东西方联姻:双汇收购Smithfield的幕后

It was a brief meeting of the two most powerful people in pork.那是猪肉生产行业两位最有权势人物的一次一段时间会面。The encounter between Joseph W. Luter III, chairman of Smithfield Foods Inc., SFD +0.33% the worlds largest pork processor, and Wan Long, chairman of Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., known as Chinas No. 1 Butcher, lasted only 90 minutes about seven years ago.会面再次发生在约七年前，一方是全球仅次于猪肉加工企业Smithfield Foods Inc.的董事长约瑟夫W卢特尔三世(Joseph W. Luter III)，另一方则是美称“中国第一屠夫宽”之称之为的双汇国际有限公司有限公司(Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.)董事长万隆。会面只持续了90分钟。

Hosting Mr. Wan in his Manhattan apartment, Mr. Luter floated the idea of a joint venture, saying we ought to do something together. And that laid the foundation, Mr. Luter said in an interview this week, for a very different tie-up: last weeks $4.7 billion deal for Shuanghui to buy Smithfield in the biggest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company.卢特尔在其坐落于曼哈顿的公寓中招待了万隆，当时他抛了双方正式成立一家合资企业的点子，称之为“我们应当一起做到一些事情”。卢特尔本周拒绝接受记者专访时说，正是这句话为双方不同寻常的联姻奠下了基础。上周双汇耗资47亿美元并购Smithfield是规模仅次于的一宗中资企业并购美国公司的案例。

Seeds were planted, the 73-year-old Mr. Luter said, and sometimes it takes a while for seeds to germinate.73岁的卢特尔说道，那时我们就早已播撒了种子，有时种子必须一段时间才能幼苗。The deal that blossomed marks a stunning conclusion to the Luter familys stewardship of Smithfield, and it reflects big changes in the global meat industry. Mr. Luters father and grandfather co-founded the meatpacker in 1936 in Smithfield, Va., and he transformed it into a global giant by engineering more than 50 acquisitions over three decades.最后开花结果的这宗交易标志着卢特尔家族完结了对Smithfield的领导，这非常令人车祸，但也体现出有全球肉类行业经常出现的根本性变化。卢特尔的父亲和祖父在1936年于弗吉尼亚州史密斯菲尔德联合创立了这家肉类加工企业。通过在30年的时间里策划了50多宗收购，卢特尔将Smithfield转变成了一家全球巨头。

Along the way, Mr. Luter earned a reputation as a no-nonsense businessman with expensive tastes that have included posh homes on Manhattans Park Avenue and in Aspen, Colo. He was also a fierce defender of the pork industry in the face of criticism from animal-rights activists and environmental groups, acquiring nicknames in the media like Boss Hog and the Hog King.这一过程中，卢特尔夺得了“实际而高效”的声誉，同时他的个人品味也非常奢侈。他在曼哈顿的公园大道(Park Avenue)和科罗拉多州的阿斯彭(Aspen)购买了豪宅。

面临动物权利活动人士和环保的组织的抨击，他还反感为猪肉行业申辩，因此也被媒体冠上“猪老板”(Boss Hog)和“猪王”(Hog King)的称号。The proposed takeover is an acknowledgment by Mr. Luter and other Smithfield directors that the companys growth prospects at home are constrained by sluggish sales in a mature and consolidated market, while China offers vast opportunities as the rising wealth of its people fuels increasing demand for pork and other meats.此次明确提出的这宗并购交易指出卢特尔和Smithfield的其他董事否认，该公司在美国国内的快速增长前景受限于在一个成熟期且经过统合的市场销售通畅的现实。随着中国民众财富大大减少，其对猪肉和其它肉制品的市场需求也在下降，中国为Smithfield获取了极大的商机。

I have always thought that something big should happen between China and the United States, Mr. Luter said. Theres too much pork in the U.S. and too little in China.卢特尔说道，我仍然指出中美两国之间应当再次发生一宗大交易；美国的猪肉过于多，而中国的猪肉又过于较少。The deal remains subject to a national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. And Mr. Luter said that other bids could still emerge.该交易仍尚待美国海外投资委员会(Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.)的国家安全性审查。

