巴菲特致股东的信（1989年）⑨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

我们希望能够买进更多像我们现在拥有一样的企业，当然我们可以通过大家的协助，如果你拥有符合以下条件的企业，记得打电话或者是写信告诉我。

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).

我们想要找的企业条件：
(1)巨额交易(每年税后收益至少有一千万美元)
(2)持续稳定盈利(我们对有远景或具转机的公司没兴趣)
(3)高股东回报率(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.

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。

Our favorite form of purchase is one fitting the Blumkin-Friedman-Heldman mold. In cases like these, the company's owner-managers wish to generate significant amounts of cash, sometimes for themselves, but often for their families or inactive shareholders. At the same time, these managers wish to remain significant owners who continue to run their companies just as they have in the past. We think we offer a particularly good fit for owners with such objectives. We invite potential sellers to check us out by contacting people with whom we have done business in the past.

我们最喜欢的交易对象之一是像Blumkin-Friedman-Heldman 家族那样，公司经营者希望能马上有一大笔现金，不管是给自己、家人或是其它股东，最好这些经营者如往常一样能够继续留在公司，我想我们可以提供具有以上想法的经营者，一个满意的方式，我们也欢迎可能的卖方与那些过去与我们合作过的对象打听。

Charlie and I frequently get approached about acquisitions that don't come close to meeting our tests: We've found that if you advertise an interest in buying collies, a lot of people will call hoping to sell you their cocker spaniels. Our interest in new ventures, turnarounds, or auction-like sales can best be expressed by a Goldwynism: "Please include me out."

另一方面查理跟我也常常接到一些不符合我们条件的询问，包括新创事业、转机股、拍卖案以及最常见的中介案。我们发现如果你登广告要买牧羊犬，结果却有一大堆人打电话来要卖你长耳猎犬，在此重申我们对这些交易，只有戈德温的另一句话可以形容，请把我排除在外。

Besides being interested in the purchase of 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 Capital Cities, Salomon, Gillette, USAir and Champion. Last year we said we had a special interest in large purchases of convertible preferreds. We still have an appetite of that kind, but it is limited since we now are close to the maximum position we feel appropriate for this category of investment.

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、所罗门、吉列、美国航空与冠军国际这几个例子一样的公司，去年我曾告诉各位我们对于买进大笔金额的可转换优先股相当有兴趣，到现在这种态度还是没改变，只不过由于目前这部分的部位已经接近我们认为适当的水位。

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Two years ago, I told you about Harry Bottle, who in 1962 quickly cured a major business mess at the first industrial company I controlled, Dempster Mill Manufacturing (one of my "bargain" purchases) and who 24 years later had reappeared to again rescue me, this time from problems at K&W Products, a small Berkshire subsidiary that produces automotive compounds. As I reported, in short order Harry reduced capital employed at K&W, rationalized production, cut costs, and quadrupled profits. You might think he would then have paused for breath. But last year Harry, now 70, attended a bankruptcy auction and, for a pittance, acquired a product line that is a natural for K&W. That company's profitability may well be increased 50% by this coup. Watch this space for future bulletins on Harry's triumphs.

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两年前，我曾跟各位提到 Harry Bottle 这个人，他在 1962 年曾帮我解决我个人所控制的第一家公司邓普斯特(Dempster)风车制造公司(便宜的烟蒂股)一个大难题，接着在 24 年后又重出江湖来拯救我，那次换做 K&W 公司，一家伯克希尔旗下专门生产自动机件的小公司，就像我曾提到的，在很短的时间里，Harry 减少了 K&W 的资本占用，使生产合理化，大砍成本使获利翻倍。你或许认为任务完成后，他铁定要休息一下喘口气，但是去年高龄 70 岁的他，又参与一家破产公司的拍卖，以微小的代价收购了一条符合 K&W 使用的产品线，经过这次变革，公司的获利能力很可能将增加 50%以上，请大家好好拭目以待，这个专门替 Harry 准备的专栏。

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With more than a year behind him of trading Berkshire's stock on the New York Stock Exchange, our specialist, Jim Maguire of Henderson Brothers, Inc. ("HBI"), continues his outstanding performance. Before we listed, dealer spreads often were 3% or more of market price. Jim has maintained the spread at 50 points or less, which at current prices is well under 1%. Shareholders who buy or sell benefit significantly from this reduction in transaction costs.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Henderson 兄弟公司的 Jim Maguire 是纽交所专门帮我们买卖伯克希尔股票的交易员，一年下来他的表现相当称职，在伯克希尔上市挂牌之前，公司股份买卖的价差多在 3%甚至以上，但 Jim 却能将价差维持在 50 点以下，这使得股东在买卖本公司股份的交易成本降到 1%以下。

Because we are delighted by our experience with Jim, HBI and the NYSE, I said as much in ads that have been run in a series placed by the NYSE. Normally I shun testimonials, but I was pleased in this instance to publicly compliment the Exchange.

因为我们与 Jim、NYSE 与纽交所这次合作愉快的经验，使我尽可能在纽约证交所安排的活动中免费帮他们打广告，通常这种场合我会回避，但这次我很高兴能够公开地赞扬交易所的表现。

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Last summer we sold the corporate jet that we purchased for $850,000 three years ago and bought another used jet for $6.7 million. Those of you who recall the mathematics of the multiplying bacteria on page 5 will understandably panic: If our net worth continues to increase at current rates, and the cost of replacing planes also continues to rise at the now-established rate of 100% compounded annually, it will not be long before Berkshire's entire net worth is consumed by its jet.

