米塔尔“暗购”中国东方惹麻烦

MITTAL FALLS FOUL OF TAKEOVER PANEL OVER CHINA STEEL DEAL

米塔尔“暗购”中国东方惹麻烦中国华尔街博客空间4s#z3?lo8FW

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By Tom Mitchell and Robin Kwong in Hong Kong中国华尔街博客空间u)S|V$rX!{6C)T

作者：英国《金融时报》汤姆•米切尔(Tom Mitchell)、邝彦晖(Robin Kwong)香港报道

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

2007年12月11日 星期二中国华尔街博客空间;j8walU2eC'TW1V

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Mittal, boss of the world's biggest steel company, knows he must tread softly to secure the foothold his company desires in China.

In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this year, Mr Mittal, the chief executive of ArcelorMittal, noted that securing a government-approved entrée to the China market was “a prolonged process, and you have to be patient”.中国华尔街博客空间'w
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Mr Mittal's plans were progressing nicely until Thursday, when Hong Kong's securities regulator unexpectedly forced Arcelor- Mittal to show its hand with a $1.7bn general offer for China Oriental, a Bermuda-based, Hong Kong-listed owner of a small Chinese steel mill. 中国华尔街博客空间O c t4`3QfV-@

Last month, ArcelorMittal announced that it had paid the company's second largest shareholder, Diana Chen, $647m for her 28 per cent stake in China Oriental after she abandoned a hostile bid for the company.

What the world's largest steel company did not say was that it had also quietly signed an agreement with Han Jingyan, China Oriental's controlling shareholder, to buy his shares at a future date, subject to Chinese government approval.中国华尔街博客空间Iy.ZIf$Q"[

Last Thursday, Hong Kong's Security and Futures Commission (SFC) lifted the lid on ArcelorMittal's delicate arrangement with Mr Han, in a rare ruling that could cause problems for Mr Mittal's larger China ambitions.

At issue was whether ArcelorMittal and Mr Han were acting in concert, and therefore obliged to make a general offer to all China Oriental's shareholders.

The SFC referred the matter to the territory's Take-overs Panel, which said ArcelorMittal and Mr Han were in fact collaborating and delivered an embarrassing rebuke to the two parties, their financial advisers and their lawyers.中国华尔街博客空间*U*ZIj"d

“The evidence before the Panel, which was not disputed and which [ArcelorMittal and Mr Han] confirmed, was of serious engagement between the two parties to explore various avenues to obtain or consolidate control of the company,” the Takeovers Panel found.中国华尔街博客空间0`5bew&j0WcXG:h8I

It also said that they should have known this would trigger a mandatory general offer.

“The Panel is concerned with the almost total absence of consultation by the parties and their advisers with the [regulator] prior into entering [their agreement] . . . both ArcelorMittal and Mr Han are advised by experienced practitioners familiar with [Hong Kong's Takeover] Codes. ”中国华尔街博客空间[;H4D"zk+M/`)A7o5C

ArcelorMittal was advised by ING and lawyers Baker & McKenzie, while Mr Han retained UBS and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. All four advisers declined comment.

On Friday, ArcelorMittal and Mr Han decided to make the best of a bad situation and launch the mandatory general offer required by the Takeovers Panel.

“We have made no secret of our wish to participate more actively in China's fast-growing steel market,” Mr Mittal said in a statement. 中国华尔街博客空间LMD`1{Bn

“The agreements we have signed with [Mr Han and China Oriental] are a major step forward in delivering that strategy.”

ArcelorMittal's general offer, if accepted, would put the onus on the Chinese government.中国华尔街博客空间;Bf9[N#f&U {HI

Like many countries, China considers the steel industry to be a strategic sector and has yet to permit majority foreign ownership of a large domestic producer.

