Dell Inc. (DELL) today filed a proxy statement, detailing the process leading up its its $24.4 billion buyout proposal from CEO Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. The proxy also includes details from the company's recent "go-shop" period, which resulted in nonbinding indications of interest from The Blackstone Group (BX) and Carl Icahn.
上周五，戴尔公司（Dell）发布了股东签署的委托书。委托书详细阐述了首席执行官迈克尔?戴尔和私募基金公司银湖资本（Silver Lake Partners）联手开出的总价高达224亿美元的收购要约的出炉过程。它还包括了该公司近期接受“询价”的详情，这轮询价后，戴尔获得了黑石集团（Blackstone Group）和卡尔?伊坎不具约束力的投资意向。
The entire package is 274 pages long, and certainly would make a good Friday night read if you're an M&A junkie (or, more specifically, a lonely M&A junkie). For the rest of you, here is a breakdown of the more interesting cuts:
这份文件足有274页之多。如果你是个并购迷（或者说的确切点，是个没啥朋友的并购迷），那它会是你周末晚上的绝佳读物。而对其他人来说，看看我们为大家摘取的一些精华就够了：
Inception: The first group to approach Michael Dell about a possible buyout was Southeastern Asset Management, the company's largest outside shareholder which has said it plans to vote against the current proposal. That was last June. The following month, a representative of Silver Lake approached Michael Dell at an industry conference to suggest the two sit down. The proxy does not say which industry conference, but I'm 99.9% certain it was Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen (where Michael Dell and Silver Lake's Egon Durban both spoke). Michael Dell soon would reach out to another private equity firm (believed to be KKR) for advice, before formally advising Dell's lead independent director, Alex Mandl, on August 14. Three days later the entire board was informed and began putting M&A infrastructure in place -- including the creation of a special committee.
发端：最早接触迈克尔?戴尔，表示有意收购的集团是东南资产管理公司（Southeastern Asset Management），但它最大的外部股东表示反对这一提案。这是去年6月的事了。7月，银湖资本的一位代表在一个行业会议上找到迈克尔?戴尔，建议两家公司坐下来商谈。委托书并未说明这是在哪次行业会议上，但我敢打包票，那就是阿斯彭举办的“《财富》头脑风暴技术大会”（the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference）（当时迈克尔?戴尔和银湖资本的埃贡?德班都做了发言）。此后不久，迈克尔?戴尔就去请教另一家私募基金了（据信是KKR集团）。到了8月14号，他又将这一意向正式通报了戴尔重量级的独立董事阿历克斯?曼德尔。三天后，董事会全体接到了通知，同时开始搭建并购的基础架构——包括筹建一个特别委员会。
Financial mismanagement: The driving force behind the special committee seemed to be less that Michael Dell wanted to buy Dell, and more that Dell management was serially incapable of accurately forecasting company performance. For example, on August 21 the company reported quarterly earnings that were around $300 million less than internal management projections. Overall, Dell's revenue came in significantly below management projections for seven straight quarters and, save for one quarter, below consensus analyst estimates. Things got so bad that, at one point, the special committee asked Boston Consulting Group -- which already was advising on strategic alternatives -- to provide independent financial analysis of the company's prospects.
财务管理不善：成立这个特别委员会的主要动力似乎不是来自迈克尔?戴尔购买戴尔公司的意向，而更多是因为戴尔的管理层一再无法准确预测公司的业绩。比如，8月21日公司报出的季度营收要比公司管理层的内部预测要少了约3亿美元。总的来说，戴尔的营收已经连续七个月显著低于管理层的预期，而且除了一个月之外，还普遍低于分析师的预测。情况糟得无以复加，结果特别委员会只好一度请来了波士顿咨询集团（Boston Consulting Group）——该集团已经为戴尔的替代性战略提供咨询了——对公司的财务前景开展独立分析。
To be honest, it's kind of a wonder that CFO Brian Gladden still has his job. Moreover, if Blackstone Group were to launch a hostile bid, this financial information could be its most effective defense (i.e., current management -- including Michael Dell -- is unfit to run the business). Of course, that would assume Blackstone would be willing to risk its reputation on such an offer, and that it has the financial resources to replace the equity Michael Dell is rolling over as part of the Silver Lake deal (not to mention Microsoft's $2 billion loan). Oh, and that it has another CEO in place. Again, the chances of a formal Blackstone bid keep getting smaller the more I think about them.
