原文:http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzU1MDQwNTgzMg==&mid=2247491293&idx=1&sn=123db1365d73ab3d30c369918c2f6296&chksm=fba04d7accd7c46c6f252b893d0b9a14ff4fa5bd5102b7a811423bea43507c046606df083f6f#rd
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感谢思维导图作者
Ashley,女 ,金融硕士,爱宠物 爱英语,爱旅游,经济学人粉丝
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The SPAC hack
SPAC的奇袭
英文部分选自经济学人20200801期Finance版块
The SPAC hack
SPAC的奇袭
The latest twist in the power struggle between Silicon Valley and Wall Street
硅谷与华尔街的权力之战迎来最新较量
注:
SPAC:SPAC stands for Special-Purpose Acquisition Company, which is a company created specifically to pool funds in order to finance a merger or acquisition opportunity within a set timeframe, usually two years. SPACs are sometimes referred to as corporate shells or blank-check companies. They have no operations but go public with the intention of merging with or acquiring a company with the proceeds that were raised from the SPAC’s initial public offering. The SPACs are currently sold in $10 units which includes of one share of common stock and one or more out of the money warrants or a fraction of a warrant. The units, stocks, and warrants usually start trading on either the NYSE or NASDAQ.
SPAC为特殊目的收购公司,是一个由共同基金、对冲基金等募集资金而组建上市的“空壳公司”,这个“空壳公司”只有现金,没有任何其他业务。发起人将这个“空壳公司”在纳斯达克或纽交所上市,并以投资单元形式发行普通股与认股期权组合给市场投资者从而募集资金。这个“空壳公司”上市后的仅有的一个任务就是寻找一家有着高成长发展前景的非上市公司,与其合并,使其获得融资并上市。通常如果24个月内没有完成并购,那么这个SPAC就将面临清盘,将所有托管账户内的资金附带利息100%归还给投资者。
In an episode of “The Phil Silvers Show”, a 1950s tv comedy, Ernie Bilko (played by Silvers) discovers that his fellow army sergeants have fleeced a new recruit in a poker game. His plan to get the money back involves leasing a shop. “It’s just an empty store,” he insists. The others fear they are missing out. “When the smartest operator in the whole United States army suddenly decides to rent a store, we don’t ask no questions,” says one. “We just want to be cut in.”
20世纪50年代电视情景喜剧《菲尔·西尔弗斯秀》中的一个片段,厄尼·比尔科(Ernie Bilko,由西尔弗斯饰演)发现他的军士同仁们在一场扑克游戏中敲了一名新兵的竹杠。他计划通过租赁一家店铺把那些钱都拿回来。虽然他坚称“这只是一家空店”,但其他人生怕自己会错失了什么,其中一人说,“当全美军队中最聪明的经营者突然决定出租一家店铺时,我们不会问任何问题,我们只想一起参与。”
注:
1. The Phil Silvers Show:originally titled You'll Never Get Rich, is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. 美国著名喜剧演员菲尔·西尔弗主演的情景喜剧,曾连续三届获得艾美奖最佳喜剧系列奖。
2. sergeant:中士、警官
3. fleece:If you fleece someone, you get a lot of money from them by tricking them or charging them too much. 诈骗 [非正式]
4. miss out:If you miss out on something that would be enjoyable or useful to you, you are not involved in it or do not take part in it. 错失
An empty vessel can accommodate all manner of dreams. This trait helps explain the growing allure of the “special purpose acquisition company” (SPAC), a shell company listed on the stock exchange with a view to merging it with a real business. Ventures such as Virgin Galactic, in space tourism, and Nikola, in electric vehicles, have become listed companies by this route. Silicon Valley’s dream factory spies a way to sidestep the trials of an initial public offering (IPO). Bill Ackman, a shrewd hedge-fund manager, has just raised a $4bn mega-spac. He is looking for a unicorn to make a home in his empty store.
