巴菲特致股东的信（1987年）
⑦其它事项

Miscellaneous 

     We hope to buy more businesses that are similar to the ones we have, and we can use some help. If you have a business that fits the following criteria, call me or, preferably, write. 

其它事项

我们希望能够找到更多像我们现在拥有的企业，当然这需要一些帮助，如同你知道有公司符合以下的条件，打电话或者最好是写信给我。

     Here's what we're looking for: 
     (1) large purchases (at least $10 million of after-tax earnings), 
     (2) demonstrated consistent earning power (future projections are of little interest to us, nor are "turnaround" situations), 
     (3) businesses earning good returns on equity while employing little or no debt, 
     (4) management in place (we can't supply it), 
     (5) simple businesses (if there's lots of technology, we won't understand it), 
     (6) an offering price (we don't want to waste our time or that of the seller by talking, even preliminarily, about a transaction when price is unknown).    

以下是我们寻找的：
(1)巨额交易(每年税后收益至少有 1000 万美元)；
(2)持续稳定的获利能力(我们对有远景或具转机的公司没兴趣)；
(3)良好的股本回报率(并且甚少举债)；
(4)管理到位(我们无法提供)；
(5)简单的企业(若牵涉到太多高科技，我们弄不懂)；
(6)合理的价格(在价格不确定前，我们不希望浪费自己与对方太多时间)；

     We will not engage in unfriendly takeovers. We can promise complete confidentiality and a very fast answer - customarily within five minutes - as to whether we're interested. We prefer to buy for cash, but will consider issuing stock when we receive as much in intrinsic business value as we give. We invite potential sellers to check us out by contacting people with whom we have done business in the past. For the right business - and the right people - we can provide a good home. 

我们不会进行敌意的并购，并承诺完全保密并尽快答复是否感兴趣(通常不超过五分钟)，我们倾向采现金交易，除非我们所换得的内在价值跟我们付出的一样多，否则不考虑发行股份。我们欢迎可能的卖方与那些过去与我们合作过的对象打听，对于那些好的公司与好的管理层，我们可以提供一个好的归属。

     On the other hand, we frequently get approached about acquisitions that don't come close to meeting our tests: new ventures, turnarounds, auction-like sales, and the ever-popular (among brokers) "I'm-sure-something-will-work-out-if-you-people-get-to-know-each-other." None of these attracts us in the least.

另一方面我们也持续接到一些不符合我们条件的询问，包括初创企业、转机股、拍卖案以及最常见的中介案(那些说你们要是能过碰一下面，一定会感兴趣之类的)。在此重申我们对这些一点兴趣都没有。

     Besides being interested in the purchases of entire businesses as described above, we are also interested in the negotiated purchase of large, but not controlling, blocks of stock comparable to those we hold in Cap Cities and Salomon. We have a special interest in purchasing convertible preferreds as a long-term investment, as we did at Salomon.

除了以上买下整家公司的并购案外，我们也会考虑买进一大部分不具控制权的股份，就像我们在大都会与所罗门这两个例子一样，尤其是我们对于像这次购买所罗门一样的可转换优先股当作长期投资特别有兴趣。

                          * * * 

     And now a bit of deja vu. Most of Berkshire's major stockholders received their shares at yearend 1969 in a liquidating distribution from Buffett Partnership, Ltd. Some of these former partners will remember that in 1962 I encountered severe managerial problems at Dempster Mill Manufacturing Co., a pump and farm implement manufacturing company that BPL controlled. 

                          * * *

接下来是一点似曾相识的内容，大部分伯克希尔的大股东是在 1969 年清算巴菲特合伙事业时取得本公司股份的，这些合伙的伙伴可能还记得当初在 1962 年，我曾经在巴菲特合伙事业所投资控制的一家水泵和农具制造公司登普斯特风车制造公司(Dempster Mill Manufacturing Co.)，面临经营上重大的难题。

     At that time, like now, I went to Charlie with problems that were too tough for me to solve. Charlie suggested the solution might lie in a California friend of his, Harry Bottle, whose special knack was never forgetting the fundamental. I met Harry in Los Angeles on April 17, 1962, and on April 23 he was in Beatrice, Nebraska, running Dempster. Our problems disappeared almost immediately. In my 1962 annual letter to partners, I named Harry "Man of the Year."

在当时我带着我无法解决的问题去找查理，就像是现在一样，查理建议我在加州他有一位朋友叫哈利·博特尔(Harry Bottle)非常脚踏实地，或许可以帮得上忙，我在当年四月去洛杉矶拜访他，一个礼拜后，他就被请到内布拉斯加州来管理 Dempster，此后问题立刻获得解决，记得在 1962 年的年报中，我还特地将 Harry 封为年度风云人物。

     Fade to 24 years later: The scene is K & W Products, a small Berkshire subsidiary that produces automotive compounds. For years K & W did well, but in 1985-86 it stumbled badly, as it pursued the unattainable to the neglect of the achievable. Charlie, who oversees K & W, knew there was no need to consult me. Instead, he called Harry, now 68 years old, made him CEO, and sat back to await the inevitable. He didn't wait long. In 1987 K & W's profits set a record, up more than 300% from 1986. And, as profits went up, capital employed went down: K & W's investment in accounts receivable and inventories has decreased 20%.

