苏富比在华表现不佳，维权投资者强势逼宫

    最近苏富比决定采用毒丸计划，阻止投资者获得超过10%的股份，由此引发了苏富比与Third Point之间的战争。花旗集团的奥利弗•陈说：“鲁普雷希特和他的董事会为自己争取了一些时间，来与其他股东协调。问题是股东的利益各不相同，既有短期利益也有长期利益，而且股东对于公司内在价值的观点也存在明显分歧。我不确定哪一种观点是正确的，但就算没有外界的压力，苏富比也应该已经开始着手考虑这些挑战。”苏富比拒绝发表任何评论。

    毒丸计划未能让Third Point打消念头。这家对冲基金在一份官方声明中，称苏富比此举是“上世纪80年代的遗物。”

    伦敦调查公司Activist Insight的分析师约什•布莱克认为：“勒布不是那种会主动挑起事端的人，除非他有把握获胜。”Activist Insight一直跟踪约200名维权派股东的表现和活动。布莱克形容勒布是一位“出色的调音师”。去年，梅丽莎•梅耶接替雅虎（Yahoo）前任CEO斯科特•汤普森的过程中，勒布就发挥了重要作用。

    布莱克说：“他的目的是进入苏富比董事会，同时在一段时间内扮演重要角色。他很有可能从苏富比内部找人取代鲁普雷希特。”Third Point拒绝为本文发表意见。拉宾认为，通过将苏富比的挑战公开，勒布已经迫使这家拍卖公司处在防守位置。“有拍品的收藏者们依然会尝试与苏富比协商交易，但他们或许不会像以往那样信心十足。苏富比眼下正在经历什么变故？苏富比会有怎样的未来？这些问题或许会在收藏者的脑海中始终挥之不去。”

    苏富比与Third Point之间的控制权之争，有一方肯定是稳赚不赔，那就是股东。约什•布莱克说：“总体而言，维权派股东的活动对一家公司的股票有利。在这类控制权之争当中，更换CEO使年度股票价格平均上涨了约7%。”

    花旗集团的奥利弗•陈对公司股票的预期目标是55美元（周一为50美元）。“不论最终结果如何，勒布已经提出了一些苏富比必须解决的正当的问题。现在就看苏富比如何接招了。”（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    With the recent adoption of a poison pill that prevents an investor from acquiring more than 10% of its shares, the battle lines between Sotheby's and Third Point seem to have been drawn. "Ruprecht and his board of directors have bought themselves some time to align themselves with the other shareholders," says Citigroup's Oliver Chen. "The problem is that there is a variety of interests, both long-term and short-term, as well as starkly different views of the intrinsic value of the company. I don't know who is right, but Sotheby's should have probably been thinking about these challenges even without getting forced." Sotheby's declined to offer comment.

    The poison pill has not deterred Third Point, which, in an official statement, called the move "a relic from the 1980s."

    "Loeb is not the kind of guy who would pick a fight unless he is confident he can win," says Josh Black, an analyst at Activist Insight, a London-based research firm that tracks the performance and campaigns of nearly 200 activist shareholders. Black describes Loeb, who was instrumental in replacing former Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Scott Thompson with Marissa Mayer last year, as "a fine tuner."

    "He intends to get on Sotheby's board with the intention of staying there for a significant period of time," Black says. "There is a distinct possibility he will look within Sotheby's and find an insider to take Ruprecht's place." Third Point declined to comment for this article.

    By bringing Sotheby's challenges into the open, Loeb has already forced the auction house into the defensive position, says Rabin. "Collectors with a property for sale will still call Sotheby's and try to negotiate a deal, but they probably will feel not as confident about it as they used to be. The question of what is going on at Sotheby's, and what its future will be, will definitely linger in the back of their heads."

    In the battle for control between Sotheby's and Third Point there is probably one sure winner though: the shareholder. "On the whole, the involvement of a shareholder activist does very well for the company's stock," says Josh Black from Activist Insight. "In these kinds of battles, the removal of a CEO leads to an average annualized share price increase of about 7%."

    Citigroup's Chen has given the stock, which is at $50 as of Monday, a target of $55. "Regardless of the outcome, Loeb has brought up some valid things that need to be addressed. Now it's up to Sotheby's to make its case."