東西方聯姻:雙匯收購Smithfield的幕後

It was a brief meeting of the two most powerful people in pork.

那是豬肉生產行業兩位最有權勢人物的一次短暫會面。

The encounter between Joseph W. Luter III, chairman of Smithfield Foods Inc., SFD +0.33% the world's largest pork processor, and Wan Long, chairman of Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., known as 'China's No. 1 Butcher,' lasted only 90 minutes about seven years ago.

會面發生在大約七年前，一方是全球最大豬肉加工企業Smithfield Foods Inc.的董事長約瑟夫・W・盧特爾三世(Joseph W. Luter III)，另一方則是素有“中國第一屠夫長”之稱的雙匯國際控股有限公司(Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.)董事長萬隆。會面只持續了90分鐘。

Hosting Mr. Wan in his Manhattan apartment, Mr. Luter floated the idea of a joint venture, saying 'we ought to do something together.' And that laid the foundation, Mr. Luter said in an interview this week, for a very different tie-up: last week's $4.7 billion deal for Shuanghui to buy Smithfield in the biggest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company.

盧特爾在其位於曼哈頓的公寓中接待了萬隆，當時他拋出了雙方成立一家合資企業的想法，稱“我們應該一起做一些事情”。 盧特爾本週接受記者採訪時說，正是這句話爲雙方不同尋常的聯姻奠定了基礎。上週雙匯斥資47億美元收購Smithfield是規模最大的一宗中資企業收購美國公司的案例。

'Seeds were planted,' the 73-year-old Mr. Luter said, 'and sometimes it takes a while for seeds to germinate.'

73歲的盧特爾說，那時我們就已經播撒了種子，有時種子需要一段時間才能發芽。

The deal that blossomed marks a stunning conclusion to the Luter family's stewardship of Smithfield, and it reflects big changes in the global meat industry. Mr. Luter's father and grandfather co-founded the meatpacker in 1936 in Smithfield, Va., and he transformed it into a global giant by engineering more than 50 acquisitions over three decades.

最終開花結果的這宗交易標誌着盧特爾家族結束了對Smithfield的領導，這相當令人意外，但也反映出全球肉類行業出現的重大變化。盧特爾的父親和祖父在1936年於弗吉尼亞州史密斯菲爾德共同創辦了這家肉類加工企業。通過在30年的時間裏策劃了50多宗併購，盧特爾將Smithfield轉變成了一家全球巨頭。

Along the way, Mr. Luter earned a reputation as a no-nonsense businessman with expensive tastes that have included posh homes on Manhattan's Park Avenue and in Aspen, Colo. He was also a fierce defender of the pork industry in the face of criticism from animal-rights activists and environmental groups, acquiring nicknames in the media like 'Boss Hog' and the 'Hog King.'

這一過程中，盧特爾贏得了“實際而高效”的聲譽，同時他的個人品味也相當奢華。他在曼哈頓的公園大道(Park Avenue)和科羅拉多州的阿斯彭(Aspen)購置了豪宅。面對動物權利活動人士和環保組織的批評，他還強烈爲豬肉行業辯護，因此也被媒體冠以“豬老闆”(Boss Hog)和“豬王”(Hog King)的稱號。

The proposed takeover is an acknowledgment by Mr. Luter and other Smithfield directors that the company's growth prospects at home are constrained by sluggish sales in a mature and consolidated market, while China offers vast opportunities as the rising wealth of its people fuels increasing demand for pork and other meats.

此次提出的這宗收購交易表明盧特爾和Smithfield的其他董事承認，該公司在美國國內的增長前景受制於在一個成熟且經過整合的市場銷售不暢的現實。隨着中國民衆財富不斷增加，其對豬肉和其它肉製品的需求也在上升，中國爲Smithfield提供了巨大的商機。

'I have always thought that something big should happen between China and the United States,' Mr. Luter said. 'There's too much pork in the U.S. and too little in China.'

盧特爾說，我一直認爲中美兩國之間應該發生一宗大交易；美國的豬肉太多，而中國的豬肉又太少。

The deal remains subject to a national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. And Mr. Luter said that other bids could still emerge.

