油價下跌幫了李嘉誠的忙

Cheap oil could be vital to Li Ka-shing keeping control of his empire.

低廉的石油價格可能是李嘉誠(Li Ka-shing)保有其商業帝國控制權的關鍵因素。

Mr. Li, Asia’s richest man, is selling a 6 percent stake in Husky Energy to his Holding company as part of a broader shake-up. The move is vital to maintaining Mr. Li’s grip on his telecommunications, retail and property businesses. The recent fall in the oil price makes it harder for shareholders to object.

亞洲首富李嘉誠將把赫斯基能源(Husky Energy)的6%股份出售給他的控股公司，這是一場規模更大的調整的一部分。這一舉動對於幫助李嘉誠維持他在自己名下的電信、零售和房地產企業的控制權至關重要。最近石油價格的下跌，讓股東更難提出質疑。

In an attempt to shrink a persistent stock market discount, Mr. Li is merging his main holding company, Cheung Kong, with its 50 percent owned subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa into a new company called CKH Holdings. The combined company will leverage up and spin off its property assets.

爲了應對持續存在的股價折讓問題，李嘉誠將他主要的控股公司長江實業(Cheung Kong)與該公司持有50%股份的子公司和記黃埔(Hutchison Whampoa)合併爲長和(CKH Holdings)。合併後的公司將提高槓杆率，並剝離房地產資產。

A straightforward swap would have reduced the Li family’s stake in the enlarged holding company to around 29 percent, from 43 percent today, according to Breakingviews calculations. Dropping below 30 percent would limit the family’s ability to control the business and prevent it from adding to its stake without making an offer to independent shareholders.

如果直接置換股權，李嘉誠家族在擴大後的控股公司中控制的股權下降到大約29%，根據路透《熱點透視》(Breakingviews)計算，目前的持股比例爲43%。如果持股比例下降到30%以下，其家族對於業務的控制將會受到限制，而且也不能在增持股份時不向獨立股東發出邀約。

That’s where the Husky deal comes in. Mr. Li is exchanging a $1.3 billion equity stake in Husky, a Canadian energy group, directly owned by his family for shares in the enlarged holding company. The extra equity lifts the family’s stake in CKH Holdings – and in the subsequent property spinoff – above the 30 percent threshold.

赫斯基股份的交易正是因此而進行的。李嘉誠用赫斯基價值13億美元的股權，換取了擴大後的控股公司的股份。加拿大能源企業赫斯基由李嘉誠家族直接擁有。新增的股權能讓李嘉誠家族在長和的持股比例，以及在之後剝離出的房地產企業中的持股，越過30%的門檻。

A few months ago, shareholders in Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa might have balked at accepting shares in Husky, which were then trading at a five-year high. But the collapse in the oil price since has knocked about a quarter off the value of Husky shares. The result is that Mr. Li has to part with a bigger stake in the Canadian group. However, it makes the trade look more attractive for independent investors who must approve the broader restructuring.

數月前，長江實業與和記黃埔的股東還可能不願意接受赫斯基的股份，當時赫斯基股價正處於五年中的高點。然而自那時以來油價出現大跌，赫斯基股價下挫四分之一。其結果就是，李嘉誠必須割捨這家加拿大公司更大比例的股份。然而在獨立投資人看來，這筆交易就顯得更有吸引力。更廣泛的重組必須得到獨立投資者的批准。

Investors added $5.4 billion to the value of Cheung Kong by midday on Jan. 12, shrinking the discount to the holding company’s book value to 13 percent, from 24 percent before the deal. It confirms that there is value to in restructuring Mr. Li’s empire. If the Husky swap helps him keep control, it will rank as one of the tycoon’s slickest trades.

截至1月12日中午，投資者已經令長江實業的市值提高了54億美元，股價較控股公司的賬面價值相比的折扣率下降到了13%，交易之前折扣率爲24%。這印證了李嘉誠帝國的重組操作是有價值的。如果赫斯基股權置換能夠幫助他穩固控制權，這將是他最精明的買賣之一。