As he summoned executives to his 26th-floor office on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue last month, Wu Xiaohui seemed to have achieved the improbable feat of transforming himself from a low-level regional bureaucrat into one of China’s most politically-connected global tycoons before the age of 50. Now he was ready for his most ambitious act yet.
上月召集高管们到他在曼哈顿第五大道位于第26层的办公室开会时，吴小晖似乎已经取得了一项了不得的成就：出身基层地方官员的他，不到50岁就已成为中国政治人脉最雄厚的全球商业大亨之一。现在，他准备实施平生最雄心勃勃的壮举了。
The chairman of Anbang, a fast-moving but little understood Chinese insurer, had acquired his US headquarters with views of some of New York’s greatest properties only last year. Now, just a block from the St Regis Hotel — John Jacob Astor’s 1904 temple to hospitality — he presented his team with a proposal: a $13bn deal that would make him the operator not only of that historic property but also its parent, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, owner of the W, Westin and Sheraton brands.
身为安邦(Anbang)——一家发展快速但外界所知不多的中国保险公司——董事长，吴小晖去年才买下能看到一些纽约最伟大建筑的美国总部。如今，在距离瑞吉酒店(St Regis Hotel)——约翰•雅各布•阿斯特(John Jacob Astor)1904年创建的酒店业神殿——仅一个街区的地方，他向他的团队提议：敲定一笔130亿美元的交易，不仅可以让他成为这家历史悠久的酒店物业的运营商，还可以将其母公司喜达屋酒店及度假村国际集团(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)收入囊中。喜达屋是W酒店、威斯汀(Westin)和喜来登(Sheraton)等品牌的所有者。
The problem was that Starwood had already rebuffed Mr Wu three times, in August, September and November, dissatisfied with details of the Chinese group’s bid, including its financing. Since then, Starwood had agreed a mostly stock-based sale to Marriott International, a US rival, in a deal initially worth $12.2bn but which had slumped in value as markets slid.
问题是，喜达屋已经在去年8月、9月和11月三次拒绝了吴小晖，它对这家中国集团的收购方案中有关融资等方面的细节并不满意。之后，喜达屋同意了美国酒店集团万豪国际(Marriott International)提出的以换股为主的收购建议。这笔交易刚提出时价值为122亿美元，但随着市场下滑，交易价值也有所缩水。
To the strong-willed, inexhaustible Mr Wu, this looked like an opportunity. However, a debate ensued in Anbang’s offices. “Most senior managers disagreed,” says one participant. “We suggested that Marriott was well-connected, not only in the US but also in China. There would be a lot of publicity. But we all knew he [Mr Wu] is the chairman. He is the only decision maker. Everybody follows him.”
对于意志坚定、不知疲倦的吴小晖而言，这似乎是一个很好的机会。然而，安邦的办公室内掀起了一场争论。“多数高层都不同意，”一名参加了会议的人士表示，“我们提出万豪不管是在美国还是在中国都有良好的关系。媒体会大量报道。但是我们都知道他（吴小晖）才是董事长，他是唯一的决策者，每个人都要听他的。”
And the boss, who is not fluent in English, had made his mind up: Anbang would unleash one of the fiercest bid battles in recent memory and attempt to strike China’s biggest deal in the US. He would ultimately fail. But his efforts would symbolise China’s rising role in global business, providing insights into its outward ambitions and the obstacles it must overcome to compete on the international stage.
而这位英语讲得并不流利的老板已经下定了决心：安邦将发动一场近期最激烈的竞购战，以图敲定中国企业在美国的最大一笔交易。他最终可能会失败。但是他的努力将象征着中国在全球商业界的日益崛起，向世界展示其走出国门的抱负，摸索在国际舞台上参与竞争所必须克服的障碍。
When, in March, Starwood revealed it had received an unsolicited, all-cash proposal from an Anbang-led group at $76 per share — valuing the US company at $13bn — it caused a sensation. It raised the unthinkable prospect of a Chinese upstart wresting an agreed bid from a US business with an 89-year record.
3月，喜达屋披露，其收到了一个以安邦为首的财团主动发出的每股76美元（对喜达屋估值达到130亿美元）的全现金收购要约，消息立即引起了轰动。一个意想不到的前景呈现在人们眼前：一家新崛起的中国公司，要从一家有89年历史的美国企业手中抢夺一桩业已敲定的收购交易。
Marriott had been within weeks of getting shareholder approval for its acquisition of Starwood — a deal that would make it the world’s largest hotel company. This time, Starwood saw “very convincing evidence” that Mr Wu had the cash in the US to complete the deal, says one person close to Starwood, which was working with Lazard, Citigroup, and law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. “We had very high stakes if we messed up,” the person says. After a week of negotiations, Anbang’s $76-a-share proposal had become an agreed $78-a-share offer.
