巴菲特致股东的信（2017年）②并购

Acquisitions

并购

There are four building blocks that add value to Berkshire: (1) sizable stand-alone acquisitions; (2) bolt-on acquisitions that fit with businesses we already own; (3) internal sales growth and margin improvement at our many and varied businesses; and (4) investment earnings from our huge portfolio of stocks and bonds. In this section, we will review 2017 acquisition activity.

为伯克希尔增加价值有四大基石：（1）大规模的独立收购；（2）与我们现有业务契合的补强收购；（3）旗下众多业务内部的销售增长和利润率提升；（4）我们庞大的股票和债券投资组合产生的投资收益。本节我们来回顾2017年的并购活动。

In our search for new stand-alone businesses, the key qualities we seek are durable competitive strengths; able and high-grade management; good returns on the net tangible assets required to operate the business; opportunities for internal growth at attractive returns; and, finally, a sensible purchase price.

在物色新的独立业务时，我们寻找的关键品质包括：持久的竞争优势；有能力且品格高尚的管理层；运营所需净有形资产的良好回报率；以诱人的回报率实现内部增长的机会；以及最后——合理的收购价格。

That last requirement proved a barrier to virtually all deals we reviewed in 2017, as prices for decent, but far from spectacular, businesses hit an all-time high. Indeed, price seemed almost irrelevant to an army of optimistic purchasers.

事实证明，最后一项要求几乎挡住了我们2017年审视过的所有交易。那些品质不错但远谈不上惊艳的企业，收购价格已经创下历史新高。事实上，对于那支乐观进取的收购大军来说，价格似乎已经无关紧要了。

Why the purchasing frenzy? In part, it’s because the CEO job self-selects for “can-do” types. If Wall Street analysts or board members urge that brand of CEO to consider possible acquisitions, it’s a bit like telling your ripening teenager to be sure to have a normal sex life.

为什么会出现这种收购狂潮？部分原因在于，CEO这个职位本身就自带筛选功能，只有"敢闯敢干"型的人才能坐上这个位子。如果华尔街分析师或董事会成员敦促这类CEO考虑收购机会，那就好比告诉一个正在发育的青少年一定要拥有正常的性生活。

Once a CEO hungers for a deal, he or she will never lack for forecasts that justify the purchase. Subordinates will be cheering, envisioning enlarged domains and the compensation levels that typically increase with corporate size. Investment bankers, smelling huge fees, will be applauding as well. (Don’t ask the barber whether you need a haircut.) If the historical performance of the target falls short of validating its acquisition, large “synergies” will be forecast. Spreadsheets never disappoint.

一旦CEO对交易饥渴起来，他或她就永远不会缺少能为收购正名的预测报告。下属们会欢呼雀跃，因为他们憧憬着更大的管辖范围和通常随公司规模扩大而水涨船高的薪酬水平。嗅到巨额服务费的投资银行家也会拍手叫好。（永远不要问理发师你是否需要理发。）如果收购对象的历史业绩不足以证明收购的合理性，那么巨大的"协同效应"就会被预测出来。电子表格从来不会让人失望。

The ample availability of extraordinarily cheap debt in 2017 further fueled purchase activity. After all, even a high-priced deal will usually boost per-share earnings if it is debt-financed. At Berkshire, in contrast, we evaluate acquisitions on an all-equity basis, knowing that our taste for overall debt is very low and that to assign a large portion of our debt to any individual business would generally be fallacious (leaving aside certain exceptions, such as debt dedicated to Clayton’s lending portfolio or to the fixed-asset commitments at our regulated utilities). We also never factor in, nor do we often find, synergies.

2017年大量极其廉价的债务资金进一步推波助澜。毕竟，即便是高价收购，只要用债务融资，通常也能提高每股收益。相比之下，在伯克希尔，我们以全股权为基础来评估每一笔收购，因为我们对整体负债水平的偏好非常低，而且把大量债务强加给任何单个业务通常都是错误的做法（某些特殊情况除外，比如克莱顿 (Clayton) 的贷款组合所对应的债务，或者我们受监管公用事业业务中的固定资产负债）。同时，我们从来不指望、也很少发现什么"协同效应"。

Our aversion to leverage has dampened our returns over the years. But Charlie and I sleep well. Both of us believe it is insane to risk what you have and need in order to obtain what you don’t need. We held this view 50 years ago when we each ran an investment partnership, funded by a few friends and relatives who trusted us. We also hold it today after a million or so “partners” have joined us at Berkshire.

多年来，我们对杠杆的厌恶确实拖累了回报率。但查理和我睡得很踏实。我们都认为，为了得到你并不需要的东西，而拿你已经拥有和真正需要的东西去冒险，那简直是疯了。50年前，当我们各自经营着由几位信任我们的亲朋好友出资组建的投资合伙企业时，我们就持有这样的理念。如今，伯克希尔已经拥有了上百万"合伙人"，我们的理念一如当初。

Despite our recent drought of acquisitions, Charlie and I believe that from time to time Berkshire will have opportunities to make very large purchases. In the meantime, we will stick with our simple guideline: The less the prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we must conduct our own.

