金丝雀码头争夺战烽烟再起

When the Qatar Investment Authority first called Songbird Estates last month to say it wanted Canary Wharf, it was given short shrift. Not even last week’s sweetened bid has changed Songbird’s tune — yet.

当卡塔尔投资局(Qatar Investment Authority)上月第一次致电歌鸟房地产(Songbird Estates)，提出想要控股金丝雀码头集团(Canary Wharf)时，它遭到了回绝。即使是上周更优厚的开价，也仍然没能改变歌鸟的主意——到目前为止。

The war for Britain’s second-largest financial district, 70 per cent owned by Songbird, began with a phone call.

这场争夺英国第二大金融区（歌鸟持有70%股份）的战争始于一通电话。

The telephoned request for a meeting in early November was not unusual. The QIA, one of the world’s most powerful sovereign wealth funds, is Songbird’s biggest shareholder with 28 per cent and has two representatives on the board.

11月初那通要求开会的电话并非不同寻常。卡塔尔投资局是全球实力最雄厚的主权财富基金之一，拥有歌鸟28.6%的股份，是其最大股东，并在董事会有两名代表。

But once the group’s directors had assembled, the QIA informed them that it was pairing up with Canary Wharf’s other big shareholder Brookfield, Canadian Property investors.

但是，当歌鸟的董事们集合后，卡塔尔投资局告诉他们，该局将联合金丝雀码头的另一大股东、加拿大地产投资公司Brookfield Property Partners。

With Brookfield’s 22 per cent, the QIA hoped to gain full control of Canary Wharf by offering 295p per share, valuing the company at £2.2bn. Analysts panned the offer, arguing that Songbird was worth as much as 400p per share.

Brookfield持有金丝雀码头22%的股份，卡塔尔投资局希望以每股295便士的价格购买歌鸟所持有的股份（对歌鸟估值为22亿英镑），以获得对金丝雀码头的完全控制。分析师严厉批评这一出价，认为歌鸟每股价值可达400便士。

Three weeks after the initial £2.2bn bid, the board published an independent valuation of the company’s assets at £2.8bn, or 381p per share — a 19 per cent increase on its valuation just five months earlier.

在最初22亿英镑的出价开出三周后，歌鸟董事会公布了一项对公司资产的独立估值：28亿英镑，或每股381便士——比该公司5个月前的估值高出19%。

The tensions between the two sides were apparent from the start. The bid was leaked to the media, forcing the board to announce to the markets it had been approached. The QIA and Brookfield felt that the media leak had rushed them into going public before they had a chance to refine pricing. Both sides deny leaking.

双方之间的紧张关系从一开始就显现出来。收购报价被泄露给媒体，迫使歌鸟董事会向市场宣布收到收购意向。卡塔尔投资局和Brookfield认为泄露事件使他们在有机会修改定价之前不得不公布报价。双方都否认泄密。

That only added to strains lingering from the battle for Canary Wharf a decade earlier.

这只会加剧10年前已经开始的金丝雀码头争夺战的激烈程度。

In 2004 New York magnate Simon Glickand Morgan Stanley formed Songbird to acquire Canary Wharf, at the time a listed company. Brookfield meanwhile had teamed up with Canary Wharf’s developer Paul Reichmannand also built a stake in Canary Wharf. When Songbird won control, Brookfield held on to its stake in the east London financial centre, waiting for the opportunity to wrest control.

2004年，纽约投资大亨西蒙•格利克(Simon Glick)和摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)成立了歌鸟，来收购当时的上市公司金丝雀码头集团。同时，Brookfield也与金丝雀码头的开发商保罗•里奇曼(Paul Reichmann)合伙拥有金丝雀码头的股份。在歌鸟得到金丝雀码头的控制权后，Brookfield继续持有其在这个伦敦东部金融中心的股份，等待机会夺过控制权。

During the financial crisis in 2009, the QIA and the China Investment Corp arrived on the shareholder register to inject fresh equity and help relieve the company of its heavy debt burden. The Qataris’ interest in the district is evident. It recently bid £1.1bn for the HSBC Tower — one of the few skyscrapers in the area not owned by Canary Wharf Group.