卢特尔说道，还有可能经常出现其他竞购企业。Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA JBSS3.BR -0.43% and Thailands Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL, CPF.TH -2.61% known as CP Foods, have also looked at Smithfield, according to a statement by CP Foods last week and people close to JBS. Shuanghuis side didnt learn that CP Foods and JBS were interested until about a week before Shuanghui signed its deal, said a person familiar with the matter. Shuanghui responded by accelerating its efforts quite a bit, the person said, and at one point it even intimated that it would drop out of the process if the deal wasnt signed in a certain time frame.巴西肉类加工企业JBS SA和泰国的Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL（即卜蜂食品(CP Foods)）也对Smithfield有兴趣。这一消息来自卜蜂食品上周公布的一份声明以及相似JBS的人士。据知情人士透漏，约在签订这宗交易的一周前双汇才获知卜蜂食品和JBS也有兴趣。

这位知情人士说道，双汇回应作出的反应是大大减缓了工程进度。双汇甚至曾多次一度似乎说道，如果交易不出特定时间框架内签订，它将解散竞购。But JBS isnt currently entertaining a topping bid, according to people familiar with the matter. And Shuanghui doesnt expect either party to top its bid, said another person familiar with the matter, who added that Shuanghuis Mr. Wan would likely top other bids should they appear. Shuanghui and JBS representatives declined comment.但据知情人士透漏，JBS目前没考虑到明确提出一个低于双汇的报价。

另一位知情人士说道，双汇预计不论是卜蜂还是JBS都会得出一个多达自己的报价。这位人士还说道，一旦经常出现低过双汇的报价，双汇董事长万隆可能会扳平这些报价。

双汇和JBS的代表不予置评。Messrs. Luter and Wan, growing up on opposite sides of the world, both helped turn modest regional meatpackers into industry giants.分别在东西方茁壮一起的万隆和卢特尔也分别将一家区域性肉类加工企业变为了行业巨头。Mr. Luters start came on the kill floor and loading dock at his familys company during summers between semesters at Wake Forest University. He was thrust into a leadership role after his father died his senior year, and he became CEO in 1966 at the age of 26.卢特尔在韦克福里斯特大学(Wake Forest University)上学时，到暑假之后不会在家族企业的屠宰车间和装货区挣钱，他由此转入了这一行。

大四时，他父亲去世，他被推向领导岗位，1966年年仅26岁的卢特尔沦为首席执行长。Mr. Luter sold out three years later to Liberty Equities Corp. and was soon pushed out. He used his money from the deal to start a Virginia ski resort, but after Smithfield began to founder, directors brought him back in 1975.三年后，卢特尔将公司卖给了Liberty Equities Corp.，旋即后被吸管了公司。

他用买公司来作的钱在弗吉尼亚开设了一个滑雪度假地，但在Smithfield开始陷入困境后，1975年董事们把他请求了回去。Mr. Luter began snapping up weaker pork companies. In the 1980s and 1990s, he borrowed a strategy from the chicken industry, developing and buying up hog farms so that Smithfield could control each stage of pork production.卢特尔开始并购较强的猪肉企业。上世纪80年代和90年代，他糅合鸡肉行业的策略，研发及并购养猪场，以便使Smithfield需要掌控猪肉生产的各个环节。

As Smithfield grew, Mr. Luter and the company became targets of environmental groups and other critics. Animal-rights activists blasted it for confining female pigs to narrow pens known as gestation stalls. In 1997, a federal judge fined Smithfield $12.6 million for violating the federal Clean Water Act by discharging hog-waste pollutants into a Chesapeake Bay tributary.随着Smithfield发展壮大，卢特尔及其公司沦为环保的组织和其他抨击人士的反击目标。动物权利保护者批评该公司把母猪容许在狭窄的猪栏里。

1997年，一名联邦法官裁决Smithfield缴纳1,260万美元的罚款，罪名是将猪粪污染物废气到切萨皮克湾(Chesapeake Bay)的一个支流中，违背了联邦《净水法》(Clean Water Act)。Mr. Luter often responded undiplomatically. The animal-rights people want to impose a vegetarian society on the U.S., he told The Wall Street Journal in 2001. Most vegetarians I know are neurotic.卢特尔的对此经常过于圆润。2001年他对《华尔街日报》说道，动物权利保护者期望把美国变为一个素食社会。我了解的大部分素食者都神经质。