尽管近期遭遇了"并购荒"，但查理和我相信，伯克希尔不时仍会有机会进行非常大规模的收购。与此同时，我们将坚守一条简单的准则：别人的交易越是轻率鲁莽，我们自己就越要谨慎自律。

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We were able to make one sensible stand-alone purchase last year, a 38.6% partnership interest in Pilot Flying J (“PFJ”). With about $20 billion in annual volume, the company is far and away the nation’s leading travel-center operator.

去年我们还是完成了一笔明智的独立收购——收购了飞行员旅行中心 (Pilot Flying J，简称"PFJ") 38.6%的合伙权益。这家公司年销售额约200亿美元，是全美遥遥领先的卡车旅行中心运营商。

PFJ has been run from the get-go by the remarkable Haslam family. “Big Jim” Haslam began with a dream and a gas station 60 years ago. Now his son, Jimmy, manages 27,000 associates at about 750 locations throughout North America. Berkshire has a contractual agreement to increase its partnership interest in PFJ to 80% in 2023; Haslam family members will then own the remaining 20%. Berkshire is delighted to be their partner.

PFJ从创立之初就由了不起的哈斯拉姆家族 (Haslam) 经营。60年前，"老吉姆"·哈斯拉姆 (Big Jim Haslam) 靠着一个加油站和一腔梦想起步。如今他的儿子吉米 (Jimmy) 管理着遍布北美约750个网点的2.7万名员工。伯克希尔已与哈斯拉姆家族达成合同协议，将在2023年把PFJ的合伙权益提高到80%；届时哈斯拉姆家族将持有剩余的20%。伯克希尔非常高兴能成为他们的合伙人。

When driving on the Interstate, drop in. PFJ sells gasoline as well as diesel fuel, and the food is good. If it’s been a long day, remember, too, that our properties have 5,200 showers.

当你开车上州际公路时，欢迎顺道来看看。PFJ既卖汽油也卖柴油，食物也很不错。如果跑了一整天的长途，别忘了我们的网点还有5,200个淋浴设施。

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Let’s move now to bolt-on acquisitions. Some of these were small transactions that I will not detail. Here is an account, however, of a few larger purchases whose closings stretched between late 2016 and early 2018.

现在说说补强收购。其中一些是小交易，我就不详述了。但以下是几笔规模较大的收购，从2016年底到2018年初陆续完成。

Š Clayton Homes acquired two builders of conventional homes during 2017, a move that more than doubled our presence in a field we entered only three years ago. With these additions – Oakwood Homes in Colorado and Harris Doyle in Birmingham – I expect our 2018 site built volume will exceed $1 billion.

克莱顿之家 (Clayton Homes) 在2017年收购了两家传统住宅建筑商，使我们在三年前才进入的这一领域的业务规模翻了一番还多。加上新增的科罗拉多州的橡木之家 (Oakwood Homes) 和伯明翰的哈里斯·多伊尔 (Harris Doyle)，我预计2018年我们的现场建造业务收入将超过10亿美元。

Clayton’s emphasis, nonetheless, remains manufactured homes, both their construction and their financing. In 2017 Clayton sold 19,168 units through its own retail operation and wholesaled another 26,706 units to independent retailers. All told, Clayton accounted for 49% of the manufactured-home market last year. That industry-leading share – about three times what our nearest competitor did – is a far cry from the 13% Clayton achieved in 2003, the year it joined Berkshire.

尽管如此，克莱顿的业务重心依然是预制装配式住宅——包括制造和融资两个环节。2017年，克莱顿通过自有零售渠道售出了19,168幢住宅，另外向独立零售商批发了26,706幢。总的来看，克莱顿去年占据了预制住宅市场49%的份额。这一行业领先地位——大约是最接近的竞争对手的三倍——与2003年克莱顿刚加入伯克希尔时13%的市场份额不可同日而语。

Both Clayton Homes and PFJ are based in Knoxville, where the Clayton and Haslam families have long been friends. Kevin Clayton’s comments to the Haslams about the advantages of a Berkshire affiliation, and his admiring comments about the Haslam family to me, helped cement the PFJ deal.

克莱顿之家和PFJ都位于诺克斯维尔 (Knoxville)，克莱顿家族和哈斯拉姆家族在当地是多年的老朋友。凯文·克莱顿 (Kevin Clayton) 向哈斯拉姆家族介绍了加入伯克希尔的种种好处，也向我大力推荐了哈斯拉姆家族的优秀品质，这些都帮助促成了PFJ的交易。

Š Near the end of 2016, Shaw Industries, our floor coverings business, acquired U.S. Floors (“USF”), a rapidly growing distributor of luxury vinyl tile. USF’s managers, Piet Dossche and Philippe Erramuzpe, came out of the gate fast, delivering a 40% increase in sales in 2017, during which their operation was integrated with Shaw’s. It’s clear that we acquired both great human assets and business assets in making the USF purchase.

