Chinese companies have yet to sate their appetites for foreign cuisine. Nor are their tastes limited to the haute. Yesterday came news that Lexmark, the US maker of printers and business software, will sell itself to a consortium of Chinese companies. The buyers, including Shenzhen listed Apex Technology and a venture capital arm of Hong Kong listed Legend Holdings, will pay $3.6bn in cash, a 17 per cent premium to the previous close.
中国企业对异乡美食的胃口尚未满足，他们的品味也不仅限于豪华大餐。昨日传出消息称，美国打印机和商业软件厂商利盟(Lexmark)将被一个由中国企业组成的财团买下。买家包括深圳上市的艾派克科技(Apex Technology)，以及香港上市的联想控股(Legend Holdings)旗下的风险投资部门，他们将支付36亿美元现金，相对于前一日的收盘价有17%的溢价。
Lexmark is not junk food but is the sort of meal that requires time in the microwave to be palatable. Its shares have drifted sideways for a decade. With revenues of $3.5bn, it has less than 5 per cent of a market that it estimates at $68bn.
利盟不算是垃圾食品，但仍是那种需要放入微波炉转一转才能入口的餐食。其股价10年来基本止步不前。35亿美元的营收意味着，它在自己估计规模为680亿美元的市场只有不到5%的占有率。
And it plays in an industry where size matters. Hewlett-Packard has printer sales nearly 6 times as large. Its $3.5bn research and development budget equals Lexmark’s top line and was more than 10 times the $330m the smaller company could afford last year.
而在它所处的行业，规模很重要。惠普(Hewlett-Packard)的打印机销量几乎达到利盟的6倍。其35亿美元的研发预算与利盟的营收相当，并且是利盟去年3.3亿美元研发预算的10倍多。
Developing new products is critical. While printer supplies have historically been the bulk of revenues, these are threatened as mobile devices replace printouts as a way to read documents. The growth outlook is tough.
开发新产品是至关重要的。虽然打印机耗材历来是营收中的大头，但随着人们转向用移动设备代替打印件阅读文件，这块业务面临威胁。增长前景不容乐观。
So Lexmark has been investing in its nascent business — document management software. It estimates the market at $12bn but with greater growth potential than printing. Lexmark’s progress in this highly fragmented market has been slow and mostly based on acquisitions that are costly to integrate. Here, too, the company has just 4 per cent market share.
因此，利盟近年投资于其新开辟的业务——文件管理软件。它估计这个市场的规模达到120亿美元，但增长潜力大于打印市场。利盟在这个高度分散的市场进展缓慢，而且多数是基于并购，整合成本较高。该公司在这个市场也只有4%的份额。
To offset the costs of growing by acquisition Lexmark has had to cut costs, laying off workers in its printer division. In 2013 it sold its ink-jet division, also to a Chinese buyer.
为了抵消通过收购实现增长的成本，利盟不得不削减成本，在其打印机部门进行裁员。该公司在2013年向中国买家出售了喷墨打印机部门。
Despite these efforts, a strategic review has concluded that the company’s best option is to sell. Management sees no better alternative. Shareholders should follow their lead while Chinese buyers are still hungry.
尽管有这些努力，一项战略评估仍得出这样的结论：该公司的最佳选择是把自己卖掉。管理层找不到更好的选择。趁着中国买家还没吃饱，股东应该听从他们的意见。