【英语财经】巴菲特372亿美元豪赌美国制造业 Buffett ‘elephant’ deal for Precision is $37bn bet on US manufacturing

Warren Buffett

struck the largest deal of his life as

Berkshire Hathaway

agreed to buy engineering group Precision Castparts for $37.2bn in a big bet on US manufacturing by the billionaire investor.

The acquisition of Precision marks

Mr Buffett’s return to what he defines as “elephant” deals, as the latest takeover eclipses the $26bn Berkshire paid in 2009 to buy a controlling stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe, operator of the US’s second-biggest rail network.

The deal for Precision, which manufactures metal components for industrial gas turbines and supplies sectors including aerospace and the oil and gas industry, underlines Mr Buffett’s confidence in the recovery of US energy demand as the economy strengthens. “The acquisition emphasises Warren Buffett’s positive long-term outlook for growth of the US economy,” said Jay Gelb, an analyst at Barclays.

Mr Buffett said: “I’ve admired PCC’s operation for a long time. For good reasons, it is the supplier of choice for the world’s aerospace industry, one of the largest sources of American exports.”

The transaction has many traits of a typical Buffett deal: he already owned a minority stake in Precision; Mr Buffett is a big believer in nuts-and-bolts industrial groups; and the company’s share price had come under pressure, falling by about a tenth.

Under the terms of the deal, Berkshire is paying $235 a share in cash for Precision, a 21 per cent premium. Including net debt, the Oregon company is valued at $37.2bn. Precision shares jumped

19 per cent to $231 during trading in New York. In January, they traded at $242 — last Friday they were at $193.88.

To finance the deal, Berkshire will use about $23bn of its own cash and will

borrow approximately $10bn. Before the deal Berkshire had a cash pile of about $67bn.

Acquisitions that can make a difference to a company of Berkshire’s size are few and far between. Berkshire has struck up a partnership with the Brazilian private equity group

3G Capital, with which it has financed the merger of food giants Kraft and Heinz and the takeover of Canada’s Tim Hortons -coffee chain by Burger King.

Mr Buffett, 84, chairman and chief executive of the conglomerate, ruled out any further megadeals for the next year. “This takes us out of the market for an elephant?.?.?.?we have to reload over the next 12 months or so,” he told CNBC.

Mr Gelb said: “This deal is favourable as Berkshire’s acquisition?.?.?.?would enhance its exposure to increased

secular demand for aerospace travel.”

Precision, which employs about 30,000 people, has been hit over the past year by the fall in energy prices and weaker demand for oil and gas distribution. In its latest quarter, revenues fell

4 per cent to $2.4bn, while operating profits declined 16 per cent to $619m from a year earlier.

In May, Berkshire celebrated 50 years under the control of Mr Buffett, who turned an ailing textile company into the largest conglomerate in the US, with a market capitalisation of $354bn.

沃伦?巴菲特(Warren Buffett)达成了毕生最大交易，他执掌的伯克希尔哈撒韦公司(Berkshire Hathaway)斥资372亿美元，协议收购工程集团精密铸件(Precision Castparts)，这位亿万富翁投资者由此对美国制造业投下巨大赌注。

收购精密铸件公司标志着巴菲特重返他所定义的“大象”交易，此次收购在规模上超过伯克希尔在2009年以260亿美元购得北伯林顿铁路公司(Burlington Northern Santa Fe, BNSF)控股权的交易；BNSF是美国第二大铁路网的运营商。

精密铸件公司专业制造工业燃气轮机所用的金属部件，服务对象包括航空航天和石油天然气行业。这突显了巴菲特对于美国能源需求将随着经济增强而复苏的信心。“此次收购强调了巴菲特对美国经济增长的长期前景看法积极，”巴克莱(Barclays)分析师杰伊?盖尔布(Jay Gelb)表示。

巴菲特表示：“我一直非常欣赏精密铸件公司的经营。出于很好的理由，它是世界航空航天工业的首选供应商，美国出口的最大来源之一。”

这笔交易展现出典型巴菲特交易的很多特点：他已经拥有精密铸件公司的少数股权；巴菲特是基础工业集团的一大信徒；该公司的股价近期受到压力，下降了约十分之一。

根据协议条款，伯克希尔将为精密铸件支付每股235美元的现金，这代表着21%的溢价，使这家俄勒冈公司的估值达到372亿美元（包括净债务）。精密铸件股价昨日跃升19%，在纽约盘中达到231美元。今年1月该股股价曾达到242美元，上周五的股价为193.88美元。

为了筹措这笔交易所需的款项，伯克希尔将动用约230亿美元自有现金，并将借入约100亿美元。这笔交易达成之前，伯克希尔拥有大约670亿美元的现金储备。

对伯克希尔这种规模的公司来说，能够给公司带来不同的收购交易少之又少。伯克希尔公司与巴西私人股本集团3G资本(3G Capital)结成了合作伙伴关系，与后者一起资助了食品业巨头卡夫(Kraft)和亨氏(Heinz)的合并，以及汉堡王(Burger King)对加拿大咖啡连锁Tim Hortons的收购。

现年84岁的巴菲特是伯克希尔的董事长和首席执行官，他排除了在未来一年达成更多大笔交易的可能性。“这使我们暂别‘大象’市场……我们不得不在未来12个月左右补充弹药，”他对财经频道CNBC表示。

巴克莱的盖尔布表示：“作为伯克希尔的收购，这笔交易是有利的……将加强其对航空航天旅行长期需求增长的敞口。”

雇员约3万人的精密铸件公司，在过去一年里受到能源价格下跌和油气输送需求减弱的打击。在最近一个季度，其营收下降4%，至24亿美元，而营业利润同比下降16%，至6.19亿美元。

今年5月，伯克希尔举行了庆祝巴菲特执掌50年的活动，这位投资者把一家境况不佳的纺织企业经营成美国最大的企业集团，市值达到3540亿美元。

译者/和风