沃伦•巴菲特终于开始涉足汉堡业务。

    据《华尔街日报》（WSJ）率先报道，巴菲特执掌的伯克希尔哈撒韦公司（Berkshire Hathaway）已经同意在汉堡王（Burger King）计划收购加拿大咖啡及甜甜圈连锁商蒂姆霍顿斯（Tim Hortons）的交易中提供融资支持，该笔交易将催生出一家市值总计约180亿美元的连锁快餐巨头。预计伯克希尔公司不会以普通股的形式投资合并后的公司，而是与摩根大通（J.P. Morgan Chase）和富国银行（Wells Fargo）共同为其提供资金，从而换取支付年度股息的优先股。

    汉堡王的控股股东是巴西私募股权投资公司3G资本（3G Group）。2013年，巴菲特就曾携手3G 资本收购了番茄酱制造商亨氏（H.J. Heinz Co.）。

    据可靠消息来源透露，早在2010年，3G资本就曾在最初收购汉堡王时尝试与巴菲特合作，但被巴菲特拒绝【但当时巴菲特已经通过收购DQ冰淇淋（Dairy Queen）进入快餐行业】。巴菲特的顾虑在于，汉堡王连续几届首席执行官都决策失败，而麦当劳（McDonald’s）的地位似乎难以撼动。在被3G资本收购后，尽管汉堡王的营业收入逐年下降（很大程度是由于公司削减直营店造成），但其利润和税息折旧及摊销前利润（EBITDA）双双实现增长（3G资本以注重削减成本而著称）。自从2012年6月重新上市至今，公司股价已经上涨了100％以上。

    不过，巴菲特这一次的加入，可能会引爆一只政治火药桶。

    汉堡王计划在此宗交易之后，将总部从美国的佛罗里达州迁到加拿大的安大略省，成为近来“税收倒置”（tax inversions）大军中新的一员，此操作可以使得进行收购的美国公司降低税负。加拿大的企业税率仅为26.5%，而美国的税率为35%。汉堡王仍需要就其在美国境内的经营支付美国的税项，但整体而言还是要少于总部设在迈阿密时需要向美国国税局缴纳的税款（有意思的是，在此番‘自我倒置’之前，蒂姆霍顿斯是在美国特拉华州注册成立的）。2013年，汉堡王将近44%的营业收入都来自美国以外的地区。

    呼吁改变税法以防止此类税收倒置活动的政治压力主要来自民主党。美国总统奥巴马已经公开谴责了此类交易。所以，巴菲特入主汉堡王，是会令民主党让步，还是促使共和党推动已经启动的改革，且让我们拭目以待。

    对此，巴菲特曾经表示，他并不认为美国企业的税收负担过重，但他也确实看到美国的税法存在着不合理的地方，希望各国的企业税收能够趋于一致。或许他会辩称，汉堡王和蒂姆霍顿斯经过合并，会比各自打拼更具前景，最终可以为美国贡献更多的税收。

    根据预期协议的条款规定，汉堡王不能仅因为美国税法的变动而不执行交易。此外，伯克希尔公司预计需要就其股息收入全额缴足美国税款，无法享受美国企业的优先股持有人所享受的股息收入扣减优惠。（财富中文网）

    Warren Buffett is finally getting into the burger business.

    Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to help finance Burger King’s proposed purchase of Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Hortons, which would create an $18 billion quick-serve restaurant behemoth, as first reported by the WSJ. Berkshire is not expected to purchase common stock in the combined company, but instead is helping to finance the deal — alongside J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo — in exchange for preferred stock that would pay out an annual dividend.

    Burger King is majority-owned by Brazilian private equity firm 3G Group, with whom Buffett worked last year to purchase ketchup-maker H.J. Heinz Co.

    According to a source familiar with the situation, 3G reached out to Buffett back in 2010 about partnering on its original takeover of Burger King, but he demurred (although he already was in the quick-serve food biz via Berkshire’s ownership of Dairy Queen). Among Buffett’s concerns about Burger King were a succession of failed CEOs and the seeming invincibility of McDonald’s. Since then, Burger King’s revenue has consistently declined during 3G’s ownership (in large part due to its divestiture of company-owned stores), although both its profits and EBITDA have increased (3G is known for its focus on cutting costs). The company’s stock also is up more than 100% since returning to the public markets in June 2012.

    By coming aboard now, however, Buffett may be hopping atop a political powder keg.

    Burger King plans to relocate its headquarters from Florida to Ontario following the deal, making it just the latest in a series of so-called “tax inversions” that allow acquiring U.S. companies to lower their tax bills. Canada’s corporate tax rate is just 26.5%, compared to the U.S. rate of 35%. Burger King still would be required to pay U.S. taxes on U.S. operations, but ultimately would enjoy a lower IRS bill than were it to officially remain in Miami (in a strange twist, Tim Hortons had been incorporated in Delaware before later ‘self-inverting’). Approximately 44% of Burger King’s 2013 revenue came from outside the U.S.

    Most of the political pressure to change tax law to prevent inversions has come from Democrats, with President Obama publicly denouncing such transactions. So it should be interesting to see if Buffett’s participation in Burger King either causes Democrats to back off, or possibly gets Republicans on board with existing reform efforts.

    For his part, Buffett has said that he does not believe U.S. companies are unduly burdened by taxes, but he does see irrationality in the tax code and would prefer more consistency in corporate rates from country to country. Perhaps what he would argue is that Burger King and Tim Hortons will grow larger in the U.S. as a combined company than as separate entities, thus ultimately generating more U.S. tax revenue.

    Under terms of the expected agreement, Burger King cannot walk away just because U.S. tax law changes. Also, Berkshire would be expected to pay U.S. taxes on its dividend income at a full rate, without the dividend received deduction that benefits holders of preferred shares of U.S.-based companies.

    It remains unclear if Tim Hortons has accepted the Burger King offer.