美對沖基金入股全球比較大機器人公司

A famed US activist investor is taking on one ofJapan’s most obsessive companies in what promisesto be an epic clash of cultures across the Pacific.

美國知名的激進投資者丹尼爾•勒布(Daniel Loeb)瞄準了日本最專注的企業(yè)之一——機器人公司發(fā)那科(Fanuc)。

According to its quarterly letter to investors, ThirdPoint — the hedge fund run by Daniel Loeb — hasbought into Fanuc, the world’s largest roboticscompany, and is urging it to conduct a sharebuyback.

根據(jù)勒布管理的對沖基金Third Point寫給投資者的季度信，這家基金已入股全球最大機器人公司發(fā)那科，并敦促后者回購股票。

 

 

The purchase highlights renewed investor interest in Japan as massive monetary stimulusdrives stocks higher, the government prepares a new corporate governance code, and returnon equity finally catches on as a management goal.

此次購股突顯出投資者重新燃起對日本的興趣。日本推出的大規(guī)模貨幣刺激正推升股價，同時日本政府正制定新的公司治理規(guī)則，且股本回報率終于被認可為一項管理目標。

But it also is reminiscent of numerous bitter and destructive clashes between Japanesecorporations and foreign investors, from the saga of Steel Partners and Bull-Dog Sauce adecade ago, to The Children’s Investment Fund and its run at electricity wholesaler J-Power in2008.

但這也讓人回憶起日本企業(yè)與外國投資者之間眾多痛苦且具有破壞性的沖突，從10年前Steel Partners收購牛頭犬調(diào)味品公司(Bull-Dog Sauce)的風波，到兒童投資基金(The Children’s Investment Fund)2008年在增持日本電源開發(fā)公司(J-Power)股權的故事。

“Fanuc’s productivity is amongst the highest in the world, on track to achieve $2.4bn ofoperating profit and 40 per cent margins. . .with just 5,500 employees,” said Third Point. But itadded: “There is a reason that Fanuc remains cheap at 13 times earnings: the company’sillogical capital structure which does nothing for shareholder value.”

Third Point表示：“發(fā)那科的生產(chǎn)率位于全球最高之列，營運利潤有望達到24億美元，利潤率為40%……只有5500名員工...... 但發(fā)那科的市盈率仍很廉價(13倍)，原因是該公司不合理的資本結構對提升股東價值毫無幫助。”

Third Point is known for its aggressive campaigns to shake up target companies — famouslyengineering the installation of Marissa Mayer as chief executive of Yahoo — and there is a gulfbetween its financial world on New York’s Park Avenue and the secretive, yellow-clad engineersof Fanuc.

Third Point以大規(guī)模改組目標公司出名——一個著名例子是安排瑪麗莎•梅耶爾(Marissa Mayer)擔任雅虎(Yahoo)首席執(zhí)行官。然而，紐約公園大道的金融界與發(fā)那科行事隱秘、穿著黃色衣服的工程師之間，存在巨大差異。

Fanuc has grown to become Japan’s 10th-largest company by market capitalisation, dominatingthe global market for factory robots from its base near Mount Fuji. It is known for an ultra-focused corporate culture, ruled until recently by founder Seiuemon Inaba, that rejects alldistractions from its core robotics business.

以市值衡量，發(fā)那科已成長為日本第十大企業(yè)，從位于富士山附近的基地統(tǒng)治著全球工業(yè)機器人市場。該公司以超級專注的企業(yè)文化知名，拒絕除核心機器人業(yè)務以外的所有其他業(yè)務。直到最近，該公司一直由其創(chuàng)始人稻葉清右衛(wèi)門(Seiuemon Inaba)管理。

In its letter, Third Point pays tribute to Fanuc, saying the company “reminds us of Apple in itsproduct approach”. It suggests Fanuc’s robotics sales will double in a few years, given thebroader range of industries now being automated, the low density of robot use in China, andthe Japanese company’s market dominance.

在寫給投資者的這封信中，Third Point贊揚發(fā)那科稱，該公司“的產(chǎn)品戰(zhàn)略讓我們想起了蘋果(Apple)”。信中稱，鑒于更多的行業(yè)實現(xiàn)了自動化、中國的機器人使用量仍然偏低、且發(fā)那科占據(jù)著市場主導地位，未來幾年，發(fā)那科的機器人銷量將翻一番。