巴菲特致股东的信（1995年）⑩股权重组提案

A Proposed Recapitalization

At the Annual Meeting you will be asked to approve a recapitalization of Berkshire, creating two classes of stock. If the plan is adopted, our existing common stock will be designated as Class A Common Stock and a new Class B Common Stock will be authorized.

股权重组提案

今年的股东会将会有一项股权重组提案需要各位进行投票表决，一旦获得通过，伯克希尔原来发行的股份，将会被分拆为两种普通股，一种为 A 级普通股，一种为 B 级普通股。

Each share of the "B" will have the rights of 1/30th of an "A" share with these exceptions: First, a B share will have 1/200th of the vote of an A share (rather than 1/30th of the vote). Second, the B will not be eligible to participate in Berkshire's shareholder-designated charitable contributions program.

B 级普通股拥有 A 级普通股 1/30 的权利，除了以下两点，第一，B 级普通股的投票权只有 A 级普通股的1/200(而不是 1/30)，第二，B 级普通股不能参加伯克希尔股东指定捐赠计划。

When the recapitalization is complete, each share of A will become convertible, at the holder's option and at any time, into 30 shares of B. This conversion privilege will not extend in the opposite direction. That is, holders of B shares will not be able to convert them into A shares.

当股权重组完成之后，每一股 A 级普通股可以依持有人的自由意志在任何时候，选择转换成 30 股的 B 级普通股，但反之则不行，也就是说 30 股的 B 级普通股不能要求转换成一股的 A 级普通股。

We expect to list the B shares on the New York Stock Exchange, where they will trade alongside the A stock. To create the shareholder base necessary for a listing - and to ensure a liquid market in the B stock - Berkshire expects to make a public offering for cash of at least $100 million of new B shares. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus.

跟 A 级普通股一样，B 级普通股也将在纽约证券交易所中挂牌交易，而为了维持挂牌之后的流通性，伯克希尔预计将会发行总金额 1 亿美元以上的 B 级普通股，整个发行过程将以通过公开说明书的方式进行。

The market will ultimately determine the price of the B shares. Their price, though, should be in the neighborhood of 1/30th of the price of the A shares.

市场最终将会决定 B 级普通股的合理价格，当然若无特殊情况，B 级普通股将会以 A 级普通股 1/30 左右的价位进行交易。

Class A shareholders who wish to give gifts may find it convenient to convert a share or two of their stock into Class B shares. Additionally, arbitrage-related conversions will occur if demand for the B is strong enough to push its price to slightly above 1/30th of the price of A.

持有 A 级普通股的股东若有赠与的计划，将可以很轻易地先将持有的股份转为 B 级普通股，当然可能也会有一些转换套利方面的交易可能使得 B 级普通股股价略高于 A 级普通股股价的 1/30。

However, because the Class A stock will entitle its holders to full voting rights and access to Berkshire's contributions program, these shares will be superior to the Class B shares and we would expect most shareholders to remain holders of the Class A - which is precisely what the Buffett and Munger families plan to do, except in those instances when we ourselves might convert a few shares to facilitate gifts. The prospect that most shareholders will stick to the A stock suggests that it will enjoy a somewhat more liquid market than the B.

然而，由于 A 级普通股还是享有完整的投票权以及参与伯克希尔股东指定捐赠计划的权利，所以就这方面而言，A 级普通股还是比 B 级普通股好一些，所以我们预期大部分的股东，就像巴菲特与芒格家族一样，还是会选择继续持有 A 级普通股，除非有股东有赠与的考量时，可能会将少部分的股份进行转换，而由于我们预期大部分会选择维持不变，所以 A 级普通股的流动性应该会比 B 级普通股来得高。

There are tradeoffs for Berkshire in this recapitalization. But they do not arise from the proceeds of the offering - we will find constructive uses for the money - nor in any degree from the price at which we will sell the B shares. As I write this - with Berkshire stock at $36,000 - Charlie and I do not believe it undervalued. Therefore, the offering we propose will not diminish the per-share intrinsic value of our existing stock. Let me also put our thoughts about valuation more baldly: Berkshire is selling at a price at which Charlie and I would not consider buying it.

这次的股权重组对伯克希尔来说有利有弊，原因不在于发行新股所带来的资金，我们一定可以找到合理的用途，也不在于发行新股的价格，就在我撰写年报的时刻，伯克希尔的股价约为每股 36,000 美元，查理跟我本人都不认为这样的价位过于低估，因此此次发行新股并不会使得公司原本的每股内在价值受到损害，或者说，以现在的价位而言，查理跟我都不会考虑再加码买进伯克希尔的股份。

What Berkshire will incur by way of the B stock are certain added costs, including those involving the mechanics of handling a larger number of shareholders. On the other hand, the stock should be a convenience for people wishing to make gifts. And those of you who have hoped for a split have gained a do-it-yourself method of bringing one about.

当然因为 B 级普通股的发行，伯克希尔本身必须承担处理更多股东所带来的股东服务工作，不过对于那些有赠与计划的股东来说，却变得方便许多，而对于喜欢股票分割的投资人来说，也多了一个自助式分割的渠道。

We are making this move, though, for other reasons - having to do with the appearance of expense-laden unit trusts purporting to be low-priced "clones" of Berkshire and sure to be aggressively marketed. The idea behind these vehicles is not new: In recent years, a number of people have told me about their wish to create an "all-Berkshire" investment fund to be sold at a low dollar price. But until recently, the promoters of these investments heard out my objections and backed off.

