收购美国电信巨头的日本狂人

    自从日本在上世纪80年代收购洛克菲勒中心（the Rockefeller Center）以来，无所不能的日元和日本企业的收购还从未在美国本土产生如此强烈的反响。本周,日本第三大移动运营商软银（Softbank)宣布以201亿美元收购当前经营不善的斯普林特（Sprint），创下日本迄今为止最大、也是最具争议的对外投资。

    就在这家日本公司购入斯普林特70%股份之时，投资者正在纷纷撤离美国科技股。但软银股价反弹似乎显示这个大胆的举动已经赢得了一些支持。“我们估计整合将产生200亿至400亿美元的直接费用协同效应，”瑞士信贷（Credit Suisse）分析师在一份报告中写道。“软银注入的新资本将使斯普林特有能力相对于美国电话电报公司（AT&T）和威瑞森（Verizon）改善频段资源。”

    报告还指出，软银在创新和成本管理方面也有很好的记录。但有一个因素被低估了。软银董事长孙正义。从软件销售起步的孙正义将软银（软件银行，听起来有些怪怪的）变成了日本毫无争议的扭亏为盈企业之王。

    自称“赌徒”的孙正义在提升公司竞争力方面有过辉煌的历史，这次希望能在斯普林特身上再创奇迹。“正如我们在日本做到的那样，我们收购的移动业务实现了盈利V型回升，我们在强手林立的市场中通过推出差异化产品和创新服务，获得了引人瞩目的增长，”他在与收购新闻稿同步发出的一份书面声明中称。

    他指的是，他实现了日本电信（Japan Telecom）、沃达丰（Vodaphone）和Willcom的扭亏为盈。他2006年收购沃达丰日本（Vodaphone Japan）的交易与这次的斯普林特交易特别相似。比如，收购沃达丰也耗费了他约200亿美元的现金，也同样被投资者视为是过于冒险。软银股价一度狂跌60%。孙正义对批评充耳不闻，他的计划是通过提高市场份额和单位用户收入，打破这个行业普遍的低增长现状。孙正义称，软银是少数几家这么做的运营商之一，软银利润增长了5倍。

    如此一意孤行，追求一系列看似不太可能的项目，让他在日本赢得了疯子的名声。“很多人批评我是个疯子，这点我接受，”他说。“但有时，疯狂能产生好的结果。”他的方法一直就是大量增加智能手机和平板电脑的销售，通过出售速度更快的无线网络接入服务，提高软银对消费者的吸引力。他表示，会将这一策略拓展到此次收购上。

    驻东京的科技业顾问Mark Hiratsuka表示，他这种美国式的特立独行可能会让收购斯普林特的押注取得成功。“在日本，软银一直都被视为‘文化异类’，迥异于Docomo等公司；这几乎完全是因为个人崇拜，对其领导人孙正义的崇拜，”他谈到在日本Twitter粉丝数最多的孙正义时说。“有一点我们不应忽视，孙正义身为日本第二大富翁，或许有助于他按个人气质打造一家像软银这样的公司。同样有帮助的还有，他是在美国上的中学——这看似无关紧要，但的确给了他在业务交易上的国际视野。”

    Not since Japan snapped up the Rockefeller Center in the 1980s has the power of a mighty yen and an acquisitive Japan Inc. reverberated so strongly in the United States. This week's $20.1 billion deal between Japan's number three mobile carrier Softbank and the moribund Sprint is Japan's largest outbound investment ever to date, and equally controversial.

    The Japanese firm now has a 70% stake in a large chunk of the US tech landscape that, at first, had investors bolting from the scene. But as Softbank's (SFTBF) shares rebounded the bold move has convinced some. "We estimate that consolidation could yield $20 billion to $40 billion in direct expense synergies over time," Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a report on the merger. "New capital from Softbank will also allow Sprint to meaningfully improve its spectrum position relative to AT&T and Verizon."

    The report also points out that Softbank has a strong track record of innovation and cost management. That is something of an understatement. Consider Masayoshi Son, Softbank's chairman. With roots in software sales, he turned Softbank -- a "bank" of software, hence the odd sounding name -- into the undisputed turnaround king of Japanese commerce.

    A self-proclaimed gambling man, Son has a history of improving his company's competitive position and plans to revisit his past successes with this American venture. "As we have proven in Japan, we have achieved a V-shaped earnings recovery in the acquired mobile business and grown dramatically by introducing differentiated products and innovative services to an incumbent-led market," he said in a statement released to coincide with the announcement of the merger plans.

    He was referring to his turnaround of ventures such as Japan Telecom, Vodaphone, and Willcom. His purchase of Vodaphone Japan in 2006 has particular parallels with the Sprint deal. The Vodafone acquisition, for one, also cost him about $20 billion in cash and was similarly negatively received by investors as an overly risky bet. Softbank's share price dropped 60%. Ignoring the critics, Son's plan was to beat the industry's characteristically flat growth by increasing market share and average revenue per user. Softbank went on to be one of the few carriers to do this, improving Softbank's profits by five times according to Son.

    Such chutzpah and a taste for a string of unlikely projects has earned him a reputation of an eccentric in Japan. "Many people criticize me as a crazy guy, but I accept that," he says. "But sometimes craziness produces a good result." His formula has been to multiply smartphone and tablet sales, while increasing Softbank's appeal to customers by peddling faster wireless connections. A strategy he says he will extend to this acquisition.

    His American-style maverick ways could make the Sprint gambit a success says Tokyo-based technology consultant Mark Hiratsuka. "Softbank has long been seen here as 'culturally' different to the likes of Docomo; due almost entirely to a cult of personality presided over by its Dear Leader, Mr. Son," he says of Son, who has the most Twitter followers in Japan. "It should not be overlooked that being the second-richest person in Japan probably helps Son mould a firm like Softbank in his own image. It also helps that he went to high school in the US -- seemingly trivial, but it does give him an international outlook on business dealings and empires have turned on less."