空荡荡的“容器”却可以承载各种梦想。这一特点有助于解释为何“特殊目的收购公司”(SPAC)的吸引力与日俱增,SPAC是旨在与真正实体企业合并的空壳上市公司。如太空旅游业的维珍银河(Virgin Galactic)、电动汽车业的尼可拉(Nikola)等创业公司均以该途径上市。硅谷的梦工厂找到了这种避开首次公开募股(IPO)的方法。精明的对冲基金经理比尔·阿克曼(Bill Ackman)刚刚筹集了40亿美元的巨型SPAC,正寻找一个愿意与其合并的独角兽企业。
注:
1. vessel:船,舰;[组织] 脉管,血管;容器,器皿
2. allure:The allure of something or someone is the pleasing or exciting quality that they have. 魅力
3. spy: 间谍,侦察,认出
4. sidestep:If you sidestep a problem, you avoid discussing it or dealing with it. 回避 (问题)
5. unicorn: Tech companies that reach a billion dollar fundraising valuation are now known as “unicorns.”The name was coined by venture capital firm Cowboy Ventures back in 2013 after it had tracked a decade's worth of US start-ups and their valuations. As it happened, the ultra-valuable start-ups were also ultra-rare – making up just 0.07 percent of all early-stage companies-- so they were given a nickname to match their rarity. 独角兽为神话传说中的一种生物,它稀有而且高贵。美国著名Cowboy Venture投资人Aileen Lee在2013年将私募和公开市场的估值超过10亿美元的创业公司做出分类,并将这些公司称为“独角兽”。
The view in Silicon Valley is that an IPO is a rotten process. There is typically a fixed fee, of up to 7% of the sum raised. And the value of the company is lowballed, say tech types, to allow for a satisfying first-day “pop” in the share price. Yet cost is not the only bugbear—and, perhaps, not even the main one. What entrepreneurs and their venture-capital backers hate about the IPO is the loss of control. They are used to being big shots in Silicon Valley. They do not like deferring to Wall Street types at all.
硅谷方认为IPO就是个馊主意。科技类公司称,IPO通常需要支付一笔最高可达募集资金总额7%的固定费用,并为了营造令人满意的首日股价“暴涨”还会故意报低公司价值。然而,成本并不是唯一令人头痛的问题,甚至不是最主要的问题。企业家和他们的风投们对IPO深恶痛绝的一点是他们并不能全权掌控。他们当惯了硅谷的大人物,并不乐意听从华尔街的意见。
注:
1. lowball 动词 to make a very low estimate or offer for (a service, product, company, etc) 向(服务、产品或公司)报低价
2. bugbear n. 怪物;棘手的难题;恐惧或烦恼的原因
3. big shots 可数名词 A big shot is an important and powerful person in a group or organization. (某一群体或组织里的)要人
Eg.He's a big shot in Chilean politics.
他是智利政界的一个大人物。
4. defer to 听从;尊重
An IPO is meant to be a young company’s coming of age. It can be more like a funeral: a distressing ordeal that leaves you at the mercy of those you put in charge of it. The problem lies with an asymmetry. For the firm going public, the IPO is a one-off. But not for the underwriting banks. They have a relationship with the people buying shares. It is natural for them to favour repeat customers. The bankers run the roadshow to build a book for the IPO. They control the allocation of shares. And crucially, they set the price. If the IPO goes well, the banks retain the right to issue more stock to “stabilise” the market—a valuable option, known as a greenshoe. This, complains a Silicon Valley bigwig, is a “rapacious practice”.
IPO本应标志着一家年轻的公司走向成熟。但事实上它却更像一场葬礼:一场让你任由负责人摆布的痛苦考验。问题在于不对称性。对于即将上市的公司来说,IPO是一次性的,但对于承销银行却非如此。他们与股票投资者有联系,青睐回头客也很正常。投行负责路演,以此为IPO编制账簿。他们也控制股票的分配,更重要的是,他们确定股票发行价。如果IPO进展顺利,银行将保留发行更多股票来稳定市场的权利,此为有价值的选择,俗称“绿鞋”。一位硅谷大佬抱怨称,这是贪婪之举。
注:
1. at the mercy of 受……支配
2. asymmetry 有变体名词 Asymmetry is the appearance that something has when its two sides or halves are different in shape, size, or style. 不对称
Eg. ...the asymmetry of Van de Velde's designs of this period.
...这一时期范•德•费尔德设计作品的不对称性。
3. one-off 可数名词
You can refer to something as a one-off when it is made or happens only once. 一次性事物
Eg. Our survey revealed that these allergies were mainly one-offs.
我们的调查显示,这些过敏大多是一次性反应。
underwriting banks 承销银行
Eg. However, it is common for technology companies planning large IPOs to borrow money from the banks that are underwriting the share sale.