該交易仍有待美國海外投資委員會(Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.)的國家安全審查。盧特爾說，還可能出現其他競購企業。

Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA -0.43% and Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL, -2.61% known as CP Foods, have also looked at Smithfield, according to a statement by CP Foods last week and people close to JBS. Shuanghui's side didn't learn that CP Foods and JBS were interested until about a week before Shuanghui signed its deal, said a person familiar with the matter. Shuanghui responded by accelerating its efforts 'quite a bit,' the person said, and at one point it even intimated that it would drop out of the process if the deal wasn't signed in a certain time frame.

巴西肉類加工企業JBS SA和泰國的Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL（即卜蜂食品(CP Foods)）也對Smithfield有興趣。這一消息來自卜蜂食品上週發佈的一份聲明以及接近JBS的人士。據知情人士透露，大約在簽署這宗交易的一週前雙匯才得知卜蜂食品和JBS也有興趣。這位知情人士說，雙匯對此做出的反應是大大加快了進度。雙匯甚至曾經一度暗示說，如果交易不在特定時間框架內簽署，它將退出競購。

But JBS isn't currently entertaining a topping bid, according to people familiar with the matter. And Shuanghui doesn't expect either party to top its bid, said another person familiar with the matter, who added that Shuanghui's Mr. Wan would likely top other bids should they appear. Shuanghui and JBS representatives declined comment.

但據知情人士透露，JBS目前沒有考慮提出一個高於雙匯的報價。另一位知情人士說，雙匯預計不論是卜蜂還是JBS都不會給出一個超過自己的報價。這位人士還說，一旦出現高過雙匯的報價，雙匯董事長萬隆可能會反超這些報價。雙匯和JBS的代表不予置評。

Messrs. Luter and Wan, growing up on opposite sides of the world, both helped turn modest regional meatpackers into industry giants.

分別在東西方成長起來的萬隆和盧特爾也分別將一家區域性肉類加工企業變成了行業巨頭。

Mr. Luter's start came on the kill floor and loading dock at his family's company during summers between semesters at Wake Forest University. He was thrust into a leadership role after his father died his senior year, and he became CEO in 1966 at the age of 26.

盧特爾在韋克福里斯特大學(Wake Forest University)上學時，到暑假便會在家族企業的屠宰車間和裝貨區幹活，他由此進入了這一行。大四時，他父親去世，他被推上領導崗位，1966年年僅26歲的盧特爾成爲首席執行長。

Mr. Luter sold out three years later to Liberty Equities Corp. and was soon pushed out. He used his money from the deal to start a Virginia ski resort, but after Smithfield began to founder, directors brought him back in 1975.

三年後，盧特爾將公司賣給了Liberty Equities Corp.，不久後被擠出了公司。他用賣公司得來的錢在弗吉尼亞開辦了一個滑雪度假地，但在Smithfield開始陷入困境後，1975年董事們把他請了回來。

Mr. Luter began snapping up weaker pork companies. In the 1980s and 1990s, he borrowed a strategy from the chicken industry, developing and buying up hog farms so that Smithfield could control each stage of pork production.

盧特爾開始收購較弱的豬肉企業。上世紀80年代和90年代，他借鑑雞肉行業的策略，開發及收購養豬場，以便使Smithfield能夠控制豬肉生產的各個環節。

As Smithfield grew, Mr. Luter and the company became targets of environmental groups and other critics. Animal-rights activists blasted it for confining female pigs to narrow pens known as gestation stalls. In 1997, a federal judge fined Smithfield $12.6 million for violating the federal Clean Water Act by discharging hog-waste pollutants into a Chesapeake Bay tributary.

隨着Smithfield發展壯大，盧特爾及其公司成爲環保組織和其他批評人士的攻擊目標。動物權利保護者抨擊該公司把母豬限制在窄小的豬欄裏。1997年，一名聯邦法官判決Smithfield支付1,260萬美元的罰款，罪名是將豬糞污染物排放到切薩皮克灣(Chesapeake Bay)的一個支流中，違反了聯邦《淨水法》(Clean Water Act)。

Mr. Luter often responded undiplomatically. 'The animal-rights people want to impose a vegetarian society on the U.S.,' he told The Wall Street Journal in 2001. 'Most vegetarians I know are neurotic.'

