美對衝基金入股全球最大機器人公司

A famed US activist investor is taking on one of Japan’s Most obsessive companies in what promises to be an epic clash of cultures across the Pacific.

美國知名的激進投資者丹尼爾•勒布(Daniel Loeb)瞄準了日本最專注的企業之一——機器人公司發那科(Fanuc)。

According to its quarterly letter to investors, Third Point — the hedge fund run by Daniel Loeb — has bought into Fanuc, the world’s largest robotics company, and is urging it to conduct a share buyback.

根據勒布管理的對衝基金Third Point寫給投資者的季度信，這家基金已入股全球最大機器人公司發那科，並敦促後者回購股票。

The purchase highlights renewed investor interest in Japan as massive monetary stimulus drives stocks higher, the government prepares a new corporate governance code, and return on equity finally catches on as a management goal.

此次購股突顯出投資者重新燃起對日本的興趣。日本推出的大規模貨幣刺激正推升股價，同時日本政府正制定新的公司治理規則，且股本回報率終於被認可爲一項管理目標。

But it also is reminiscent of numerous bitter and destructive clashes between Japanese corporations and foreign investors, from the saga of Steel Partners and Bull-Dog Sauce a decade ago, to The Children’s Investment Fund and its run at electricity wholesaler J-Power in 2008.

但這也讓人回憶起日本企業與外國投資者之間衆多痛苦且具有破壞性的衝突，從10年前Steel Partners收購牛頭犬調味品公司(Bull-Dog Sauce)的風波，到兒童投資基金(The Children’s Investment Fund)2008年在增持日本電源開發公司(J-Power)股權的故事。

“Fanuc’s productivity is amongst the highest in the world, on track to achieve $2.4bn of operating profit and 40 per cent margins. . just 5,500 employees,” said Third Point. But it added: “There is a reason that Fanuc remains cheap at 13 times earnings: the company’s illogical capital structure which does nothing for shareholder value.”

Third Point表示：“發那科的生產率位於全球最高之列，營運利潤有望達到24億美元，利潤率爲40%……只有5500名員工...... 但發那科的市盈率仍很廉價（13倍），原因是該公司不合理的資本結構對提升股東價值毫無幫助。”

Third Point is known for its aggressive campaigns to shake up target companies — famously engineering the installation of Marissa Mayer as chief executive of Yahoo — and there is a gulf between its financial world on New York’s Park Avenue and the secretive, yellow-clad engineers of Fanuc.

Third Point以大規模改組目標公司出名——一個著名例子是安排瑪麗莎•梅耶爾(Marissa Mayer)擔任雅虎(Yahoo)首席執行官。然而，紐約公園大道的金融界與發那科行事隱祕、穿着黃色衣服的工程師之間，存在巨大差異。

Fanuc has grown to become Japan’s 10th-largest company by market capitalisation, dominating the global market for factory robots from its base near Mount Fuji. It is known for an ultra-focused corporate culture, ruled until recently by founder Seiuemon Inaba, that rejects all distractions from its core robotics business.

以市值衡量，發那科已成長爲日本第十大企業，從位於富士山附近的基地統治着全球工業機器人市場。該公司以超級專注的企業文化知名，拒絕除核心機器人業務以外的所有其他業務。直到最近，該公司一直由其創始人稻葉清右衛門(Seiuemon Inaba)管理。

In its letter, Third Point pays tribute to Fanuc, saying the company “reminds us of Apple in its product approach”. It suggests Fanuc’s robotics sales will double in a few years, given the broader range of industries now being automated, the low density of robot use in China, and the Japanese company’s market dominance.

在寫給投資者的這封信中，Third Point讚揚發那科稱，該公司“的產品戰略讓我們想起了蘋果(Apple)”。信中稱，鑑於更多的行業實現了自動化、中國的機器人使用量仍然偏低、且發那科佔據着市場主導地位，未來幾年，發那科的機器人銷量將翻一番。