万豪有数周时间争取股东批准其收购喜达屋——该交易会使其成为全世界最大的酒店集团。一名熟悉喜达屋的知情人士称，这一次，喜达屋看到了“非常具有说服力的证据”，表明吴小晖在美国有资金来完成交易。当时喜达屋正与瑞德(Lazard)、花旗集团(Citigroup)以及克拉瓦斯-斯温-穆尔律师事务所(Cravath, Swaine & Moore)合作。“如果我们搞砸了，我们会面临非常高的风险，”这位人士表示。在经过一周的协商后，安邦的报价由原先的每股76美元，增加到了每股78美元。
Like the other entrepreneurs who have driven China’s overseas dealmaking boom, Mr Wu relied on a formidable network built through prior deals.
与其他推动中国海外并购潮的企业家一样，吴小晖也依赖于在以往交易中建立起来的强大人脉网。
Chief among these was Jon Gray, who runs the real estate practice at Blackstone, the influential buyout group and asset manager. Mr Gray sold Mr Wu Manhattan’s Waldorf Astoria hotel from Blackstone-controlled Hilton Worldwide in 2014 for $2bn, his Fifth Avenue headquarters for $415m and 16 US luxury hotels, including New York’s Essex House, for $6.5bn.
其中以在黑石(Blackstone)负责房地产业务的乔恩•格雷(Jon Gray)为首，黑石是一家颇具影响力的收购集团和资产管理公司。2014年，格雷以20亿美元的价格将黑石控股的希尔顿酒店集团(Hilton Worldwide)旗下的纽约华尔道夫酒店(Waldorf Astoria)卖给了吴小晖，同时还把其位于第五大道的总部和16家美国豪华酒店——包括纽约艾塞克斯豪斯(Essex House)——分别以4.15亿美元和65亿美元的价格卖给了他。
Mr Wu also brought in investment bankers from PJT Partners, a boutique advisory firm that spun out of Blackstone over a year ago, to assist him.
吴小晖还请来PJT Partners的投行家助自己一臂之力，PJT Partners是一年多前从黑石剥离出来的专业咨询公司。
This time, Mr Wu calculated that the presence of partners would aid his effort. He contacted Chris Flowers, a US private equity executive from whom he had bought a Belgian insurer and whose JC Flowers investment firm previously occupied the 26th-floor office that Anbang now controlled. Fred Hu, founder of Chinese private equity firm Primavera Capital and a former Goldman Sachs executive, also came on board. Mr Hu, originally from Hunan, is believed to have close ties with former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji.
这一次，吴小晖盘算着这些合作伙伴应该可以帮助他实现收购。他联系了美国私募高管克里斯•弗劳尔斯(Chris Flowers)，他曾从后者的手中收购了一家比利时保险公司，此外弗劳尔斯的JC Flowers投资公司之前占据着安邦现在控制的第26层办公室。高盛(Goldman Sachs)前高管、中国私募股权公司春华资本(Primavera Capital)的创始人胡祖六(Fred Hu)也加入进来。胡祖六原籍湖南，据信与中国前总理朱镕基关系密切。
These two put up only a fraction of the funds for the deal, say several people familiar with the Anbang bid. “He could have had stronger partners,” says one person close to Anbang. “But he did not want that. He wanted to control everything.” Mr Flowers declined to comment and Mr Hu did not respond to requests for comment. Another person close to the process says even his advisers had little sway: “American investment bankers know how to do American M&A, but he [Mr Wu] did it in his own style.”
多位熟悉该交易的知情人士称，弗劳尔斯和胡祖六在这笔交易中只会出一小部分资金。“他本可以找到更厉害的合伙人，”一位熟悉安邦的人士表示，“但是他不想那样。他希望掌控一切。”弗劳尔斯拒绝置评，胡祖六没有回应置评请求。另一位熟悉事情经过的人士称，即使吴小晖的顾问也施加不了什么影响：“美国投行家知道如何运作美国的并购交易，但是他（吴小晖）我行我素。”
Marriott’s leadership felt the pressure to act quickly. “This was not a bluff,” says Arne Sorenson, chief executive of Marriott. “These guys [Anbang] are for real. You don’t come in with a $13bn fully financed offer unless you are serious.” Mr Sorenson, while in Cuba with a US presidential delegation, spent the weekend agreeing a new cash-and-stock bid for Starwood worth $79.53 a share.
