巴菲特变身维权投资者？

    本周末参加巴菲特的伯克希尔哈撒韦公司（BRKA）年度股东大会的维权投资者不一定持有这家公司的股份，甚至不一定支持这位先知的投资理念。但是，这并不妨碍他们就巴菲特和其他知名投资者对各家公司改革进程施加的重要影响力展开讨论，其中也包括伯克希尔公司持有股份的亨氏公司和可口可乐公司。

    紧跟在哥伦比亚大学和GAMCO Investors创始人马里奥•盖伯里举办的晚宴之后的鸡尾酒会上，对冲基金潘兴广场（ Pershing Square）的比尔•阿克曼也露面了。酒会上的普遍观点认为，激进股东掌权时，各家公司的管理层无足轻重，无论是在伯克希尔公司，还是在其他众多公司，都是一样。

    最近，巴菲特对公司治理的态度一直饱受批评，因为虽然他认为可口可乐备受争议的高管薪酬计划规模“过大”，但他并没有投票反对。但投资者发现，伯克希尔公司最近对番茄酱生产商亨氏的收购进一步表现了巴菲特投资风格的转变。在亨氏交易中，伯克希尔公司与3G资本合作，而3G资本一直以对收购公司进行激进的成本削减和管理改革而著称。

    巴菲特通常不会对伯克希尔公司收购的公司进行这种大刀阔斧的革新（如更换首席执行官以及作出其他艰难的决定）。但巴菲特与3G资本的合作让众多投资者感到惊讶。比如，对冲基金经理人惠特尼•蒂尔森就指出，亨氏公司在收购之后一年内息税折摊前利润（EBITDA）增长了50%，对于一家成熟的公司而言，这种增速闻所未闻。而且，他认为巴菲特不会就此收手：“我认为巴菲特和3G将再次合作，收购可乐可乐。能让公司董事会重组就是好事一桩，因为现在很多公司都过于庞大且经营不善，例如亨氏。”

    周六召开年度股东大会时，巴菲特曾经为自己在可口可乐的弃权票辩护，称伯克希尔公司得到了想要的结果【据《华尔街日报》（The Wall Street Journal）报道，可口可乐正在重新考虑自己的薪酬计划】。巴菲特说：“这对伯克希尔而言是最有效的行为方式。我们已对那项薪酬计划的过度规模作出非常明确的声明，同时我们绝不会为此向可口可乐‘宣战’。我认为在大多数情况下，正面冲突都不是一个好主意。而且，我认为如果你要联手其他力量向某人宣战，你必须对这种联盟将会带来什么后果非常有把握。”

    周五上午在奥马哈，投资者们就另一个有争议的联盟问题进行讨论，当时蒂尔森与阿克曼在外面闲逛时看到盖伯里在消费者新闻与财经电视频道（CNBC）批评阿克曼的激进策略。阿克曼一直在做空康宝莱和JC Penney公司，最近则在忙着和制药公司Valeant合作，希望收购肉毒杆菌制造商Allergan。阿克曼现持有Allergan近10 ％的股权。盖伯里认为，阿克曼的这个行动有失公允。阿克曼和盖伯里都拒绝置评。

    蒂尔森本人对其做空订单中的“垃圾”公司抱怨不断，他以为阿克曼与Valeant的行动将达成一项原本不可能完成的交易（因为Allergan已多次拒绝Valeant的要约），同时给所有股东带来利益。蒂尔森说：“我希望出现更多维权投资者，这样我的投资组合中可以加入更多公司”。

    著名共同基金经理人沃利•韦茨对此事的观点较为矛盾，他对Valeant公司的投资近期超过对伯克希尔•哈撒韦公司的投资，Valeant公司已经成为他投资组合中的最大重仓股。他不太愿意评价阿克曼收购Allergan的方法：“技术上而言这是非法的，但是...你懂的。”

    至于股东行动主义会有多大效果，韦茨说，“阿克曼的行为处于中等水平”。他补充道，阿克曼“快速出击”，增持Allergan公司股票，从而增加它阻止收购的难度，这种做法让他感到有点不屑。他担心激进投资方式的压力日后会给Valeant带来后果，或许会导致糟糕的管理决策。他说：“我不确定是否会长期持有这家公司”。

