來它應該接受Euronet Worldwide的要約。

Does Euronet knock again? The company has long coveted MoneyGram, including a failed hostile bid (at $1.65bn) a decade ago. Without a rival bidder, though, Euronet can afford to wait for a better buying opportunity: MoneyGram’s shares fell only 5 per cent on the end of the Ant deal. That may reflect too much optimism on the part of the MoneyGram shareholders that a looser partnership with Ant, announced alongside the demise of the merger, can open up growth opportunities.

Euronet會再嘗試收購速匯金嗎?Euronet長期以來一直渴望把速匯金收入囊中，10年前還曾對該公司發(fā)起惡意收購(報價16.5億美元)未果。然而，在沒有競購對手的情況下，Euronet可以等待更好的收購機會：在螞蟻金服收購交易失敗之后，速匯金的股價只下跌了5%。這可能反映出，對速匯金和螞蟻金服在收購交易失敗之際宣布雙方建立更松散合作關系一事，速匯金股東過于樂觀，認為這種合作可能帶來增長機會。

In accepting the Ant bid, MoneyGram had to state why it might not prosper on its own. It made a worryingly compelling case, including the risk of relying on Walmart for almost a fifth of its revenues and its burdensome junk-rated debt.

接受螞蟻金服收購要約時，速匯金必須說明為何僅靠自身無法成功。速匯金陳述的理由是強有力的，這令人擔憂，它的理由包括其近五分之一的收入依賴沃爾瑪(Walmart)而導致的風險，及其垃圾債務帶來的沉重負擔。