cial"
buyers of businesses - those who wish to buy using only a
sliver of equity - became unable to borrow all they thought they needed.
What they could still borrow, moreover, came at a high price. Consequently,
LBO operators became less aggressive in their bidding when businesses came
up for sale last year. Because we analyze purchases on an all-equity basis,
our evaluations did not change, which means we became considerably more
competitive.
第二個能讓我們在2000年這麼順的原因，是去年垃圾債券市場狀況日益低迷，由於前兩
年垃圾債券投資人逐漸降低他們的標準，以不合理的價格買進許多體質不佳的公司債，
浮濫的結果終究導致大量違約的出現，在這種狀況下，習慣靠融資買下企業的投機者-
就是習慣印股票換公司的那群人-便很難再借到足夠的錢，而且就算能夠借到，其成本
也不便宜，也因此當去年有公司對外求售時，融資購併者(LBO)的活動力便銳減，而因
為我們習慣以買下整家公司股權的方式投資，所以我們的評估方式沒有太大的改變，這
使得我們的競爭力大幅提高。
　Aside from the economic factors that benefited us, we now enjoy a major
and growing advantage in making acquisitions in that we are often the buyer
of choice for the seller. That fact, of course, doesn’t assure a deal -
sellers have to like our price, and we have to like their business and
management - but it does help.
除了這兩項有利於我們的外部因素之外，現在在進行購併時，我們自己本身也擁有另一
項優勢，那就是Berkshire通常都是賣方期望指定的買方，雖然這無法保證交易一定能
談成，一方面還要看賣方是否能接受我們的報價，一方面也要看我們喜不喜歡這家公司
以及其經理階層，但無可否認確實對交易的進行大有幫助。
We find it meaningful when an owner cares about whom he sells to. We like to
do business with someone who loves his company, not just the money that a
sale will bring him (though we certainly understand why he likes that as
well). When this emotional attachment exists, it signals that important
qualities will likely be found within the business: honest accounting, pride
of product, respect for customers, and a loyal group of associates having a
strong sense of direction. The reverse is apt to be true, also. When an
owner auctions off his business, exhibiting a total lack of interest in what
follows, you will frequently find that it has been dressed up for sale,
particularly when the seller is a "financial owner." And if owners behave
with little regard for their business and its people, their conduct will
often contaminate attitudes and practices throughout the company.
另外我們還發現賣方是否在意公司將來的歸屬其實相當重要，我們喜愛與那些鍾愛公
司，而不只是斤斤計較出售公司能夠得到多少錢的人往來，(當然我們也明瞭沒有人會
不愛錢)，當我們意識到有這樣的情節存在時，通常代表了這家公司擁有相當重要的特
質：誠實的帳務、產品的自信、客戶的尊重以及一群專心一致的忠實員工，反之亦然，
當一家公司的老闆只一昧地想要賣一個好價錢，但卻一點都不關心公司賣掉後的下場，
那麼你馬上就會了解為什麼他會急著想要賣公司的原因，尤其當他是靠借錢買下這家
時，而當一家公司的老闆表現出一點都不在乎公司死活時，公司的上上下下一定也會感
染到這種氣氛，使得其態度與行事作風跟著轉變。
When a business masterpiece has been created by a lifetime - or several
lifetimes - of unstinting care and exceptional talent, it should be
important to the owner what corporation is entrusted to carry on its
history. Charlie and I believe Berkshire provides an almost unique home. We
take our obligations to the people who created a business very seriously,
and Berkshire’s ownership structure ensures that we can
fulfill our promises. When we tell John Justin that his business will remain
adquartered in Fort Worth, or assure the Bridge family that its operation
will not be merged with another jeweler, these sellers can take those
promises to the bank.
要知道一家經典企業由一個企業家終其一生，有時甚至是好幾代，以無微不至的用心與
優異的才能建立時，對於老闆來說，接手的人是否承續過去輝煌的歷史是相當重要的一
件事，關於這點，查理跟我相當有信心，Berkshire絕對可以提供這些企業一個美滿的
歸宿，我們相當重視對於這些企業創辦人所作的保證，而Berkshire的控股結構絕對可
以確保我們的承諾順利落實，當我們告知John Justin他的企業總部仍將留在Fort
Worth或保證Bridge家

上一页  [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]  下一页