盧特爾的迴應常常不夠圓滑。2001年他對《華爾街日報》說，動物權利保護者希望把美國變成一個素食社會。我認識的大部分素食者都神經質。

Mr. Luter now regrets many of those comments over the years. 'I did a miserable job' of public relations, he said.

現在盧特爾對之前自己說過的很多話感到後悔。他說，我的公關做得很糟。

Smithfield's stock price soared under his leadership. But he stepped down as CEO in 2006 because he was tired of dealing with government regulators, he said. 'It wasn't any fun anymore.'

在他擔任首席執行長期間，Smithfield股價飆升。但他說，2006年他辭了職，因爲他厭倦了與政府監管機構打交道。工作不再有絲毫樂趣。

He was succeeded by Larry Pope, his longtime lieutenant, but remained chairman. Mr. Pope, 58, led a deeper Smithfield push into branded packaged meats in the U.S. and expanded Smithfield's pork exports to China.

曾長期擔任盧特爾副手的波普(Larry Pope)接任首席執行長，但盧特爾仍擔任董事長。58歲的波普領導Smithfield更加深入地進軍美國的品牌包裝肉製品行業，並擴大了Smithfield對中國的豬肉出口。

Mr. Luter's joint-venture proposal to Mr. Wan, made when he was still CEO, involved building a plant together in the U.S. dedicated to producing pork for export to China.

盧特爾向萬隆提出合資提議時他仍在擔任首席執行長，提議涉及到在美國合作建造一座工廠，專門生產向中國出口的豬肉。

The idea didn't pan out immediately, but in 2009, Shuanghui engaged advisers to look at Smithfield's financials with the possibility of a joint venture in mind, according to a person familiar with the matter.

據一位知情人士說，這個想法當時並沒有進一步推進，但2009年雙匯請顧問了解Smithfield的財務情況，想看看是否有可能組建合資企業。

Then this past February, Shuanghui again set its sights on Smithfield, and by mid-April, it had sent the company a merger agreement, triggering a full sprint toward last week's deal, the person said.

上述人士說，今年2月，雙匯再次瞄準Smithfield，4月中旬前，雙匯向Smithfield發了一份合併協議，引發收購交易全速推進，並於上週達成。

Mr. Luter said he thinks Shuanghui may have accelerated its bid because Continental Grain Co., one of Smithfield's biggest shareholders, had begun agitating publicly in March for Smithfield to split into three companies. The plan would have separated the company's hog farms and pork-processing.

盧特爾說，他認爲由於Smithfield最大股東之一康地穀物公司(Continental Grain Co.)今年3月開始公開鼓動將Smithfield分拆爲三家公司，雙匯可能加快了收購計劃。按照康地穀物公司的計劃，Smithfield的養豬場和豬肉加工業務將分離。

Shuanghui said last week that it was 'especially attracted to' Smithfield's vertically integrated model, which Smithfield has argued helps ensure food safety, a huge problem in China.

雙匯上週說，它尤其被Smithfield的垂直整合模式所吸引。Smithfield說，這種模式可以幫助保證食品安全。食品安全在中國是一個大問題。

Mr. Luter said the sale of Smithfield would be bittersweet. Though the company hasn't been controlled by his family for a long time, he said, Luter family members have been involved in its operations for most of the past 77 years.

盧特爾說，Smithfield的出售讓他感到既甜蜜又苦澀。他說，儘管該公司已經有很長時間不在他們家族的控制下了，但過去77年中的大部分時間盧特爾家族成員一致參與公司的運營。

Mr. Luter's son, Joseph W. Luter IV, is an executive vice president overseeing Smithfield's domestic and international sales and marketing.

盧特爾的兒子約瑟夫・W・盧特爾四世(Joseph W. Luter IV)是Smithfield的執行副總裁，負責公司在美國及海外的銷售和營銷。

'There's some seller's remorse,' the elder Mr. Luter said, 'but I have a responsibility that's beyond personal feelings. And I think that Smithfield Foods is worth more to an international company that has international visions than it would be standing alone.'

盧特爾說，確實有一些賣家會有的後悔情緒，但我的責任超出了我的個人感情。我認爲，相比作爲一家獨立的公司，Smithfield Foods被一傢俱有國際眼光的國際公司收購後價值會更大。