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去年夏天我们把三年前 85 万美元买的公司专机卖掉了，另外又以 670 万美元买了一架二手喷气飞机，大家只要想到前文我提过的细胞复制的数字游戏就会觉得很惊讶，如果我们公司的净值持续以相同速度增长，而更换飞机的成本同样也以每年 100%的速度上升，大家会发现，伯克希尔庞大的净值很快就会被这架飞机给吃光光。

Charlie doesn't like it when I equate the jet with bacteria; he feels it's degrading to the bacteria. His idea of traveling in style is an air-conditioned bus, a luxury he steps up to only when bargain fares are in effect. My own attitude toward the jet can be summarized by the prayer attributed, apocryphally I'm sure, to St. Augustine as he contemplated leaving a life of secular pleasures to become a priest. Battling the conflict between intellect and glands, he pled: "Help me, Oh Lord, to become chaste - but not yet."

查理对于我将飞机比喻成细菌的做法不太高兴，他认为这样岂不污辱了细菌，他个人最理想的旅行方式是坐有空调冷气的巴士，这还是当车票有打折时才有的奢侈做法。对于这架专机我个人一贯的态度是圣奥古斯丁当初想要脱离世俗的富裕生活出家去到教士一样，在理智与荣耀的中间天人交战，他乞求上天，救救我吧，让我成为一个圣洁的人，不过不是现在！

Naming the plane has not been easy. I initially suggested "The Charles T. Munger." Charlie countered with "The Aberration." We finally settled on "The Indefensible."

替这架飞机命名可不是一件简单的事，一开始我建议取名叫做查理·芒格号，查理反击说应该叫神经失常号，最后双方妥协决定称它为“无可辩解号”。

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About 96.9% of all eligible shares participated in Berkshire's 1989 shareholder-designated contributions program. Contributions made through the program were $5.9 million, and 2,550 charities were recipients.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

大约有 96.9%的有效股权参与 1989 年的股东指定捐赠计划，总计约 590 万美元捐出的款项分配给 2,550 家慈善机构。

We urge new shareholders to read the description of our shareholder-designated contributions program that appears on pages 52-53. 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 the nominee name of a broker, bank or depository. Shares not so registered on August 31, 1990 will be ineligible for the 1990 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 1990 年 8 月 31 日之前完成登记，才有权利参与 1990 年的计划。

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The annual meeting this year will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 30, 1990. Attendance grew last year to about 1,000, very close to the seating capacity of the Witherspoon Hall at Joslyn Museum. So this year's meeting will be moved to the Orpheum Theatre, which is in downtown Omaha, about one-quarter of a mile from the Red Lion Hotel. The Radisson-Redick Tower, a much smaller but nice hotel, is located across the street from the Orpheum. Or you may wish to stay at the Marriott, which is in west Omaha, about 100 yards from Borsheim's. We will have buses at the Marriott that will leave at 8:30 and 8:45 for the meeting and return after it ends.

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今年的股东会预计在 1990 年 4 月 30 日，周一早上 9 点 30 分举行，去年股东年会参加人数突破 1000 人，差点超过开会场地的座位容量，所以今年的会场将会移到奥马哈市中心的奥芬剧院(Orpheum)，对街有一家不错的旅馆叫 Radisson-Redick，另外距离红狮旅馆约有 1 英理远，当然你也可以选择离波仙珠宝店 100 米远的万豪酒店 Marriott，届时将会有巴士接送大家往返股东会会场。

Charlie and I always enjoy the meeting, and we hope you can make it. The quality of our shareholders is reflected in the quality of the questions we get: We have never attended an annual meeting anywhere that features such a consistently high level of intelligent, owner-related questions.

查理跟我一直都很喜欢开股东会，我也希望大家能够来参加，我们股东的素质可由大家所提出的问题看得出来，我们参加过很多股东会，但从来没有别的公司的股东像伯克希尔的股东一样，有如此多高水准且充满智慧，与股东相关的问题。

An attachment to our proxy material explains how you can obtain the card you will need for admission to the meeting. Because weekday parking can be tight around the Orpheum, we have lined up a number of nearby lots for our shareholders to use. The attachment also contains information about them.

后面附有股东会开会投票的相关资料，跟各位解释如何拿到入场所需的识别证，因为开会当天会场不好停车，我们特地为大家预留了一些位置，附件也有相关说明供大家参考。

As usual, we will have buses to take you to Nebraska Furniture Mart and Borsheim's after the meeting and to take you to downtown hotels or to the airport later. I hope that you will allow plenty of time to fully explore the attractions of both stores. Those of you arriving early can visit the Furniture Mart any day of the week; it is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and from noon to 5:30 p.m. on Sundays.

一如往常，会后我们备有巴士带大家到内布拉斯加家具店与波仙珠宝店或是到饭店与机场，我希望大家能有多一点的时间好好探索这两家店的奥妙，当然早几天到的股东也可利用假日逛逛家具店，周六从早上 10 点到下午5 点 30 分，周日则从中午开到下午 5 点 30 分。

Borsheim's normally is closed on Sunday, but we will open for shareholders and their guests from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 29th. Ike likes to put on a show, and you can rely on him to produce something very special for our shareholders.

波仙周日通常不开门营业，但在股东会期间特别破例，4 月 29 日周日从中午开到下午 6 点，艾克特地为股东们准备了一场秀，相信他一定可以让大家见识到一些特别的东西。

In this letter we've had a lot to say about rates of compounding. If you can bear having your own rate turn negative for a day - not a pretty thought, I admit - visit Ike on the 29th.

今年我们提到很多次有关复利的事，若是你能忍受个人净值暂时倒退一天的话，虽然不建议常常这样做，记得在 29 号去看看艾克的秀吧！

Warren E. Buffett
Chairman of the Board
March 2, 1990

沃伦.巴菲特
董事会主席
1990年3月2日

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.