松下启动收购三洋 押注电池业务

松下电器总裁大坪文雄（左）与三洋电机佐野精一郎在新闻发布会上握手

　　Panasonic Corp. is formally launching its takeover bid for Sanyo Electric Co., part of a move by Japan's largest consumer electronics company to transform itself into a green energy powerhouse.
　　在转型为一家绿色能源提供商的行动中，日本最大的消费电子企业松下电器产业公司(Panasonic Corp.)，正式启动了对三洋电机(Sanyo Electric Co.)的收购。

　　Panasonic said Wednesday it won sufficient assurance from regulators around the world to proceed with the $4.45 billion deal that would give it a strong position in three promising enviro-businesses: solar panels, fuel cells and rechargeable batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles.
　　松下周三表示，已经获得全球监管机构的充分保证，可以继续推进这笔涉资44.5亿美元的交易。这笔交易将让松下在三大对环境有益的行业中取得强势地位：太阳能电池板、燃料电池和用于混合与电动汽车的可充电电池。

　　The move comes at a time when Japanese consumer-electronics makers are struggling to make money on household goods like televisions and DVD players amid intensifying competition from South Korean rivals, and they are seeking new business lines for more growth.
　　此时，日本的消费电子厂商面临着韩国对手越来越激烈的竞争，靠电视机和DVD播放机等家用产品赚钱困难重重，为了实现进一步增长，它们正在寻找新的业务。

　　Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo said recently that the energy-related businesses will be the company's 'most important' in the near future. With Panasonic's tender offer for a majority stake in Sanyo launching Thursday, the smaller partner gets a deep-pocketed partner with a smaller battery business.
　　松下电器总裁大坪文雄(Fumio Ohtsubo)近期表示，能源相关业务将成为这家公司在短期内“最重要”的业务。随着周四松下正式向三洋发出收购多数股权的要约，使得规模较小的三洋和财力雄厚但电池业务较少的松下联合起来。

　　'The idea is to take our technology, combine it with Panasonic's financial support, and we'll make this growth business grow even more,' Mitsuru Homma, the Sanyo executive vice president in charge of rechargeable batteries, said at a recent news conference.
　　在近期的一次新闻发布会上，三洋负责可充电电池业务的执行副总裁本间充(Mitsuru Homma)说，这个想法就是获得我们的技术，将它与松下的财务支持结合起来，我们会让这个成长型业务进一步成长。

　　Panasonic and Sanyo's battery businesses generated a combined 745.76 billion yen ($8.25 billion) in revenue, or about 8% of the two companies' joint sales, in the past fiscal year.
　　在上一财政年度，松下和三洋的电池业务一共取得7457.6亿日圆（合82.5亿美元）的营业收入，相当于两家公司总体销售收入的8%。

　　Even after divesting some operations to satisfy antitrust officials, the combination would create a leader in rechargeable batteries, especially for nickel metal hydride batteries, which are used in current hybrid vehicles from Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co., and Honda Motor Co. Together, the two companies account for most of the batteries currently used in hybrid cars.
　　尽管为迎合监管机构的反垄断要求而剥离了部分业务，两家公司合并后仍将成为可充电电池、特别是镍金属氢化物电池领域中的霸主。丰田(Toyota)、福特(Ford)和本田(Honda)现在生产的混合动力汽车都使用镍氢电池。两家公司生产的电池，加起来占目前混动汽车所使用电池的大部分。

　　It also better positions the two companies in the lithium-ion battery business, the technology expected to underpin the next wave of car batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. Sanyo and Panasonic account for nearly 30% of all production capacity, according to Macquarie Research.
　　这笔交易也让两家公司在锂离子电池领域占据更有利的地位。在混动与电动汽车电池的下一轮浪潮中，预计锂离子电池技术将成为支柱。据麦格理研究公司(Macquarie Research)数据，三洋和松下在全部产能中占据接近30%。

　　'It's really a transformational event that people haven't really realized yet,' said David Gibson, head of research at Macquarie Securities. 'This isn't a consumer-electronics driven deal. It's about batteries and solar.'
　　麦格理证券公司(Macquarie Securities)研究部门负责人吉布森(David Gibson)说，这真的是一件具有变革意义的事件，人们还没有真正意识到。这不是一笔因消费电子业务而产生的交易，它涉及的是电池和太阳能。

　　Japanese rivals Toshiba Corp., NEC Corp. and GS Yuasa Corp. are already working on lithium-ion batteries, which offer more power than the current nickel metal hydride ones. They also faces serious competition from South Korea's Samsung SDI Co. and LG Chem Ltd., China's BYD Co., and A123 Systems Inc. from the U.S.
　　东芝(Toshiba)、NEC和日本汤浅(GS Yuasa)等竞争对手已经开展了锂离子电池业务，这种电池比当前的镍氢电池提供的能量更多。韩国的三星(Samsung)和LG，中国的比亚迪(BYD)，美国的A123 Systems，都让松下与三洋面临严酷的竞争。

　　Panasonic said it will pay at least 402.3 billion yen for a minimum 50.02% stake in Sanyo via a tender offer, which commences Thursday and ends Dec. 7. The electronics giant will pay 131 yen per share of Sanyo, a 39% discount to its closing share price of 216 yen on Wednesday.
　　松下表示，收购要约中，它将为三洋至少50.02%的股权支付至少4023亿日圆，从周四开始，到12月7日结束。每股支付价格为131日圆，较周三216日圆的收盘价有39%的折扣。

　　The acquisition price was set in late December after Sanyo's three main shareholders -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. -- agreed to accept a 4% discount to the stock price at the time.
　　收购价格是在去年12月下旬确定的。当时三洋的三个大股东──高盛集团(Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)、三井住友银行(Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.)和大和证券SMBC株式会社(Daiwa Securities SMBC Co.)──同意接受较当时股价折让4%的价格。

　　Since then, investors have bid up Sanyo's share price amid growing interest in battery technology and a broader market rally. Shares representing a minority Sanyo stake are expected to continue trading.
　　自那时以来，因投资者对电池技术的兴趣，以及市场整体上扬，三洋股价已经上涨不少。代表三洋少数股权的股票将继续交易。

　　Panasonic has been working with antitrust watchdogs in major markets to gain approval for the deal. Panasonic said it plans to sell its own nickel metal hydride rechargeable car batteries business to ease competition concerns from Chinese regulators. Panasonic also has a 40% stake in Panasonic EV Energy Co., a nickel metal hydride hybrid-car battery joint venture with Toyota.
　　为获得批准，松下一直在与主要市场的反垄断机构进行合作。松下表示，计划出售它所拥有的镍氢可充电汽车电池业务，以缓解中国监管方对竞争的担忧。在与丰田合资的镍氢混动汽车电池企业松下电动汽车能源公司(Panasonic EV Energy Co.)中，松下拥有40%的股权。

　　Without specifying details, Panasonic said it will 'implement measures' in accordance with Chinese regulators to reduce Panasonic's influence in the joint venture. A person familiar with the matter said Panasonic will likely be forced to reduce its stake in the venture.
　　松下表示，它将根据中国监管机构的要求，“采取措施”减弱在这家合资企业中的影响，但没有具体说明。熟悉内情的人士说，松下可能会被迫减持合资企业股份。

　　Last week, Sanyo announced it will sell parts of two rechargeable battery businesses to a unit of Fujitsu Ltd.
　　三洋上周宣布，将把两个可充电电池部门部分出售给富士通(Fujitsu)旗下一家子公司。
　　
　　Daisuke Wakabayashi