2016年底，我们的地面材料业务子公司肖氏工业 (Shaw Industries) 收购了美国地板公司 (U.S. Floors，简称"USF")，一家快速增长的高端乙烯基地砖经销商。USF的两位经理皮特·多舍 (Piet Dossche) 和菲利普·埃拉穆兹佩 (Philippe Erramuzpe) 起步迅猛，2017年销售额增长了40%，在此期间他们的业务也被完美整合进了肖氏体系。显然，收购USF不仅让我们获得了出色的商业资产，还获得了出色的人才资产。

Vance Bell, Shaw’s CEO, originated, negotiated and completed this acquisition, which increased Shaw’s sales to $5.7 billion in 2017 and its employment to 22,000. With the purchase of USF, Shaw has substantially strengthened its position as an important and durable source of earnings for Berkshire.

肖氏的CEO万斯·贝尔 (Vance Bell) 发起、谈判并完成了这笔收购，使得肖氏2017年的销售额达到57亿美元，员工人数增至2.2万人。凭借对USF的收购，肖氏大大巩固了其作为伯克希尔一个重要而持久的盈利来源的地位。

Š I have told you several times about HomeServices, our growing real estate brokerage operation. Berkshire backed into this business in 2000 when we acquired a majority interest in MidAmerican Energy (now named Berkshire Hathaway Energy). MidAmerican’s activities were then largely in the electric utility field, and I originally paid little attention to HomeServices.

我已经多次跟你们聊过家庭服务公司 (HomeServices)——我们不断壮大的房地产经纪业务。伯克希尔是在2000年收购中美能源 (MidAmerican Energy，现更名为伯克希尔·哈撒韦能源 (Berkshire Hathaway Energy)) 多数股权时误打误撞获得这块业务的。当时中美能源的主业在电力公用事业领域，我起初对家庭服务公司没怎么关注。

But, year-by-year, the company added brokers and, by the end of 2016, HomeServices was the second-largest brokerage operation in the country – still ranking, though, far behind the leader, Realogy. In 2017, however, HomeServices’ growth exploded. We acquired the industry’s third-largest operator, Long and Foster; number 12, Houlihan Lawrence; and Gloria Nilson.

但这家公司年复一年不断增加经纪人，到2016年底，家庭服务公司已经是全美第二大经纪机构——尽管仍远远落后于行业龙头瑞欧吉 (Realogy)。然而2017年，家庭服务公司实现了爆发式增长。我们收购了行业第三大的朗和福斯特 (Long and Foster)、排名第十二的霍里汉·劳伦斯 (Houlihan Lawrence) 以及格洛丽亚·尼尔森 (Gloria Nilson)。

With those purchases we added 12,300 agents, raising our total to 40,950. HomeServices is now close to leading the country in home sales, having participated (including our three acquisitions pro-forma) in $127 billion of “sides” during 2017. To explain that term, there are two “sides” to every transaction; if we represent both buyer and seller, the dollar value of the transaction is counted twice.

通过这些收购，我们新增了12,300名经纪人，使总人数达到40,950人。2017年，家庭服务公司参与了（含上述三家收购按全年计算）1,270亿美元的"双边"交易，在住宅销售额上已经接近全美领先地位。这里需要解释一下这个术语：每笔交易都有"双边"——如果我们既代表买方也代表卖方，那么交易金额会被计算两次。

Despite its recent acquisitions, HomeServices is on track to do only about 3% of the country’s home- brokerage business in 2018. That leaves 97% to go. Given sensible prices, we will keep adding brokers in this most fundamental of businesses.

尽管进行了这些收购，家庭服务公司2018年预计只占全美房屋经纪业务约3%的份额。也就是说，还有97%的市场等着我们去开拓。只要价格合理，我们将继续在这个最根本的业务中扩充经纪人队伍。

Š Finally, Precision Castparts, a company built through acquisitions, bought Wilhelm Schulz GmbH, a German maker of corrosion resistant fittings, piping systems and components. Please allow me to skip a further explanation. I don’t understand manufacturing operations as well as I do the activities of real estate brokers, home builders or truck stops.

最后是精密铸件公司 (Precision Castparts)——一家本身就是通过收购壮大起来的企业——收购了德国的威廉·舒尔茨公司 (Wilhelm Schulz GmbH)，一家耐腐蚀管件、管道系统和零部件制造商。请允许我跳过进一步的解释。我对制造业务的了解，远不如我对房地产经纪、住宅建造或卡车旅行中心那么透彻。

Fortunately, I don’t need in this instance to bring knowledge to the table: Mark Donegan, CEO of Precision, is an extraordinary manufacturing executive, and any business in his domain is slated to do well. Betting on people can sometimes be more certain than betting on physical assets.

幸运的是，在这件事上我并不需要拿出什么专业知识：精密铸件公司的CEO马克·多尼根 (Mark Donegan) 是一位卓越的制造业管理人才，任何在他管辖范围内的业务注定会表现出色。有时候，把赌注押在人身上，比押在实物资产上更靠谱。

Let’s now move on to operations, beginning with property-casualty (“p/c”) insurance, a business I do understand and the engine that for 51 years has powered Berkshire’s growth.

现在我们来谈谈经营业务，先从财产意外险（"P/C"）开始。这是一项我确实了解的业务，也是过去51年来驱动伯克希尔增长的引擎。