五大创纪录的并购与低利率相关

2015年真是并购案迭出的一年。据研究机构Dealogic统计，2015年全球企业并购交易规模高达5万亿美元，也由此超越2007年，成为有史以来并购交易规模最大的年份。

2015年并购交易规模较2014年增长37%，是2009年的两倍多。最耐人寻味的也许是，并购大潮简直势不可挡。通常并购交易会随着股市行情走，股市上扬，企业高管会偏乐观，也更愿意做并购。可2015年有些反常，夏季遭遇大跌，市场中对全球经济的担心情绪爆发，企业并购的步伐却丝毫未受影响，而且似乎还加快了。

创纪录的交易规模可能和低利率环境不无关系。低利率环境下，融资成本低，经济增长不愠不火，企业管理层会考虑扩大规模，并使用非常规手段促进收益增长。以下是2015年的一些巨无霸交易和规模（含企业债务在内）：

It was truly the year of the deal. The volume of corporate combinations globally topped $5 trillion, according to research firm Dealogic. That makes 2015 the biggest year of deals on record, topping 2007.

Dealmaking was up 37% from 2014, and it was more than double the volume of 2009. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this year’s deal boom is that nothing seemed to be able to stop it. Typically, deals tend to follow the stock market. As stocks go up, executives get more optimistic and do more deals. But even as the market faltered in the summer, and worries about the global economy erupted, the pace of corporate combinations continued; in fact, it appeared to speed up.

The record amount of deals could have to do with low interest rates. That allowed for cheap financing and tepid economic growth, sending corporate executives looking for ways to expand and back door ways to boost earnings. Below are the biggest deals of the year and their size (including debt):

1、辉瑞/艾尔健——1600亿美元

这既是年度规模最大也是最有争议的交易。然而，除了避税，交易并没有让辉瑞和艾尔健产生多少协同效应。通过与艾尔健合并——严格来说是被艾尔健收购，辉瑞每年至少可以向美国政府少缴纳12亿美元的税。据一位税务专家估算，省下的税可能高达33亿美元。

这笔交易也很可能为辉瑞省去210亿美元递延税，或许这就是此次合并被称为超级税收倒置交易的原因。希拉里•克林顿等下届美国总统候选人都表示，要采取行动制止此类以避税为目的的交易。

Pfizer/Allergan - $160 billion

It was the biggest and most controversial deal of the year. There aren't a lot of synergies between Pfizer and Allergan, outside of dodging Uncle Sam.Combining with Allergan AGN 0.18% —technically, Allergan is buying Pfizer PFE -0.24% —will save the drug giant at least $1.2 billion a year in U.S. taxes, andpossibly as much as $3.3 billion, according to one tax expert's estimates.

It will also likely save Pfizer $21 billion in deferred taxes it will now never have to pay. Perhaps that's why they call it a super inversion. The Pfizer deal caused Hillary Clinton and other presidential hopefuls to say they would do something to stop such tax-driven deals.

2、百威英博/南非米勒——1170亿美元

为了让并购顺利进行，百威英博啤酒集团与SABMiller将不得不割舍相当一部分美国市场的业务，不过问题不大。因为这笔交易将催生新兴市场里首屈一指的啤酒商，而新兴市场才是商机所在。此交易也将产生巨额债务。

AB InBev/SABMiller - $117 billion

AB InBev AHBIF 1.28% and SABMiller sabmiller-plc will still have to shed a good deal of their U.S. beer business to make the deal work. But that's okay. This deal is all about becoming the leading beer seller in emerging markets, where the real growth opportunities are. The deal will also create a mountain of debt.

3、英荷壳牌/英国天然气集团——820亿美元

2015年4月，英荷壳牌石油公司决定利用英国天然气集团市值缩水之机出售收购，目前来看这一决策是否明智还很难说。国际油价一年来持续下跌，壳牌起初称，即使油价跌至每桶70美元，这笔交易也值，但最近油价已经跌到每桶34美元。

凭借此项交易，壳牌得以挺进液化天然气市场，还能获得巴西的近海油田。该交易已获得监管机构批准，两家公司股东也很可能认可，现在壳牌要考虑的只剩下盈利问题。最近壳牌表示，会削减2016年的资本支出。

Royal Dutch Shell/BG Group - $82 billion

In April, Royal Dutch Shell RYDAF -0.98% decided to take advantage of the drop in the values of fellow oil companies and buy BG Group. It's unclear how wise that decision was. Oil prices have continued to drop. Originally, Shell said the deal made sense even if oil prices dropped to $70 a barrel. They recently dipped to $34.

The deal gets Shell into the liquified gas market, as well as the offshore oil fields of Brazil. The move has been blessed by regulators and is likely to get approved by shareholders. Now Shell just needs to make the math work. It recently said it would cut back its capital spending in 2016.

4、Charter/时代华纳有线——800亿美元

在有线电视网络巨头康卡斯特放弃收购时代华纳有线后，传媒大亨约翰•马龙控股的Charter乘虚而入。交易完成后将诞生美国第二大有线电视运营商，拥有1700万视频订阅用户，仅次于康卡斯特的2200万用户。此交易尚需监管机构批准，可能要等到2016年才会尘埃落定。

Charter/Time Warner Cable - $80 billion

After Comcast called off its deal to buy Time Warner Cable TWC -0.38% , John Malone's Charter CHTR -0.51% swooped in. The deal will create the second largest cable company in the U.S., with 17 million video subscribers, behind only Comcast with 22 million. The deal still needs regulatory approval, which could stretch well into 2016.

5、陶氏化学/杜邦——680亿美元

由于对冲基金在两边努力撮合，陶氏化学与杜邦最终决定合并。2015年12月，两家公司敲定了复杂的协议，但合并后不久之后将拆分为三家独立的公司。陶氏化学的首席执行官安德鲁•里佛里斯和杜邦的首席执行官埃德•布林表示，合并后的新公司一年可节约成本30亿美元。

然而，除非这两大巨头大幅削减研发方面的投入，否则很难看出两家公司变成三家公司怎么能省出几十亿美元。眼下，陶氏化学和杜邦似乎确有可能缩减研发支出，引得很多人批评这起并购。此外，交易公布以前杜邦就曾表示，将在其总部美国特拉华州裁员1700人。（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

校对：夏林

Dow/DuPont - $68 billion

With hedge fund activists on both sides, Dow Chemical and DuPont DD -0.36% finally met in the middle. The two companies decided in December to hook up in a complicated deal that will combine the two companies, but then break them up shortly after into three separate companies. The companies' CEOs Dow's Andrew Liveris and DuPont's Ed Breen say the deal will save the combined firm $3 billion a year in costs.

But it's hard to see how turning two companies into three will do that, other than if these two storied science giants dramatically cut back on what they spend on research. It appears they are likely to do that, leading many to criticize the deal. DuPont has already said it will cut 1,700 workers in its home state of Delaware ahead of the deal.