不过,计划进行大型首次公开募股(IPO)的科技公司向担任承销商的银行借钱是很普遍的现象。
4. greenshoe 绿鞋:一般指“绿鞋机制”,“绿鞋机制”也叫绿鞋期权(Green Shoe Option or Over-Allotment Option),是指根据中国证监会2006年颁布的《证券发行与承销管理办法》第48条规定:“首次公开发行股票数量在4亿股以上的,发行人及其主承销商可以在发行方案中采用超额配售选择权”。这其中的“超额配售选择权”就是俗称绿鞋机制。该机制可以稳定大盘股上市后的股价走势,防止股价大起大落。
5. rapacious 形容词
6. If you describe a person or their behaviour as rapacious, you disapprove of their greedy or selfish behaviour. 贪婪的
Eg. ...a rapacious exploitation policy.
...一项贪婪的剥削政策。
Enter the SPAC, which is a sort of pre-cooked IPO. A shell company is set up by a sponsor. The SPAC is listed on the stock exchange via an IPO. The sponsor then finds a private business for the SPAC to acquire with the proceeds. Typically this will be a late-stage (ie, fairly mature) private company, whose owners and venture-capital backers are looking to cash out. The private company merges with the SPAC, following a shareholder vote. It is then a public company.
进入SPAC,即完成IPO。赞助人先设立一家空壳公司。SPAC随即通过IPO在证券交易所上市。接着发起人通过SPAC(由IPO发行)所获得的资金,收购一家私人企业。通常来说,该私人公司也早已处于在一个相当成熟的投资后期阶段,其所有者和风险投资人也亟需套现。因此双方一拍即合,经过股东投票决议后,私人公司与SPAC合并。最后,它便摇身成为一家上市公司。
You can see the appeal for Silicon Valley. There is no roadshow, no ploughing through the same slide-deck ten times a day for a fortnight. It all takes much less time. That is handy in the present circumstances, when venture-capital firms need to get cash-burning unicorns off the books. Because this is a merger, and not an IPO, the selling firm can disclose more information to the buyer, including financial projections. The price is negotiated directly with the buyer—and after the money has been raised, not before. And it is all but certain, rather than at the mercy of the changing moods in the stockmarket, or a last-minute discount imposed by the bankers to sweeten the deal for favoured clients.
SPAC对硅谷的吸引力由此可见。无需每天路演,无需半个月每天埋头苦读十遍同一份PPT。通过SPAC上市节省了太多的时间。在当前的市场环境下,风投急于将烧钱的独角兽公司从投资账本上清零,SPAC不失为一个避繁就简的选择。因为通过SPAC仅为公司之间的并购,而非IPO,卖方公司可以向买方公司披露更多的信息,包括财务预测。价格也可以在融资后与买方直接商谈,而非在融资之前。无需受到变幻无常的股票市场情绪摆布,无需经历银行家们为了讨好客户,而在发行的最后关头将发行价大打折扣,这种方式所带来的的确定性无可比拟。
注:
1. plough: (V) 耕耘;犁地;plough through 指埋头苦干,艰难的进行/推进
2. slide-deck: PPT , sales deck 销售文档(给客户展示产品用的PPT)
A PowerPoint slide deck is simply a collection of slides put together in the same presentation. You'll hear "slide deck" used somewhat interchangeably with "presentation." Like a deck of cards, each slide is a key part of the overall package.
sweeten: (v)讨好
There is a downside, of course. Fees are unavoidable. Sponsors are typically paid with a 20% stake in the SPAC. This is in essence an indirect charge on the acquired firm. It is not obviously cheaper than an IPO. In principle the sponsor can dilute his effective “fee” by, for instance, co-ordinating another round of capital-raising from private-equity or hedge funds at the time of the merger. A few sponsors might inspire a halo effect, increasing the share price just by association. Investors will not question a really big name; they just want to be cut in. And the 20% fee is not set in stone. Mr Ackman, for instance, is taking a much smaller cut and making it conditional on reaching performance targets.