ArcelorMittal's agreement with Mr Han is conditional upon approval from the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce

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为全球最大钢铁公司的老板，拉克希米•米塔尔(Lakshmi Mittal)知道，必须谨慎从事，才能在中国得到想要的立足之地。中国华尔街博客空间2`C5Q
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今年早些时候接受英国《金融时报》采访时，这位阿塞洛-米塔尔(ArcelorMittal)的首席执行官曾强调指出，从中国政府那里获得市场准入资格是“一个漫长的过程，必须有耐心”。中国华尔街博客空间;B.O ]!Vz't,P"N

米塔尔的计划一直推进得不错，但就在上周四，香港证券监管机构出人意料地迫使阿塞洛-米塔尔摊牌：计划以17亿美元全面收购中国东方集团(China Oriental)。东方集团是一家总部位于百慕大、在香港上市的中国小型钢铁厂。

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上个月，阿塞洛-米塔尔宣布，在中国东方集团的第二大股东陈宁宁(Diana Chen)放弃对这家公司的敌意收购之后，阿塞洛-米塔尔已经向她支付6.47亿美元，收购陈宁宁所持东方集团28%的股权。

不过，这家全球最大的钢铁公司没有透露的是，它同时也悄悄和东方集团控股股东韩敬远签订了协议，一旦中国政府批准，将在未来某日收购韩敬远所持股权。中国华尔街博客空间z
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上周四，香港证监会(SFC)做出一项罕见裁决，揭开阿塞洛-米塔尔与韩敬远之间的微妙协议。这一裁决可能会给米塔尔在中国更远大的抱负带来障碍。

需要做出判断的问题是，阿塞洛-米塔尔与韩敬远是否一致行动，以及是否必须因此向中国东方的所有股东提出全面收购要约。中国华尔街博客空间4{6z.q0R1h'p&_{1n

香港证监会将此事提交至香港收购委员会(Take-overs Panel)。收购委员会的裁决指出，阿塞洛-米塔尔与韩敬远实际上“一致行动”。委员会还对双方、双方的财务顾问和法律顾问进行了斥责。中国华尔街博客空间~Q(z/\*z^h-B

收购委员会发现：“委员会目前所掌握的证据并无受争议，且已获当事人（阿塞洛-米塔尔与韩敬远）确认，显示当事人具有旨在探索不同方法，取得或巩固该公司的控制权的认真合作关系。”

收购委员会还表示，他们应该知道此举会引起强制性全面收购。中国华尔街博客空间0b!O!v!j Am/w7m

“委员会关注到，（在达成协议）之前，这宗个案的当事人及其顾问几乎完全没有征询（监管机构）执行人员的意见进行任何磋商，委员会非常关注……阿塞洛-米塔尔和韩先生均有获得富经验且熟悉（香港收购）守则的从业员提供建议。”

为阿塞洛-米塔尔提供咨询的是荷兰国际集团(ING)和贝克-麦坚时律师事务所(Baker & McKenzie)，为韩敬远提供咨询的是瑞银集团(UBS)和英国富而德律师事务所(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer)。这四家顾问都拒绝置评。

上周五，阿塞洛-米塔尔与韩敬远决定化不利为有利，发起收购委员会要求的强制性全面收购。中国华尔街博客空间h6kM\q;@#@-PF

米塔尔在一份声明中表示：“我们并没有掩饰我们的愿望，希望更积极参与中国快速增长的钢铁市场。”

“我们与（韩敬远和中国东方）签订的协议是在执行这一战略上迈出的一大步。”中国华尔街博客空间AQ,fH^{"dy

阿塞洛-米塔尔的全面收购报价如果被股东接受，就会把问题推到中国政府一方。中国华尔街博客空间;@!{sH&~

与很多国家一样，中国认为钢铁业是一个战略行业，尚不允许外资在国内大型钢铁企业持多数股权。中国华尔街博客空间 h
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阿塞洛-米塔尔与韩敬远的协议需要得到中国商务部(Ministry of Commerce)和中国国家工商行政管理总局(State Administration of Industry and Commerce)的批准。