在2009年金融危机期间，卡塔尔投资局和中国投资公司(CIC)出现在歌鸟股东名册上，向其注入新的股本，帮助缓解该公司的沉重债务负担。卡塔尔投资局对该金融区的兴趣显而易见。该局最近出价11亿英镑收购汇丰大厦(HSBC Tower)，这是该地区为数不多的非金丝雀码头集团所有的摩天大厦之一。

But the Qataris’ fellow Songbird shareholders have hitherto been unwilling to relinquish their hold on Canary Wharf without a fight. Although Songbird’s shares are illiquid and it has not paid a dividend for five years, it is hard to find alternative investments of a similar calibre.

但与卡塔尔投资局同在歌鸟持股的其他股东目前一直不愿轻易放弃其在金丝雀码头的控股权。尽管歌鸟股票流通性差，而且5年没有支付股息，但很难找到能够与其相匹敌的其他投资。

The QIA has upped the ante, questioning the role of some of Songbird’s advisers. The QIA hired Citigroup and Barclays, while Brookfield brought HSBC on board.

卡塔尔投资局提高了赌注，它正对歌鸟一些顾问的角色提出质疑。卡塔尔投资局聘用了花旗集团(Citigroup)和巴克莱(Barclays)担任顾问，而Brookfield则聘用了汇丰(HSBC)。

Morgan Stanley, a leading Songbird shareholder, was named as an independent adviser to the board, and Songbird bolstered its advisory team with JPMorgan, which is not a shareholder.

歌鸟主要股东摩根士丹利被任命为歌鸟董事会的独立顾问，歌鸟同时引入摩根大通(JPMorgan)，增强其顾问团队。摩根大通并非歌鸟股东。

Songbird has also appointed Alex Midgen, a Rothschild banker and a Songbird director since 2004 and representative for Mr Glick, as an independent adviser on the bid. Some directors argued that Mr Midgen has plenty of experience in bitter takeover battles, and has a deep knowledge of the company.

歌鸟还聘用罗斯柴尔德(Rothschild)银行家亚历克斯•米德根(Alex Midgen)担任此次收购的独立顾问。米德根自2004年起担任歌鸟董事，是西蒙•格利克(Simon Glick)的代表。一些董事称，米德根在激烈收购战方面经验丰富，而且对该公司极为了解。

But a week or so ago the Authority complained to chairman David Pritchardthat there were substantial conflicts of interest.

但大约一周前，卡塔尔投资局向歌鸟董事长戴维•普理查德(David Pritchard)抱怨称，其中存在大量利益冲突。

Then last week, the QIA and Brookfield week pitched a 350p per share final bid valuing the company at £2.6bn — 18 per cent more than their original offer. The Qataris also cemented their relationship with the Canadians by taking a 9 per cent stake in Brookfield.

接着，上周，卡塔尔投资局和Brookfield向歌鸟发出每股350便士的最终报价，对歌鸟的估值为26亿英镑，较最初报价高出18%。卡塔尔投资局还巩固了其与Brookfield的关系，购入后者9%股权。

Songbird’s board on Friday last week complained that the increased offer still did not reflect the company’s true value. But unlike the first offer, they did not recommend that shareholders reject it, which some observers see as a softening of the board’s stance.

歌鸟董事会上周五抱怨称，提高后的报价仍没有反映出该公司的真实价值。但与第一次不同，他们没有建议股东拒绝这一报价，一些观察人士认为，这表明歌鸟董事会态度有所松动。

The board says it will produce a recommendation to shareholders once it has received the full offer document, sometime in the coming weeks.

歌鸟董事会表示，一旦收到完整报价文件（未来几周的某个时候），董事会将向股东提出建议。

Hedge fund Third Avenue Management, which holds 3.5 per cent of Songbird’s shares — 16 per cent of its free float — has already agreed to sell out.

对冲基金Third Avenue Management已同意出售手中持股，该公司持有歌鸟3.5%股权（占歌鸟自由流通股的16%）。

But the QIA and Brookfield need either Mr Glick, Morgan Stanley or CIC to accept their offer in order to gain control. There is no sign of that so far.

但要获得控股权，卡塔尔投资局和Brookfield需要格利克、摩根士丹利或中投其中任意一家接受其报价。但目前还没有这种迹象。

If none do, the stand-off threatens to destabilise the board and lead to future flare-ups. As one close observer says: “Why would you want to stay in bed with someone who has said they want to leave you?”

如果没有一家表示接受，这场僵局可能会危及歌鸟董事会的稳定，并可能会导致未来出现纷争。正如一位密切跟踪此事的观察人士所言：“为什么要跟一个说想要离开你的人继续同床呢？”