但SPAC必然也存在缺点。首先,费用是不可避免的。通常需向保荐人支付20%的股份——本质上这是对收购公司收取的间接收费,这比IPO便宜不到哪儿去。原则上,保荐人可以稀释“实际费用”。例如,通过在合并时协调从私募或对冲基金获得的另一轮融资来减少费用。另外,一些保荐人可能会激发晕轮效应,仅通过联手合作便能提升了股价。投资者不会去质疑一个“大人物”,他们只想着一同入伙。同时,20%的费用并不是一成不变的。例如,阿克曼先生要的费用(股份)要少得多,并且以达到绩效目标为条件。
注
1:dilute vt.稀释、冲淡;
2:halo effect:晕轮效应,指在人际知觉中所形成的以点概面或以偏概全的主观印象。除了与人们掌握对方的信息太少有关外,主要还是个人主观推断的泛化,扩张和定势的结果。它往往容易形成人的成见或偏见,产生不良的后果。
Source:https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%99%95%E8%BD%AE%E6%95%88%E5%BA%94/93548?fr=aladdin
3:set in stone:一成不变
Trustworthy sponsors will keep their own capital tied to the venture. But Bilko is not to be trusted, of course—where would the comedy be in that? His three rival sergeants realise too late that he has sold each of them a one-third stake in a worthless venture. “Don’t you own a piece of it?” asks one in a panic. “Me? I’m in the army,” replies Bilko. “What would I want with an empty store?”
值得信赖的保荐人会将资本与企业捆绑。但是,比尔科不值得信赖——那部喜剧片喜在何处?三位与其博弈的中士明白时已为时已晚——他已分别向此三位出售了一家毫无价值的企业(此处指的是上文的商店)三分之一股份。“你一点股份都没有吗?” 其中一位惊恐地问道。“我?我参军了。我为何会要一家空商店?”比尔科回答。
翻译组:
Martina,女,爱电影爱生活,爱金融经济
Jerry,男,金融专业研究生,经济学人铁粉
Vivifang,女,外币债券交易员,经济学人粉丝
Summer,女,QE在职,梦想能仗翻译/音乐 /健康走天涯
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Chloe,女,翻译硕士,经济学人忠实读者
Emily,女,食物链底端金融民工,经济学人粉丝
3
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本次感想
Zihan,男,大数据工程师,经济学人粉丝
IPO的确是件麻烦事,而相比之下SPAC要简易很多。这篇文章巧妙的讲解了SPAC的优缺点。正如文章所说:“IPO本应标志着一家年轻的公司走向成熟。但事实上它却更像一场葬礼:一场让你任由负责人摆布的痛苦考验“。这让IPO听上去一点都不吸引人,那为什么大家不都去SPAC呢?
首先就是名声不好。SPAC本质上就是一个空壳公司。自从上一世纪90年代兴起之后,SPACs的收益率并不怎么样,而且里面的条款都是对赞助人更有力的。什么意思,让我来举个例子。SPAC其中一个条款是:通过SPAC上市的公司,筹集的资金要会放到一个信托资金里。这个信托资金直到合并完成前都会赚取利息。在交易的时候,赞助人可以用信托资金里他有的资产去换取与其对应的普通股(common stock)。这是什么意思?也就是说,赞助人如果突然不喜欢这个交易了,他可以把投进去的钱给要回来。即使大部分时候,这些赞助人都会赞成交易的实施,但这也不过是因为投资人不希望影响他们的认股权证(warrent)罢了。
但是为啥经济学人突然发了这么一篇文章呢?因为年代变了,之前SPAC的坏名声再变好,很多成功的SPAC上市的公司也开始给投资人和合并过来的公司赚取了大量利润。江湖上有个有名的网站叫做SPACInsider。这是他们公布的数据:
我们可以看到,近几年SPAC IPO的数量有增加的趋势。而且19年也是增加了不少。那么,我们怎么看待SPAC才好呢?我来引用Chris Raby的一句话:“We view SPACs in a similar way that we view closed-end funds“。对于一个PM来说,SPAC的存在就像是一个封闭式资金。封闭式资金的基金发行总额和发行期在设立时已确定,这和SPAC IPO很像。
那么,我来引用以下封闭式基金套利的模式:
“在2007年底前到期的封闭式基金的折价率平均在20%左右,假设投资者同时购买净值为1的开放式基金和净值为1元、折价率为20%的封闭式基金,由于开放式基金是按净值进行申购和赎回,所以投资者的成本为1元,而对于封闭式基金来说,投资者的成本仅为0.8元,投资者将两只基金持有到期,由于封闭式基金转开放已有先例,两只基金均按净值赎回,假设净值没有任何增长,开放式基金依旧按1元赎回,投资者的收益为0元,而封闭式基金也按1元赎回,投资者的收益为(1-0.8)/0.8=25%,这就是封闭式基金的到期套利收益“。
那么类似的,我们什么时候买入SPAC?在已经拆分(split)的时候买普通股。什么价位买入?当交易的价格贴现(discount)信托资金cash的价格的时候。
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