当然，之所以会有这样的举动还有其它理由，主要是由于目前坊间出现一种模仿伯克希尔的信托基金，号称价格低，只收取部分费用，人人都投资得起，这样的主意并不是首次出现，近几年来，有一些人向我传达想要设立一种所谓的模仿伯克希尔投资基金，以较低的价格对外发行，不过由于我个人并不赞同这样的做法，所以这些人才没有进一步的举动。

I did not discourage these people because I prefer large investors over small. Were it possible, Charlie and I would love to turn $1,000 into $3,000 for multitudes of people who would find that gain an important answer to their immediate problems.

对于这些人我不会一昧地打压，因为毕竟我们的目标锁定在大额投资人，如果可能，查理跟我当然希望公司的账面价值可以直接由 1,000 美元翻两番立刻变成 3,000 美元，如此一来大家因为这样的资本利得肯定不会再有其它的意见。

In order to quickly triple small stakes, however, we would have to just as quickly turn our present market capitalization of $43 billion into $129 billion (roughly the market cap of General Electric, America's most highly valued company). We can't come close to doing that. The very best we hope for is - on average - to double Berkshire's per-share intrinsic value every five years, and we may well fall far short of that goal.

为了将这些小筹码成长三倍，我们可能必须让伯克希尔的市值从原本的 430 亿美元，一下子暴增为 1,290 亿美元(这相当于一个通用电气，这是目前股票市场上市值最高的公司)，这根本就不可能办得到，所以我们比较希望的是，平均而言，伯克希尔的每股价值每五年能够翻一番，当然要达到这样的目标并不容易。

In the end, Charlie and I do not care whether our shareholders own Berkshire in large or small amounts. What we wish for are shareholders of any size who are knowledgeable about our operations, share our objectives and long-term perspective, and are aware of our limitations, most particularly those imposed by our large capital base.

总而言之，查理跟我不太在乎我们的股东们拥有公司股份的多寡，我们衷心期盼的是不论是大、小股东，都能了解我们的营运模式、与我们拥有共同的目标与长期投资理念，同时也能够明了我们受到的限制，尤其是自身过大的股本带给我们的沉重负担。

The unit trusts that have recently surfaced fly in the face of these goals. They would be sold by brokers working for big commissions, would impose other burdensome costs on their shareholders, and would be marketed en masse to unsophisticated buyers, apt to be seduced by our past record and beguiled by the publicity Berkshire and I have received in recent years. The sure outcome: a multitude of investors destined to be disappointed.

这些基金最近纷纷以这样的口号浮上台面，通常它们都是通过经纪人以高额佣金销售，所以加入的投资人必须背负相当沉重的摩擦成本，而一些不知情的投资人，可能冲着伯克希尔过去的成绩以及查理与我本人近年来的高知名度而受骗上当，最后的结果注定是：投资人定会大失所望。

Through our creation of the B stock - a low-denomination product far superior to Berkshire-only trusts - we hope to make the clones unmerchandisable.

所以，一种低价格但远优于模仿伯克希尔基金的 B 级普通股诞生了，我们希望可以让那些模仿的假货无法在市场上生存。

But both present and prospective Berkshire shareholders should pay special attention to one point: Though the per-share intrinsic value of our stock has grown at an excellent rate during the past five years, its market price has grown still faster. The stock, in other words, has outperformed the business.

不过我们还是必须再次提醒伯克希尔现有以及未来可能的股东，虽然在过去五年间本公司的内在价值以相当快速的速度成长，不过公司本身的股价涨升速度却有过之而无不及，换句话说，在这期间股票的市价表现远过于公司本业的表现。

That kind of market overperformance cannot persist indefinitely, neither for Berkshire nor any other stock. Inevitably, there will be periods of underperformance as well. The price volatility that results, though endemic to public markets, is not to our liking. What we would prefer instead is to have the market price of Berkshire precisely track its intrinsic value. Were the stock to do that, every shareholder would benefit during his period of ownership in exact proportion to the progress Berkshire itself made in the period.

这样的情况不太可能无止尽的持续下去，不管是伯克希尔或是其它股票都一样，无可避免的，总有一天股价的表现会逊于本业的表现，我们不太愿意见到公司的股价受到股票市场影响而剧烈波动，我们比较喜欢的模式是伯克希尔的股价能够与其所代表的内在价值一致，如此一来我们就可以确保每位股东在持有本公司股份的期间所获得的回报皆能与伯克希尔本身事业的发展状况一致。

Obviously, the market behavior of Berkshire's stock will never conform to this ideal. But we will come closer to this goal than we would otherwise if our present and prospective shareholders are informed, business-oriented and not exposed to high-commission salesmanship when making their investment decisions. To that end, we are better off if we can blunt the merchandising efforts of the unit trusts - and that is the reason we are creating the B stock.

很显然的伯克希尔的股价不可能以这样理想的方式演变，不过若是我们能够确定现有与未来的股东在做投资决策时，能得到充分的信息、以公司发展为导向且不会受到高佣金的推销员所引诱，我们就越有可能达到这样的目标，基于这样的前提，我们必须降低那些想要推销仿伯克希尔基金的动机，这也是我们决定推出 B 级普通股的主要原因。

We look forward to answering your questions about the recapitalization at the Annual Meeting.

当然若大家对于本次股权重组还有任何问题，欢迎在股东年会上提出讨论。