巴菲特260億美元收購美國鐵路運(yùn)營商

Warren Buffett yesterday struck the biggest deal of his life with the $26bn purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the largest US railroad operators, in what the billionaire investor called an “all-in wager” on America's economic future.

沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)昨日做成了他有生以來最大的一筆交易，用260億美元收購了美國最大的鐵路運(yùn)營商之一BNSF(Burlington Northern Santa Fe)。這位身價(jià)億萬的投資者稱此舉是對(duì)美國經(jīng)濟(jì)前景的“全盤下注”。

The cash-and-shares deal by Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which already has a 22.6 per cent stake in BNSF, caps a long search by the legendary investor for an “elephant” deal to deploy his vast cash pile.

巴菲特旗下的伯克希爾哈撒韋公司(Berkshire Hathaway)此前已經(jīng)擁有BNSF 22.6%的股權(quán)。這筆現(xiàn)金加股票交易，將會(huì)為這位傳奇投資者物色“大象級(jí)”交易、以配置其巨額現(xiàn)金的漫長過程劃上句號(hào)。

The takeover deepens Mr Buffett's exposure to the US- focused old economy sectors that have long been the backbone of his empire alongside financial services, and underlines his confidence in a rebound in domestic growth.

此次收購加深了巴菲特對(duì)面向美國的老經(jīng)濟(jì)部門的投資，突顯其對(duì)美國經(jīng)濟(jì)增長反彈的信心。美國的老經(jīng)濟(jì)部門與金融服務(wù)業(yè)一直構(gòu)成巴菲特帝國的主要投資。

“America's best years lie ahead, no question about it,” Mr Buffett told CNBC after the deal, which values Texas-based BNSF at $44bn, including $10bn of debt and the value of the stake Berkshire had accumulated since 2007.

“美國的最美好時(shí)代還在未來，這一點(diǎn)毫無疑問，”巴菲特在交易公布后對(duì)CNBC表示。這筆交易對(duì)德克薩斯州BNSF的估值為440億美元，其中包括100億美元的債務(wù)和伯克希爾自2007年以來累積的股份價(jià)值。

After a few overseas purchases prior to the crisis, Mr Buffett refocused on the US during the turmoil, buying into then-ailing corporate icons like General Electric and Goldman Sachs and urging Americans to purchase US shares.

在危機(jī)前的幾宗海外收購之后，巴菲特在金融危機(jī)期間將目光重新轉(zhuǎn)向美國。他買入通用電氣(General Electric)和高盛(Goldman Sachs)等當(dāng)時(shí)陷入困境的標(biāo)桿企業(yè)股票，并敦促美國人購買本國股票。

Doug Kass, general partner at the hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management and a former Berkshire shareholder, said the BNSF takeover could be a defining moment for the 79-year-old investor.

對(duì)沖基金Seabreeze Partners Management普通合伙人、伯克希爾哈撒韋公司前股東道格•卡斯(Doug Kass)表示，收購BNSF的交易可能是這位79歲投資者的決定性時(shí)刻。

“Considering the size, this could be Mr Buffet's coup de grace on the deal world. And it's going to take a while to absorb it. I think it's his last meaningful deal,” he said.

他表示：“從這筆交易的規(guī)?？?，這可能是巴菲特在交易界決定性的一擊。需要一段時(shí)間來消化。我認(rèn)為這是他最后一筆有意義的交易。”

Mr Buffett said that he would steer clear of large deals for some time but added that, even after paying for BNSF, Berkshire would have more than $20bn in cash.

巴菲特表示，他將在一段時(shí)間內(nèi)避開大額交易，但補(bǔ)充表示，即使在購買了BNSF之后，伯克希爾仍將擁有200多億美元的現(xiàn)金。

英國《金融時(shí)報(bào)》弗朗西斯科•格雷拉(Francesco Guerrera)、賈斯廷•巴爾(Justin Baer)紐約、羅伯特•賴特(Robert Wright)倫敦報(bào)道