万豪的领导层感受到了压力，觉得必须尽快采取行动。“这不是虚张声势，”万豪首席执行官阿恩•索伦森(Arne Sorenson，见下图)称，“（安邦）这些人是动真格的。除非你是认真的，否则你不会拿来130亿美元的全现金收购要约。”索伦森当时正作为美国总统代表团的一员访问古巴，他思考了一个周末，同意提出每股价值79.53美元的现金加换股的新收购方案。
Mr Wu was determined to return with a counter-offer, but cracks in his strategy were starting to show. Under capital controls in China, the State Administration for Foreign Exchange insists on approving sizeable transactions that involve moving money abroad. In addition, the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission limits transactions abroad to 15 per cent of the buyer’s total assets.
吴小晖决心再加价，但是这时他的收购策略开始显出裂痕。按照中国的资本管制政策，中国国家外汇管理局(SAFE)坚持对涉及资本转移至海外的大规模交易进行审批。此外，中国保监会(CIRC)规定，国内险商海外收购交易规模不得超过总资产的15%。
Mr Wu told his advisers that the regulators would not be an issue. “He used to boast that he knew everyone there from the chairman to the doorman,” says one person who participated in the process.
吴小晖告诉顾问们，监管机构不是问题。“他常夸口自己认识那里从主席到门卫的所有人，”一位参与该过程的人表示。
However, the respected Chinese journal Caixin reported that regulators believed the transaction value would breach the 15 per cent limit.
然而，中国权威杂志《财新》报道称，监管部门认为这笔交易的价值将违反15%的限制。
For the Starwood bid, Anbang had secured a commitment from the state-owned China Construction Bank. But after the Caixin report, CCB’s commitment became less clear, according to two people familiar with the situation.
对于收购喜达屋，安邦得到了中国建设银行提供融资的承诺。但是，据两名知情人士称，在财新的报道出来后，建行的承诺变得不那么确定了。
Mr Wu pressed on, raising his bid twice over the Easter weekend: first to $81 a share, then $82.75, or $14bn — hoping he was close to a knockout bid.
吴小晖继续推进交易，在复活节那个周末两次提高报价：第一次报价每股81美元，之后报价每股82.75美元（相当于估值140亿美元）——希望他可以接近一锤定音。
Starwood said the latest Anbang proposal was likely to lead to a “superior offer” to Marriott’s terms, but privately pressed the Chinese bidder for greater clarity on financing and other details.
喜达屋称安邦最后一次提议很可能成为优于万豪条款的方案，但是私底下敦促安邦提供关于融资等问题的更多细节。
As Anbang became less responsive, Starwood worried that the regulatory issues and questions over Anbang’s financing raised in the press were real. Those concerns proved well-founded last Thursday, when three letters arrived at Starwood — from Mr Wu, Mr Hu and Mr Flowers. They said the bidders were walking away, mysteriously citing “various market conditions”.
由于安邦变得没那么积极回应，喜达屋担心，媒体所提的监管问题以及围绕安邦融资方面的疑问都是真的。上周四，这些担忧得到了证实，喜达屋收到了三封信，分别来自吴小晖、胡祖六和弗劳尔斯。他们称，这些竞购者将要退出，并隐晦地表示是由于“不同的市场状况”。
Was it fear of overpaying or pressures in China? One person with insight into the talks says China’s regulators had “clipped the wings” of its high-flying chairman, while a second person confirmed the problems were regulatory.
究竟是担心出价太高，还是迫于国内压力？一名了解谈判内情的人士称，中国监管机构“斩断了”这位想要高飞的董事长的“翅膀”。另外一人证实问题出在监管方面。
A spokesman for Anbang denied its funding fell apart, that Mr Flowers and Mr Hu had put up only limited funds, and that its senior executives had doubts about a bid. “He wants to create a real international Chinese company and be the number one businessman in China,” says an Anbang insider. “But he was not well prepared, and he did not listen to advice. He was too impatient to do the deal.”
安邦一位发言人否认其融资破裂以及弗劳尔斯和胡祖六只提供有限资金，也否认了安邦高管对竞购抱怀疑态度。一位安邦内部人士表示：“他希望打造一家真正国际化的中国企业，成为中国首屈一指的商人。但是他还没做好充分准备，他不听取建议。他太迫不急待，结果达不成交易。”
Regardless, the person close to Starwood says, Mr Wu made his mark. “They are using an insurance base to make interesting investments. The fact that they got this far is significant.”
不管怎样，那位熟悉喜达屋的人士称，吴小晖还是成功了。“他们正以保险为根基去进行有意思的投资。他们能走这么远，这本身很有意义。”