波本威士忌之于美国就如同香槟酒之于法国，也就是说，这些烈性酒的口味与它们的原产地一样鲜明。但日本却使情况变得复杂化了。

    东京上市公司——三得利控股（Suntory Holdings）日前宣布，它已经协议收购了Jim Beam、Maker's Mark和Knob Creek等品牌波本威士忌的酿造商Beam Inc.。这项交易价值136亿美元，其中，Beam股东每股将获得83.50美元现金（较该股上周五收盘价有25%的溢价）。若将承担债务计算在内，交易价值将增至约160亿美元。

    由此，这宗收购成为日本收购美国企业的第二大交易，仅次于去年夏季软银（Softbank）以370亿美元收购斯普林特（Sprint）的交易。下面是日本收购美国公司的最大5宗交易：     

    Bourbon is to America what champagne is to France -- an alcoholic beverage defined as much by its originating geography as by its taste. But Japan is going to complicate things a bit.

    Tokyo-listed Suntory Holdings today announced that it has agreed to acquire Beam Inc. (BEAM), maker of such bourbon brands as Jim Beam, Maker's Mark and Knob Creek. It's a $13.6 billion deal, with Beam shareholders each to receive $83.50 per share in cash (25% premium to last Friday's closing price). Including assumed debt, the transaction price swells to around $16 billion.

    That would make this the second-largest Japanese buyout ever of an American company, behind only Softbank's $37 billion purchase of Sprint last summer. Here are the top five:   

    这也是第三次有一家日本公司支付10亿以上美元收购一家美国消费品公司，之前的两次分别是日本烟草（Japan Tobacco）于1999年以78亿美元收购International Cigarettes以及资生堂（Shiseido Company）于2012年以19亿美元收购化妆品公司Bare Escentuals。但这起项收购均不涉及对上市公司的收购【International Cigarettes是雷诺兹•纳贝斯克（RJR Nabisco）分拆出来的公司，而Bare Escentuals则由私募股权公司Berkshire Partners所有】。

    日本与美国的跨国收购交易绝大部分都围绕科技业展开，这一点并不意外。

    因此，这笔交易或许只是《广告狂人》（Mad Men）所引发波本威士忌热潮的一次性反应（主角唐•德雷柏在剧中常饮波本威士忌）。Beam发布的第三季度业绩显示波本威士忌增速“快于市场”，Beam北美老板比尔•纽兰兹上周四在消费者新闻与财经电视频道（CNBC）上表示，“波本威士忌是业内日前最热的一个领域。”

    三得利收购Beam是2014年开年以来金额最大的一笔并购交易，但受到廉价贷款和日本近期经济复苏的推动，这可能只是未来跨国并购的冰山之一角。换句话说，它值得关注。不过也许只是在我们小酌一杯的时候......（财富中文网）

    It also is just the third time that a Japanese company has paid more than $1 billion for an American consumer products company, following Japan Tobacco's $7.8 billion purchase of International Cigarettes in 1999 and Shiseido Company's $1.9 billion deal for cosmetics company Bare Escentuals in 2012. Neither of those two transactions, however, included the acquisition of a listed company (International Cigarettes was a spinoff from RJR Nabisco, while Bare Escentuals was owned by private equity firm Berkshire Partners).

    The vast majority of large cross-border M&A between Japan and the U.S. is, not surprisingly, focused on technology.

    So perhaps this is just a one-off, reflective of a bourbon bubble that began inflating when Don Draper started to sip on Mad Men. Beam reported "above-market growth" in bourbon during its Q3 earnings, and Beam North America boss Bill Newlands said on CNBC just last Thursday that "bourbon is the hottest category in our industry today."

    ”

    But given that Suntory's Beam purchase is the largest M&A transaction announced so far in 2014, there also is the possibility that this is the tip of a cross-border iceberg, sparked by access to cheap debt and Japan's recent economic recovery. In other words, it's worth keeping an eye on. Maybe while enjoying something to drink...