香港地产家族再欲收购内地子公司

HONG KONG — New World Development, a Hong Kong property company, offered on Wednesday to privatize New World China Land, its property developer unit, in a deAl worth about $2.8 billion.

香港——香港地产企业新世界发展有限公司周三表示，计划通过一项价值约28亿美元的交易，将其从事地产开发的子公司新世界中国地产有限公司私有化。

New World Development is controlled by the family of the Hong Kong billionaire Cheng Yu-tung, which also controls the jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook, one of the world’s largest. It had tried to privatize the property unit in 2014 but failed to gain shareholder approval because of a so-called head-count test, required under a special accelerated buyout process, which takes into account not just the number of shares that are voted but also the number of shareholders voting.

新世界发展集团由香港亿万富翁郑裕彤(Cheng Yu-tung)的家族掌控，该家族同时还掌管着世界上最大的珠宝连锁店之一周大福。新世界发展集团曾在2014年试图将上述子公司私有化，但因为有“数人头”规则的限制而没能获得股东同意。这是一种特殊快速收购程序的要求，即不仅要参考投票的股份数量，还要考虑参与投票的股东人数。

New World Development had offered 6.80 Hong Kong dollars, or 87 cents, a share. While holders of 99.84 percent of New World China shares were in favor of the takeover, they constituted only 255 registered shareholders, or 34 percent. The remaining 66 percent of shareholders, with a stake of 0.16 percent, opposed the deal. After the offer fell through, regulations required New World Development to wait 12 months before making another bid for the unit.

新世界发展集团当时提出了每股6.8港元的收购价格。尽管持股99.84%的新世界中国地产股东同意这项收购，但他们只有255人，仅占注册股票持有人的34%。其余66%的所有人的持股比例只有0.16%，但他们反对这项交易。这次收购申请失败之后，根据规定，新世界发展集团需要在12个月以后才能再次申请收购该子公司。

The new offer for all the shares that the parent company does not already own will not have to pass the head-count test because it is not using the accelerated process. At 7.80 dollars a share — for a total 21.5 billion dollars — the company is offering a premium of 25.6 percent over the closing price of New World China on Dec. 31, its last trading day before shares were suspended in anticipation of the offer.

这次提出的收购母公司尚未拥有的所有股份的要约，将不再受“数人头”规则的限制，因为并没有采用快速收购方式。这一次，新世界发展集团提出了每股7.8港元的收购价格——整体收购价为215亿港元——比新世界中国地产12月31日的收盘价溢出25.6%。当天是该子公司的最后一个交易日，后因有可能被收购而暂停交易。

In a filing with the Hong Kong exchange, New World Development said that New World China would be able to use the parent company’s “greater financial strength” and its “more competitive financing terms for raising bank borrowings” without being subject to the requirements of a listed company.

新世界发展集团在提交给香港交易所的一份文件中表示，新世界中国地产可以借助母公司“更强大的财务实力”和“更具竞争力的融资条款提升其银行借贷额度”，而不必受限于上市公司的要求。

The move also allows New World Development to invest in mainland China through New World China.

这次收购也将使新世界发展集团可以通过新世界中国地产在内地进行投资。

New World China’s shares jumped nearly 21 percent after the announcement, while New World Development’s shares slipped 4.4 percent.

这一消息发布之后，新世界中国地产的股价飙升了近21%，新世界发展集团的股票则下挫了4.4%。

The proposed takeover in 2014 had involved a “scheme of arrangement,” a court-facilitated process that can move faster than a normal buyout. To qualify for this arrangement, a bid needs the support of only 75 percent of the shares but 50 percent of the shareholders voting.

2014年提出的收购采用的是“协议安排”。这是一种通过法院协调的收购过程，可以比普通收购方式速度更快。要实现这类收购，要约只需获得75%的股份支持，但同时需要赢得50%以上的参与投票的股东支持。

Although Hong Kong does not use the head-count test, the Cayman Islands, where New World China is incorporated, requires all proposals to be approved by a majority of shareholders.

尽管香港不使用“数人头”的规定，但是在新世界中国地产有限公司的注册地开曼群岛，所有提议都需要取得多数股东的同意。