经济学人155:双重股份结构

 　　Business

　　商业

　　Dual-class share structures

　　双重股份结构

　　The cost of control

　　控制的成本

　　The trouble with non-voting shares

　　没有表决权的股票带来的麻烦

　　SHAREHOLDERS¹ in News Corporation have only themselves to blame.

　　新闻集团的股东只能怪他们自己。

　　When they entrusted³ Rupert Murdoch with their money, they knew he would not let them tell him what to do with it.

　　当初他们信任鲁伯特·默多克，把自己的钱交给他时并没指望默多克会按照他们的意愿投资。

　　The Murdoch family owns about 12% of the company but controls almost 40% of the votes, through a special class of shares which have superior voting rights.

　　默多克家族拥有公司12％的股份，不过通过一个特设的控股阶层—该阶层有优先投票权—掌控着40％的选票。

　　Such dual-class share structures are quite common, especially at media firms.

　　如此这般的双重阶级”股份结构很普遍，尤其是在多媒体行业。

　　They can shield managers from stockmarket short-termism and hostile takeovers. But they cause problems, too.

　　这样经理人能避开短期证券交易和不怀好意的接管，但问题也是有的。

　　Two studies of American firms by Paul Gompers, Joy Ishii and Andrew Metrick, covering the years from 1994 to 2002, found that dual-class firms perform worse than comparable firms where all shares confer equal voting rights.

　　1994年到2002年，从Paul Gompers，Joy Ishii 和 Andrew Metrick主持的两个关于美国公司的研究发现双重结构的公司比那些实行平等投票的企业，表现要糟糕。

　　Dual-class firms are fonder of debt than equity⁴, to prevent the dilution⁵ of controlling stakes.

　　双重阶级公司比起普通股更热衷债权，以防止所控股被削弱。

　　Yet surprisingly, their shares do not trade at a big discount on stockmarkets.

　　但让人惊讶的是，他们的股票并未在证券市场受到贱价售卖的待遇。

　　A study by Chad Zutter and Scott Smart found that dual-class initial public offerings achieved only slightly lower price-earnings and price-sales ratios than comparable single-class IPOs.

　　由Chad Zutter和Scott Smart所做的一项调查发现，双阶级公司首次公开发售的股份，比起单阶级公司，本益比和营收比只稍微低了一点点。

　　Nor does this strange ownership model show any sign of going out of fashion.

　　这种陌生的所有权形式也没显露出任何过时的信号。

　　There were 12 dual-class IPOs in America last year, not far from the norm for the nine-year period in the 1990s studied by Mr Zutter and Mr Smart.

　　根据Zutter 先生和 Smart先生的调查，去年在美国首次公开发行股票的公司里有12家是双级公司，与90年代的九年阶段标准差不多。

　　Dual-class structures are not just a way for press barons⁶ to keep their hands on the hatchet⁷ with which they threaten governments.

　　双阶级结构不仅是报业巨头依之拿捏政府的厉斧。

　　Internet firms love them, too, since they allow founders⁸ brimming with self-belief to raise cash without surrendering control.

　　因特网公司也爱他们，因为这种形式能使公司的创始人放手集资而不必顾及周遭的控制。

　　Google's IPO in 2004 involved two classes of share.

　　谷歌2004年首次公开发行股票是有两级股票，

　　LinkedIn followed suit this year.

　　今年LinkedIn也随之仿效。

　　The IPO filings of Zynga and Groupon would also grant managers control over voting rights.

　　而Zynga和Groupon首次公开发行股票的文件也给予了经理人大于控制投票权的权力。

　　Investors⁹ who seek long-term gains may be happy to cede¹⁰ control if they think the boss is a genius.

　　如果觉得那个企业的老板是个天才，那些追求长期盈利的投资者也许乐意放弃控制权。

　　It worked for the holders² of B shares in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

　　手握Berkshire HathawayB型股票的投资者就是，该公司老板是Warren Buffett。

　　It once worked for investors in Mr Murdoch, too.

　　曾经默多克先生的投资者也是，

　　But tech punters have not been so lucky.

　　不过那些看好技术的就没这么好运了。

　　The number of dual-class firms listed in America fell from 482 in 2000 to 362 in 2002 as the dotcom bubble burst.

　　网络泡沫的破灭使美国的双级公司数量从2000年的482家减到了2002年的362家。

　　If the current internet boom follows a similar path, News Corporation shareholders will not be the only ones feeling second-class.

　　如果现今兴旺的因特网产业也是如此，那么新闻集团的股东将不会是唯一感到被看成二流的人。

1 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

2 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

3 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

5 dilution   

n.稀释，淡化

参考例句：

• There is no hard and fast rule about dilution.至于稀释程度，没有严格的规定。
• He attributed this to a dilution effect of the herbicide.他把这归因于除草剂的稀释效应。

6 barons   

男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨

参考例句：

• The barons of Normandy had refused to countenance the enterprise officially. 诺曼底的贵族们拒绝正式赞助这桩买卖。
• The barons took the oath which Stephen Langton prescribed. 男爵们照斯蒂芬？兰顿的指导宣了誓。

7 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

8 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。