复星66亿港元入股青岛啤酒

Chinese investment group Fosun International has agreed to buy an 18 per cent stake in China’s Tsingtao Brewery for HK$6.6bn from Japanese beverage group Asahi.

中国投资集团复星国际(Fosun International)同意以66亿港元从日本饮料集团朝日(Asahi )收购中国青岛啤酒(Tsingtao Brewery) 18%的股权。

Tsingtao, based in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao, is one of country’s oldest breweries and its most recognisable beer brand overseas, being sold in more than 100 countries.

总部位于中国北方城市青岛的青岛啤酒，是中国历史最悠久的啤酒厂之一，也是在海外最知名的中国啤酒品牌，行销100多个国家。

The $847m acquisition will make Fosun the second-largest shareholder in Tsingtao, and grant it direct exposure to one of China’s best-selling beers in what is now the world’s largest market for the beverage. Tsingtao, which will remain the largest shareholder, also agreed yesterday to buy back a small stake in the company from Asahi for about $94m.

这笔8.47亿美元的收购将使复星成为青岛啤酒的第二大股东，使其在如今已是世界最大饮料市场的中国获得最畅销啤酒之一的直接敞口。仍将是最大股东的青岛啤酒，昨日也同意以大约9400万美元从朝日回购一小部分股权。

The sale price of HK$27.22 a share, according to a regulatory filing by Fosun, was a 32 per cent discount to Tsingtao’s Monday closing price in Hong Kong. The deal is expected to close at the end of March.

根据复星提交的监管申报文件，每股27.22港元的交易价格相对于青岛啤酒周一在香港的收盘价有32%的折让。预计这笔交易将在明年3月底完成。

Fosun, along with three other aggressive Chinese investors, has been scrutinised by regulators this year for leading a charge to snap up assets overseas at high prices, while building up mountains of debt.

复星和另外三家积极收购的中国投资者今年以来受到监管机构从严审查，因为它们竞相高价收购境外资产，同时大量举债。

The Shanghai-based company has a vast list of overseas businesses under its control, including Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, French leisure group Club Med, Greek fashion company Folli Follie and Portugal’s largest bank, Millennium BCP.

这家总部位于上海的公司控制着多家境外企业，包括加拿大娱乐公司太阳马戏(Cirque du Soleil)、法国休闲集团地中海俱乐部(Club Med)、希腊时装公司Folli Follie以及葡萄牙最大银行千禧银行(Millennium BCP)。

It also said yesterday that it had entered into exclusive talks with Italian luxury fashion house La Perla for 30 business days in which it will conduct due diligence on the company.

该公司昨日还表示，已进入与意大利La Perla为期30个工作日的排他性谈判，其间将对这家高端时装公司进行尽职调查。

But Fosun has also been selling off assets in 2017 and is seeking to lower its leverage ratio. On Monday, it sold its stake in a Sydney office tower for A$150m ($115m) to Propertylink, its partner in the investment. Late last year it sold a stake in US insurance group Ironshore for US$3bn to Liberty Mutual less than two years after buying the company.

但复星在2017年期间也出售了资产，并正在寻求降低其杠杆率。周一，该公司将其在悉尼一栋办公大楼所持股权以1.5亿澳元(合1.15亿美元)出售给投资伙伴Propertylink。去年末，复星以30亿美元把买下不到两年的美国保险集团Ironshore的部分股权出售给Liberty Mutual。

Fosun has said the sales are part of its normal investment activity and not a sign that it is under financial stress.

复星表示，这些出售是其正常投资活动的一部分，不说明它受到财务压力。

Guo Guangchang, the jet-setting chairman, has sought to cut the company’s debt this year. Its ratio of net debt to equity fell from 60.3 per cent at the end of last year to 47.4 per cent at the end of June, according to its half-year earnings report. In the period, profit attributable to shareholders climbed 33.6 per cent to Rmb5.86bn ($890m).

频频乘飞机出行的复星董事长郭广昌今年试图减少公司的债务。根据该公司的半年度财报，其净债务与股本之比从去年底的60.3%降至6月底的47.4%。同期，股东应占溢利增长33.6%，至58.6亿元人民币(合8.9亿美元)。

Along with Chinese investors Dalian Wanda, HNA and Anbang Insurance, Chinese regulators asked banks to assess their level of exposure to Fosun in June. Since then, some of the companies have sought to divest from some assets and pare down their high levels of leverage. Wanda has sold off nearly $10bn in onshore property assets this year and HNA has announced plans to sell some assets that do not conform with government regulation. Anbang Insurance has not yet divested from significant assets it bought overseas but its chairman, Wu Xiaohui, was detained by Chinese authorities this year and his whereabouts are still unknown.

今年6月，中国监管机构要求各商业银行评估其对复星以及大连万达(Dalian Wanda)、海航(HNA)和安邦保险(Anbang Insurance)的信贷敞口。自那以来，其中一些公司已设法剥离部分资产，降低它们偏高的杠杆水平。万达今年已脱手近100亿美元的国内房地产资产，海航则宣布计划卖掉一些不符合政府政策的资产。安邦保险至今没有出售其在境外收购的重大资产，但其董事长吴小晖今年早些时候已被中国有关部门带走，至今下落不明。