Mr. Luter now regrets many of those comments over the years. I did a miserable job of public relations, he said.现在卢特尔对之前自己说道过的很多话深感愧疚。他说道，我的公关做到得很糟。Smithfields stock price soared under his leadership. But he stepped down as CEO in 2006 because he was tired of dealing with government regulators, he said. It wasnt any fun anymore.在他兼任首席执行长期间，Smithfield股价攀升。

但他说道，2006年他言了职，因为他厌烦了与政府监管机构做事。工作仍然有丝毫体验。He was succeeded by Larry Pope, his longtime lieutenant, but remained chairman. Mr. Pope, 58, led a deeper Smithfield push into branded packaged meats in the U.S. and expanded Smithfields pork exports to China.曾长年兼任卢特尔副手的波普(Larry Pope)接替首席执行长，但卢特尔仍兼任董事长。58岁的波普领导Smithfield更为了解地进占美国的品牌纸盒肉制品行业，并不断扩大了Smithfield对中国的猪肉出口。

Mr. Luters joint-venture proposal to Mr. Wan, made when he was still CEO, involved building a plant together in the U.S. dedicated to producing pork for export to China.卢特尔向万隆明确提出合资建议时他仍在兼任首席执行长，建议牵涉到到在美国合作修建一座工厂，专门生产向中国出口的猪肉。The idea didnt pan out immediately, but in 2009, Shuanghui engaged advisers to look at Smithfields financials with the possibility of a joint venture in mind, according to a person familiar with the matter.据一位知情人士说道，这个点子当时并没更进一步前进，但2009年双汇请求顾问理解Smithfield的财务情况，想要想到否有可能重新组建合资企业。

Then this past February, Shuanghui again set its sights on Smithfield, and by mid-April, it had sent the company a merger agreement, triggering a full sprint toward last weeks deal, the person said.上述人士说道，今年2月，双汇再度射击Smithfield，4月中旬前，双汇向Smithfield放了一份拆分协议，引起并购交易加速前进，并于上周达成协议。Mr. Luter said he thinks Shuanghui may have accelerated its bid because Continental Grain Co., one of Smithfields biggest shareholders, had begun agitating publicly in March for Smithfield to split into three companies. The plan would have separated the companys hog farms and pork-processing.卢特尔说道，他指出由于Smithfield仅次于股东之一康地谷物公司(Continental Grain Co.)今年3月开始公开发表煽动将Smithfield拆分为三家公司，双汇有可能减缓了收购计划。按照康地谷物公司的计划，Smithfield的养猪场和猪肉加工业务将分离出来。

Shuanghui said last week that it was especially attracted to Smithfields vertically integrated model, which Smithfield has argued helps ensure food safety, a huge problem in China.双汇上周说道，它特别是在被Smithfield的横向统合模式所更有。Smithfield说道，这种模式可以协助确保食品安全。食品安全在中国是一个大问题。Mr. Luter said the sale of Smithfield would be bittersweet. Though the company hasnt been controlled by his family for a long time, he said, Luter family members have been involved in its operations for most of the past 77 years.卢特尔说道，Smithfield的出售让他深感既爱情又滋味。

他说道，尽管该公司早已有很长时间不出他们家族的掌控下了，但过去77年中的大部分时间卢特尔家族成员完全一致参予公司的运营。Mr. Luters son, Joseph W. Luter IV, is an executive vice president overseeing Smithfields domestic and international sales and marketing.卢特尔的儿子约瑟夫W卢特尔四世(Joseph W. Luter IV)是Smithfield的继续执行副总裁，负责管理公司在美国及海外的销售和营销。

Theres some sellers remorse, the elder Mr. Luter said, but I have a responsibility thats beyond personal feelings. And I think that Smithfield Foods is worth more to an international company that has international visions than it would be standing alone.卢特尔说道，显然有一些卖家不会有的愧疚情绪，但我的责任远超过了我的个人感情。我指出，比起作为一家独立国家的公司，Smithfield Foods被一家具备国际眼光的国际公司并购后价值不会更大。

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