24 年后，场景搬到伯克希尔另外一家子公司 K&W 公司，一家专门生产自动机具的小公司。过去这家公司做得还不错，不过到了 1985-1986 年却突然发生状况，盲目追求达不到的东西，却放弃现有可以做的产品，负责管理监督 K&W 的查理，知道可以不必知会我，直接找到现年 68 岁的 Harry，任命他为 CEO，然后静待结果即可。事实上他没有等多久，到了 1987 年隔年，K&W 的获利就创下新高，比 1986 年成长三倍，由于获利提升，该公司所需的资金也就跟着减少，该公司的应收及存货水准减少了 20%。

     If we run into another managerial problem ten or twenty years down the road, you know whose phone will ring.

所以要是在往后的十年、二十年，我们的被投资业务又发生管理问题时，你就知道谁的电话又会响了。

                          * * * 

     About 97.2% of all eligible shares participated in Berkshire's 1987 shareholder-designated contributions program. Contributions made through the program were $4.9 million, and 2,050 charities were recipients. 

                          * * *

大约有 97.2%的有效股权参与 1987 年的股东指定捐赠计划，总计约 490 万美元捐出的款项分配给 2,050 家慈善机构。

     A recent survey reported that about 50% of major American companies match charitable contributions made by directors (sometimes by a factor of three to one). In effect, these representatives of the owners direct funds to their favorite charities, and never consult the owners as to their charitable preferences. (I wonder how they would feel if the process were reversed and shareholders could invade the directors' pockets for charities favored by the shareholders.) When A takes money from B to give to C and A is a legislator, the process is called taxation. But when A is an officer or director of a corporation, it is called philanthropy. We continue to believe that contributions, aside from those with quite clear direct benefits to the company, should reflect the charitable preferences of owners rather than those of officers and directors.

最近一项研究显示约有 50%的美国大公司的捐赠计划是由董事会所决定，这等于是由代表公司所有股东的一小群人来决定公司资金捐给他们所偏爱的慈善机构，却从来不会去管股东们的意见，(我很怀疑若情况刚好相反，由股东们来决定这些董事口袋里的钱要捐给谁时，他们会有什么样的反应)，当甲从乙的身上拿钱给丙时，若甲是立法者，则这个过程叫做课税，若甲是企业的主管或是经理人时，这就叫做是慈善，我们仍然坚信除非是捐给那些很明显对于公司有助益的单位时，应该要先征询股东们而非仅仅是经理人或是董事的意见。

     We urge new shareholders to read the description of our shareholder-designated contributions program that appears on pages 54 and 55. If you wish to participate in future programs, we strongly urge that you immediately make sure your shares are registered in the name of the actual owner, not in "street" name or nominee name. Shares not so registered on September 30, l988 will be ineligible for the 1988 program.

我们敦促新加入的股东，仔细阅读年报上有关股东捐赠计划的详细内容，如果在未来年度内，你想要参加这类的计划，我们强烈建议你将股份登记在自己而不是受托人的名下，必须在 1988 年 9 月 30 日之前完成登记，才有权利参与 1988 年的计划。

                          * * *

     Last year we again had about 450 shareholders at our annual meeting. The 60 or so questions they asked were, as always, excellent. At many companies, the annual meeting is a waste of time because exhibitionists turn it into a sideshow. Ours, however, is different. It is informative for shareholders and fun for us. (At Berkshire's meetings, the exhibitionists are on the dais.)

                          * * *

去年总共有 450 位股东参加股年东会，总计提出了 60 个左右精彩的问题，在许多公司股东会只是浪费时间，因为爱出风头的人把它变成了一场闹剧。不过我们的股东会却不一样，股东们非常具有建设性且带来了许多欢乐。(在伯克希尔的年会上，爱出风头的那个人是我。)

     This year our meeting will be on May 23, 1988 in Omaha, and we hope that you come. The meeting provides the forum for you to ask any owner-related questions you may have, and we will keep answering until all (except those dealing with portfolio activities or other proprietary information) have been dealt with.

今年的股东会将在 1988 年 5 月 23 日在奥马哈举行，我们希望你们都能来参加，这个会议提供一个场所让你能够提出任何与股东有关的问题，我们会一直回答到所有股东都满意为止(除了那些想要知道投资组合活动或是内线消息的人)

     Last year we rented two buses - for $100 - to take shareholders interested in the trip to the Furniture Mart. Your actions demonstrated your good judgment: You snapped up about $40,000 of bargains. Mrs. B regards this expense/sales ratio as on the high side and attributes it to my chronic inattention to costs and generally sloppy managerial practices. But, gracious as always, she has offered me another chance and we will again have buses available following the meeting. Mrs. B says you must beat last year's sales figures, and I have told her she won't be disappointed.

去年我们花了 100 元租两台巴士载着有兴趣的股东到内布拉斯家具广场，大家的行动展现了明智的抉择，总共买下了约 4 万美元的东西，B 夫人认为这样的费用/销售比例太高，并认为这都是我个人长久以来对于成本没有概念、管理松散的缘故，不过还是一如既往的大方，今年她再次给我机会，在会后还是会有巴士等着各位，B 夫人希望我一定要打破去年的记录，而我也已经答应她不会让她失望。

Warren E. Buffett
Chairman of the Board
February 29, 1988

沃伦.巴菲特
董事会主席
1988年2月29日

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