英文原文

Li Is Back In Game With AIG Purchase

Richard Li sealed a deal over the weekend to pay about US$500 million for part of American International Group Inc.'s asset-management business, a bold new venture for the Hong Kong tycoon after recent high-profile setbacks.

Mr. Li's wholly-owned investment vehicle Pacific Century Group will pay an initial US$300 million in cash on closing for AIG Investments, which manages US$89 billion for retail and institutional clients in 32 countries. Its assets include private-equity funds, hedge funds of funds, listed equities, and fixed income.

Pacific Century Group expects to pay an additional US$200 million to AIG in carried interest and other payments linked to future performance of the business. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report Mr. Li's interest in buying the asset manager in June.

The AIG Investments purchase marks an aggressive move into asset management for Mr. Li, chairman of Hong Kong's biggest telecommunications firm, PCCW Ltd. and the younger son of Li Ka-shing, one of the wealthiest men in Asia. He has other investments in real estate and previously owned a Hong Kong insurance company that had an asset-management arm. Richard Li also owns the Hong Kong Economic Journal, a local Chinese language business paper, and is investing in a real-time business and financial news service focused on Greater China.

A successful revival of the business could provide a much-needed boost to Richard Li's reputation as a deal maker. Repeated past attempts to sell all or part of PCCW to outside investors failed, and then a bid to take the company private in a $2.1 billion buyout collapsed earlier this year after Hong Kong securities regulators successfully argued in court that a shareholder vote approving the deal was rigged. Mr. Li wasn't accused of wrongdoing in the suit.

AIG's asset-management business has been hit by concerns over client withdrawals in the wake of the parent company's government bailout last year, which has prompted efforts to sell off assets to help the insurance giant repay more than US$80 billion owed to the U.S. government.

The agreement with Pacific Century Group caps a drawn-out, difficult auction process.

Pacific Century Group had initially bid for the unit, known as AIG Investments, in March on its own. The group joined a consortium led by U.S. money manager Franklin Templeton in June, according to people familiar with the situation.

The auction took a hit when Franklin Templeton dropped out of exclusive negotiations with AIG in mid-July. But Mr. Li, despite limited asset-management experience, was able to continue the pursuit on his own due to his strong cash position.

'AIG Investments suits our investment philosophy of making long-term investments in quality businesses,' said a Pacific Century Group spokesman. 'We believe we can add value through our network in Asia, and indeed around the world.'

Mr. Li also plans to work with existing management to rebrand the unit in due course and could also bring in other investors into the deal later, according to a person close to Pacific Century Group.

The conclusion of a deal comes after AIG's new chief executive Robert Benmosche has put some divestiture plans on hold since taking over in August. He is hoping a global economic rebound will boost the value of AIG's assets.

Mr. Li was one of several eager suitors to emerge from Asia in the AIG Investments auction. Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd. and Religare Enterprises Ltd. of India joined hands to make a competing offer for the business.

中文翻译

李泽楷在周末签署协议，斥资约5亿美元收购美国国际集团(AIG)旗下部分资产管理业务。在经历了近年来一系列引人注目的挫败后，这是这位香港大亨一笔大胆的新交易。

李泽楷全资持有的投资工具盈科拓展集团将先行支付3亿美元现金，完成对AIG旗下的资产管理业务AIG Investments的投资交易。该部门为32个国家的散户和机构客户管理着890亿美元资金，其资产包括了私募基金、投资基金的对冲基金、上市公司股权以及固定收益。

李泽楷盈科拓展还将向AIG支付2亿美元与该部门未来业绩相关联的附带收益和其他款项。今年6月，《华尔街日报》率先报导了李泽楷有意收购AIG资产管理部门。

李泽楷是香港最大的电信公司电讯盈科的董事长，是亚洲超级富豪李嘉诚的次子。这笔交易标志着李泽楷大举进军资产管理领域。李泽楷在房地产领域拥有其他投资，此前还曾投资于一家有资产管理业务的香港保险公司。李泽楷还拥有香港中文商务报纸《信报》，并正投资于一个关注大中华区实时财经和金融新闻服务。

如果李泽楷能够成功重振这一业务，或将给他交易决策者的声誉带来急需的提振。此前李泽楷多次试图向外部投资者出售电讯盈科全部或部分股权的交易均未成功，随后他斥资21亿美元将电讯盈科私有化的计划也被迫流产。今年早些时候，香港证券监管部门赢得法庭诉讼，认为电讯盈科批准交易的股东投票过程不合法。但诉讼并未对李泽楷提出不当行为的指控。

去年美国政府出手救助AIG以后，心存担忧的客户纷纷撤资，给AIG资产管理业务带来了严重冲击。这种状况促使AIG决定出售部分资产，以帮助偿还欠美国政府的800多亿美元资金。

AIG与盈科拓展达成的交易协议标志着这场漫长艰难的拍卖的结束。

盈科拓展先是在今年3月独自对AIG Investments提出收购报价；据知情人士透露，然后在6月份，盈科拓展加入了美国资产管理公司富兰克林邓普顿(Franklin Templeton)牵头的一个投资财团。

这一拍卖交易在7月中旬遭受挫折，当时富兰克林邓普顿退出了与AIG的独家谈判。不过，尽管李泽楷在资产管理领域经验有限，他仍然凭藉着强大的现金实力继续独自推进交易谈判。

盈科拓展发言人表示，AIG Investments符合我们长期投资于高质量业务的投资理念，我们相信可以通过公司在亚洲乃至全球的网络推动这一业务增值。

据一位知情人士透露，李泽楷计划与AIG Investments当前的管理层协作，在适当的时候进行品牌重设，此后还可能引进其他投资者。

这笔交易达成之前，AIG新任首席执行长本默切(Robert Benmosche)自8月上任以来已经搁置了部分资产出售计划。他希望全球经济回升能够推动AIG的资产升值。

在AIG Investments的拍卖过程中，李泽楷是几位亚洲投资者之一。澳大利亚的麦格理集团(Macquarie Group)以及印度的Religare Enterprises也曾携手提出过竞购要约。