    尽管如此，韦茨也认为伯克希尔哈撒韦公司以后可能会更加积极地改革它投资的公司，尤其是在与3G合作成功收购亨氏之后。关于此次交易，他回忆起巴菲特的说法“适合我们与3G资本合作收购模式的公司有100家之多，”韦茨补充说。“我喜欢巴菲特的风格，要用一个词来形容他的话，那就是灵活。”（财富中文网）

    译者：Lina

    The activist investors in Omaha this weekend for Warren Buffett's annual Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) meeting don't necessarily own shares in the company or even subscribe to the Oracle's investment philosophy. That didn't stop them, however, from debating the way Buffett and other high-profile investors exert their heavyweight influence to reform companies -- including Berkshire holdings Heinz and Coca-Cola (KO).

    At a cocktail hour following a dinner hosted by Columbia University and GAMCO Investors' founder Mario Gabelli, which featured Pershing Square's Bill Ackman, the consensus view was that company management matters little when activist shareholders are in charge -- even at Berkshire itself, as well as many other businesses.

    Buffett's approach to corporate governance has been criticized lately after the Oracle declined to vote against a controversial compensation package for Coke executives that he characterized as "excessive." But investors found Berkshire's recent purchase of ketchup maker Heinz more illustrative of Buffett's evolution. In the Heinz deal, Berkshire partnered with 3G Capital, which is known for its aggressive cost cutting and management reform at companies it acquires.

    Buffett doesn't usually do that kind of overhaul, which often involves replacing CEOs and making other tough decisions, with Berkshire acquisitions. But Buffett's partnership with 3G surprised investors like hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, who noted that Heinz grew its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) by 50% in the year after the acquisition -- growth generally unheard of for a mature business, Tilson said. And he thinks Buffett won't stop there: "I think that Warren Buffett and 3G will team up again to buy Coke," he said. "Anything that shakes up corporate boards is a good thing, because there are a lot of companies that are just fat and poorly run. Take Heinz."

    Buffett, for his part, defended his abstention on the Coke vote as the annual shareholders meeting opened Saturday, saying Berkshire got the result it wanted anyway (Coke is reconsidering its compensation plan, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal.) "That was the most effective way of behaving for Berkshire. We made a very clear statement about the excessiveness of the plan, and at the same time, we in no way went to war with Coca-Cola," Buffett said. "I don't think going to war is a very good idea in most situations, and I think if you're going to join forces in going to war with somebody, you have to be very sure about what that alliance might mean."

    A debate over another controversial alliance surfaced in Omaha Friday morning when Tilson was hanging out with Ackman and they saw that Gabelli had criticized Ackman's activist tactics on CNBC. Ackman, who is known for his campaigns against Herbalife (HLF) and J.C. Penney (JCP), recently teamed up with pharmaceutical company Valeant (VRX) to attempt an acquisition of Botox-maker Allergan (AGN), of which Ackman now owns nearly 10% -- a move that Gabelli called unfair. Ackman and Gabelli declined to offer comment.

    Tilson, who himself rails against "dreck" companies that make up his short-selling book, said that he thought Ackman's Valeant maneuver would benefit all shareholders by delivering a deal that otherwise would not be possible, as Allergan has repeatedly refused Valeant's offers. "I hope more activists put more companies in play in my portfolio," Tilson said.

    Renowned mutual fund manager Wally Weitz, whose investment in Valeant has recently replaced Berkshire Hathaway as his portfolio's largest holding, was more conflicted. He winced discussing Ackman's approach to buying Allergan. "It's not technically illegal but … there's letter and there's spirit."

    On the spectrum of how useful shareholder activism can be, "Ackman falls somewhere in the middle of that," Weitz said. Ackman's "quick hit" move in buying Allergan stock to make it harder for the company to block a takeover make him slightly uncomfortable, Weitz added, and he worries that the activist pressure could take a toll on Valeant, perhaps inciting bad management decisions. "I'm not sure it will be a long-term holding for us," he said.

    Still, Weitz also thought that Berkshire Hathaway might grow more active in reforming the companies it invests in going forward, particularly after the successful partnership with 3G on Heinz. Reflecting on that deal, he recalled Buffett's remark that "there are 100 companies that could use a 3G." Added Weitz, "I love Warren. The way I like to describe him is, he's flexible."