金絲雀碼頭爭奪戰烽煙再起

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.

當卡塔爾投資局(Qatar Investment Authority)上月第一次致電歌鳥房地產(Songbird Estates)，提出想要控股金絲雀碼頭集團(Canary Wharf)時，它遭到了回絕。即使是上週更優厚的開價，也仍然沒能改變歌鳥的主意——到目前爲止。

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

這場爭奪英國第二大金融區（歌鳥持有70%股份）的戰爭始於一通電話。

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月初那通要求開會的電話並非不同尋常。卡塔爾投資局是全球實力最雄厚的主權財富基金之一，擁有歌鳥28.6%的股份，是其最大股東，並在董事會有兩名代表。

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，當歌鳥的董事們集合後，卡塔爾投資局告訴他們，該局將聯合金絲雀碼頭的另一大股東、加拿大地產投資公司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持有金絲雀碼頭22%的股份，卡塔爾投資局希望以每股295便士的價格購買歌鳥所持有的股份（對歌鳥估值爲22億英鎊），以獲得對金絲雀碼頭的完全控制。分析師嚴厲批評這一出價，認爲歌鳥每股價值可達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22億英鎊的出價開出三週後，歌鳥董事會公佈了一項對公司資產的獨立估值：28億英鎊，或每股381便士——比該公司5個月前的估值高出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.

雙方之間的緊張關係從一開始就顯現出來。收購報價被泄露給媒體，迫使歌鳥董事會向市場宣佈收到收購意向。卡塔爾投資局和Brookfield認爲泄露事件使他們在有機會修改定價之前不得不公佈報價。雙方都否認泄密。

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

這隻會加劇10年前已經開始的金絲雀碼頭爭奪戰的激烈程度。

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，紐約投資大亨西蒙•格利克(Simon Glick)和摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)成立了歌鳥，來收購當時的上市公司金絲雀碼頭集團。同時，Brookfield也與金絲雀碼頭的開發商保羅•裏奇曼(Paul Reichmann)合夥擁有金絲雀碼頭的股份。在歌鳥得到金絲雀碼頭的控制權後，Brookfield繼續持有其在這個倫敦東部金融中心的股份，等待機會奪過控制權。

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年金融危機期間，卡塔爾投資局和中國投資公司(CIC)出現在歌鳥股東名冊上，向其注入新的股本，幫助緩解該公司的沉重債務負擔。卡塔爾投資局對該金融區的興趣顯而易見。該局最近出價11億英鎊收購匯豐大廈(HSBC Tower)，這是該地區爲數不多的非金絲雀碼頭集團所有的摩天大廈之一。

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.

但與卡塔爾投資局同在歌鳥持股的其他股東目前一直不願輕易放棄其在金絲雀碼頭的控股權。儘管歌鳥股票流通性差，而且5年沒有支付股息，但很難找到能夠與其相匹敵的其他投資。

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.

卡塔爾投資局提高了賭注，它正對歌鳥一些顧問的角色提出質疑。卡塔爾投資局聘用了花旗集團(Citigroup)和巴克萊(Barclays)擔任顧問，而Brookfield則聘用了匯豐(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.

歌鳥主要股東摩根士丹利被任命爲歌鳥董事會的獨立顧問，歌鳥同時引入摩根大通(JPMorgan)，增強其顧問團隊。摩根大通並非歌鳥股東。

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.

歌鳥還聘用羅斯柴爾德(Rothschild)銀行家亞歷克斯•米德根(Alex Midgen)擔任此次收購的獨立顧問。米德根自2004年起擔任歌鳥董事，是西蒙•格利克(Simon Glick)的代表。一些董事稱，米德根在激烈收購戰方面經驗豐富，而且對該公司極爲了解。

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

但大約一週前，卡塔爾投資局向歌鳥董事長戴維•普理查德(David Pritchard)抱怨稱，其中存在大量利益衝突。

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，上週，卡塔爾投資局和Brookfield向歌鳥發出每股350便士的最終報價，對歌鳥的估值爲26億英鎊，較最初報價高出18%。卡塔爾投資局還鞏固了其與Brookfield的關係，購入後者9%股權。

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.

歌鳥董事會上週五抱怨稱，提高後的報價仍沒有反映出該公司的真實價值。但與第一次不同，他們沒有建議股東拒絕這一報價，一些觀察人士認爲，這表明歌鳥董事會態度有所鬆動。

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

歌鳥董事會表示，一旦收到完整報價文件（未來幾周的某個時候），董事會將向股東提出建議。

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.

對衝基金Third Avenue Management已同意出售手中持股，該公司持有歌鳥3.5%股權（佔歌鳥自由流通股的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.

但要獲得控股權，卡塔爾投資局和Brookfield需要格利克、摩根士丹利或中投其中任意一家接受其報價。但目前還沒有這種跡象。

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?”

如果沒有一家表示接受，這場僵局可能會危及歌鳥董事會的穩定，並可能會導致未來出現紛爭。正如一位密切跟蹤此事的觀察人士所言：“爲什麼要跟一個說想要離開你的人繼續同牀呢？”