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短暂会面。

The encounter between Joseph W. Luter III, chairman of Smithfield Foods Inc., SFD +0.33% the world's largest pork processor, and Wan Long, chairman of Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., known as 'China's No. 1 Butcher,' lasted only 90 minutes about seven years ago.

会面发生在大约七年前，一方是全球最大猪肉加工企业Smithfield Foods Inc.的董事长约瑟夫・W・卢特尔三世(Joseph W. Luter III)，另一方则是素有“中国第一屠夫长”之称的双汇国际控股有限公司(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 week's $4.7 billion deal for Shuanghui to buy Smithfield in the biggest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company.

卢特尔在其位于曼哈顿的公寓中接待了万隆，当时他抛出了双方成立一家合资企业的想法，称“我们应该一起做一些事情”。 卢特尔本周接受记者采访时说，正是这句话为双方不同寻常的联姻奠定了基础。上周双汇斥资47亿美元收购Smithfield是规模最大的一宗中资企业收购美国公司的案例。

'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，那时我们就已经播撒了种子，有时种子需要一段时间才能发芽。

The deal that blossomed marks a stunning conclusion to the Luter family's stewardship of Smithfield, and it reflects big changes in the global meat industry. Mr. Luter's 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.

最终开花结果的这宗交易标志着卢特尔家族结束了对Smithfield的领导，这相当令人意外，但也反映出全球肉类行业出现的重大变化。卢特尔的父亲和祖父在1936年于弗吉尼亚州史密斯菲尔德共同创办了这家肉类加工企业。通过在30年的时间里策划了50多宗并购，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 Manhattan's 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，卢特尔赢得了“实际而高效”的声誉，同时他的个人品味也相当奢华。他在曼哈顿的公园大道(Park Avenue)和科罗拉多州的阿斯彭(Aspen)购置了豪宅。面对动物权利活动人士和环保组织的批评，他还强烈为猪肉行业辩护，因此也被媒体冠以“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 company's 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.

此次提出的这宗收购交易表明卢特尔和Smithfield的其他董事承认，该公司在美国国内的增长前景受制于在一个成熟且经过整合的市场销售不畅的现实。随着中国民众财富不断增加，其对猪肉和其它肉制品的需求也在上升，中国为Smithfield提供了巨大的商机。

'I have always thought that something big should happen between China and the United States,' Mr. Luter said. 'There's too much pork in the U.S. and too little in China.'

卢特尔说，我一直认为中美两国之间应该发生一宗大交易；美国的猪肉太多，而中国的猪肉又太少。

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.

该交易仍有待美国海外投资委员会(Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.)的国家安全审查。卢特尔说，还可能出现其他竞购企业。

Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA -0.43% and Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL, -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. Shuanghui's side didn't 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 wasn't 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发布的一份声明以及接近JBS的人士。据知情人士透露，大约在签署这宗交易的一周前双汇才得知卜蜂食品和JBS也有兴趣。这位知情人士说，双汇对此做出的反应是大大加快了进度。双汇甚至曾经一度暗示说，如果交易不在特定时间框架内签署，它将退出竞购。

But JBS isn't currently entertaining a topping bid, according to people familiar with the matter. And Shuanghui doesn't expect either party to top its bid, said another person familiar with the matter, who added that Shuanghui's Mr. Wan would likely top other bids should they appear. Shuanghui and JBS representatives declined comment.

但据知情人士透露，JBS目前没有考虑提出一个高于双汇的报价。另一位知情人士说，双汇预计不论是卜蜂还是JBS都不会给出一个超过自己的报价。这位人士还说，一旦出现高过双汇的报价，双汇董事长万隆可能会反超这些报价。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.

分别在东西方成长起来的万隆和卢特尔也分别将一家区域性肉类加工企业变成了行业巨头。

Mr. Luter's start came on the kill floor and loading dock at his family's 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，到暑假便会在家族企业的屠宰车间和装货区干活，他由此进入了这一行。大四时，他父亲去世，他被推上领导岗位，1966年年仅26岁的卢特尔成为首席执行长。

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.，不久后被挤出了公司。他用卖公司得来的钱在弗吉尼亚开办了一个滑雪度假地，但在Smithfield开始陷入困境后，1975年董事们把他请了回来。

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.

卢特尔开始收购较弱的猪肉企业。上世纪80年代和90年代，他借鉴鸡肉行业的策略，开发及收购养猪场，以便使Smithfield能够控制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，卢特尔及其公司成为环保组织和其他批评人士的攻击目标。动物权利保护者抨击该公司把母猪限制在窄小的猪栏里。1997年，一名联邦法官判决Smithfield支付1,260万美元的罚款，罪名是将猪粪污染物排放到切萨皮克湾(Chesapeake Bay)的一个支流中，违反了联邦《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.'

卢特尔的回应常常不够圆滑。2001年他对《华尔街日报》说，动物权利保护者希望把美国变成一个素食社会。我认识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过的很多话感到后悔。他说，我的公关做得很糟。

Smithfield's 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 wasn't any fun anymore.'

在他担任首席执行长期间，Smithfield股价飙升。但他说，2006年他辞了职，因为他厌倦了与政府监管机构打交道。工作不再有丝毫乐趣。

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 Smithfield's pork exports to China.

曾长期担任卢特尔副手的波普(Larry Pope)接任首席执行长，但卢特尔仍担任董事长。58岁的波普领导Smithfield更加深入地进军美国的品牌包装肉制品行业，并扩大了Smithfield对中国的猪肉出口。

Mr. Luter's 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.

卢特尔向万隆提出合资提议时他仍在担任首席执行长，提议涉及到在美国合作建造一座工厂，专门生产向中国出口的猪肉。

The idea didn't pan out immediately, but in 2009, Shuanghui engaged advisers to look at Smithfield's 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，这个想法当时并没有进一步推进，但2009年双汇请顾问了解Smithfield的财务情况，想看看是否有可能组建合资企业。

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 week's deal, the person said.

上述人士说，今年2月，双汇再次瞄准Smithfield，4月中旬前，双汇向Smithfield发了一份合并协议，引发收购交易全速推进，并于上周达成。

Mr. Luter said he thinks Shuanghui may have accelerated its bid because Continental Grain Co., one of Smithfield's biggest shareholders, had begun agitating publicly in March for Smithfield to split into three companies. The plan would have separated the company's hog farms and pork-processing.

卢特尔说，他认为由于Smithfield最大股东之一康地谷物公司(Continental Grain Co.)今年3月开始公开鼓动将Smithfield分拆为三家公司，双汇可能加快了收购计划。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。

Shuanghui said last week that it was 'especially attracted to' Smithfield's vertically integrated model, which Smithfield has argued helps ensure food safety, a huge problem in China.

双汇上周说，它尤其被Smithfield的垂直整合模式所吸引。Smithfield说，这种模式可以帮助保证食品安全。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 hasn't 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，Smithfield的出售让他感到既甜蜜又苦涩。他说，尽管该公司已经有很长时间不在他们家族的控制下了，但过去77年中的大部分时间卢特尔家族成员一致参与公司的运营。

Mr. Luter's son, Joseph W. Luter IV, is an executive vice president overseeing Smithfield's 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的执行副总裁，负责公司在美国及海外的销售和营销。

'There's some seller's remorse,' the elder Mr. Luter said, 'but I have a responsibility that's 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，确实有一些卖家会有的后悔情绪，但我的责任超出了我的个人感情。我认为，相比作为一家独立的公司，Smithfield Foods被一家具有国际眼光的国际公司收购后价值会更大。