PSA Peugeot Citroën is betting that money really does make the world go round.
标致雪铁龙(PSA Peugeot Citroen)押注的是“有钱能使鬼推磨”。
The French auto maker is raising EUR3 billion ($4.13 billion) in fresh equity via a rights issue and a capital injection from the French government and its Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor Group ; each investor will take a 14% stake.
这家法国汽车生产商将通过配股和来自法国政府及中国合资伙伴东风汽车集团(Dongfeng Motor Group)的注资拿到30亿欧元(合41.3亿美元)的资金;注资后法国政府和东风汽车将分别获得标致14%的股权。
That might look like pawning the family silver on the cheap. Dongfeng and the French state will get most of their shares at just EUR7.50 a share, a 40% discount to the current market price.
这或许看上去像是廉价典卖了家当。东风汽车和法国政府将以仅仅每股7.50欧元的价格获得大多数股份,这较当前市场价格低40%。
But more capital could at least make a recovery at Peugeot more credible.
但至少,更多的资金会令标致的复苏显得更为可信。
Peugeot's timing is less than ideal: the company is raising capital equivalent to two-thirds of its market capitalization just as Europe's car market starts to pull out of a brutal slump. Existing Peugeot shareholders, who currently hold 74.5% of the shares, will be left with 58%, assuming they take up all the shares available to them.
标致选择的时机不太理想:该公司筹集的资本相当于其市值的三分之二,而此时欧洲汽车市场正开始摆脱严重滑坡。标致现有股东目前持有该公司74.5%的股份,交易完成后如果他们持有所有可获得的股份,持股比例将为58%。
What Peugeot will get from a deeper partnership with Dongfeng is also questionable. The Chinese auto maker, which is only spending about a quarter of its cash hoard on the deal, could look smart if it has strengthened its European ties at the low-point in the continent's car cycle. Dongfeng alone isn't big enough to address Peugeot's scale problem in an industry where the biggest auto makers are the most competitive.
标致与东风加深合作能得到什么也引人怀疑。这家中国汽车厂商在这桩交易上只花费了大约四分之一的现金储备,如果它已经在欧洲汽车行业周期的低点加强了与欧洲的联系,则是明智之举。在最大的汽车厂商竞争力最强的汽车行业,东风一家的规模也不够大,无法应对标致的规模问题。
But with 16 million cars sold in China last year it is already a larger market than Europe and will be Peugeot's biggest by 2015. The French company's target to triple unit sales in China by the early 2020s is an ambitious one, notes Erich Hauser at ISI: Peugeot's market share, through its joint venture with Dongfeng, is just 3.6%. Securing the focus of Dongfeng, which also works with Nissan, Honda, Renault and others, can only help.
但中国去年乘用车销量达1,600万辆,已经超过欧洲,到2015年将成为标致最大的市场。这家法国公司的目标是到2020年代初将中国的销量增加两倍。ISI的豪泽(Erich Hauser)认为,这是个雄心勃勃的目标:标致通过其与东风的合资企业占据的市场份额仅为3.6%。获得东风的重点关注只会带来助力。东风还与日产(Nissan)、本田(Honda)、雷诺(Renault)等公司建立了合作关系。
More importantly, the money could help Peugeot deal with some pressing problems. Peugeot argues its EUR4.15 billion net debt burden puts it at a disadvantage to debt-free global peers. The French group pays around EUR750 million a year in financing costs, which will be halved thanks to the deal. Peugeot still doesn't expect to generate operational free cash flow until 2016.
更重要的是,这笔资金能够帮助标致应对一些紧迫问题。标致声称,其41.5亿欧元的 负债令其在面对没有债务的全球同行时处于不利地位。标致每年支付约7.5亿欧元的融资成本,而与东风的交易完成后,这个数字将减半。标致预计要到2016年才能实现运营 现金流。
The deal, however, should allow Peugeot to fund much-needed investment. Global auto makers on average put about 8% to 9% of their sales toward capital expenditure and research and development. The French car maker spends about two percentage points less than its rivals.
但该交易应能让标致得以为急需的投资项目提供资金。全球汽车厂商平均将8%-9%的销售额投入到资本开支和研发。标致这方面的开支约比竞争对手低两个百分点。
As a result, Peugeot is behind in hot areas like hybrid technologies. It also needs to invest in markets like Russia and Latin America. In Russia, Peugeot buys just 30% of parts locally, which leaves it exposed to swings in currencies and makes it harder for the French company to compete.
因此,标致在混合动力技术等热门领域落后于同行。它还需要投资于俄罗斯和拉美等市场。标致在俄罗斯当地采购的零部件仅占30%,因此容易受到汇率波动影响,参与竞争的难度也更大。
Peugeot still has plenty of problems. But with more money, a new chief executive and signs of recovery in Europe, the French auto maker is fast running out of excuses.
标致还有诸多问题。但有了更多的资金、新的首席执行长和欧洲市场复苏的征兆,这家法国汽车厂商很快就没借口了。