说实在的，首席财务官布莱恩?格莱登还能保住自己这个饭碗也真算奇迹了。再者，假如黑石集团真打算发起恶意收购，这个财务信息可能会成为它最有效的防御手段（比如，现任管理层——包括迈克尔?戴尔本人——不适合掌管戴尔公司业务）。当然，前提是黑石愿意为这个出价甘冒名声被毁的风险，而且能拿得出这么多钱来代替迈克尔?戴尔重新投入银湖资本交易的股份（更别提微软公司（Microsoft）那20亿美元的借款了）。噢，它还有另一个准备走马上任的首席执行官呢。我越想越觉得，黑石想正式出价的可能性微乎其微。
This section also must be the toughest for Dell to swallow as a company, since it may make fidgety customers and employees even more nervous. On the other hand, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) may be having a good laugh at its Austin rival's expense.
这部分也肯定是戴尔最难接受的，因为这可能会让它本已焦虑不安的客户和员工变得更加紧张。另一方面，惠普公司（Hewlett-Packard）可能也会对自己这位同在奥斯汀的对手的大笔开销看笑话。
Pricing: Silver Lake originally proposed a purchase price range of $11.22-$12.16 per share, assuming that Michael Dell would roll his shares into the deal. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) also put in a bid for $12-$13 per share, assuming Michael's shares plus those held by Southeastern -- plus a $500 million additional investment from Michael. Important to note that Southeastern was unaware of the KKR offer, and thus was ignorant of its hypothetical role.
定价：银湖最初提出的收购价是每股11.22-12.16美元，并假定迈克尔?戴尔会把自己的股份也投入这笔交易中。KKR集团的出价也是每股12-13美元，并假定迈克尔的股份会加上东南资本持有的那些股份——加上迈克尔所做的5亿美元追加投资。值得一提的是，东南资本对KKR的出价并不知情，所以对自己被假设的角色也一无所知。
The special committee, however, felt both offers undervalued Dell. Then, on Dec. 3, a Goldman Sachs (GS) analyst suggested that the company might be ripe for a leveraged buyout -- sending Dell stock up 4.4% to $10.06 per share. The next day, KKR dropped out of the process. It told special committee advisor J.P. Morgan (JPM) that its main sticking point was the uncertain PC market and competitive pressures -- two factors validated by Dell's recent performance. That same day, Silver Lake raised its offer to $12.70 per share.
不过，特别委员会觉得，这两笔出价都低估了戴尔公司的价值。结果，到了12月3日，高盛集团（Goldman Sachs）的一位分析师暗示，戴尔公司可能适合做杠杆收购——这一下子就让戴尔的股票涨了4.4%，到了每股10.06美元。而第二天，KKR就退出了收购阵营。它向特别委员会的顾问摩根大通（J.P. Morgan）表示，阻碍其采取进一步行动主要有两大原因，一是难以把握的PC市场，二是竞争压力——这也正是两个被戴尔近期的业绩表现所证实的因素。就在同一天，银湖将出价抬高到了每股12.70美元。
As the special committee kept pressing for a higher price, Michael Dell kept making his case for going private. He identified four things he would do with a privately-held Dell: (i) Increase R&D for the company's enterprise services group, (ii) Hire additional salespeople, (iii) Expand in emerging markets, and (iv) Invest new money into the PC and tablet business. In other words, he wants to create growth rather than strip-and-flip.
就在特别委员会不断施压要求更高出价时，迈克尔?戴尔却提出了私有化的请求。他表示，如果戴尔私有化，他将推出四大举措：(i) 增加公司企业服务集团的研发投入；(ii) 增加销售人员；(iii) 拓展新兴市场；(iv) 为PC和平板电脑业务增加投资。换言之，他是想让公司业绩增长，而不是套现走人。
Then came a Bloomberg news report that Dell was in buyout talks, sending the stock up to $12.29 per share. The next day Silver Lake upped its offer to $12.90, but it was still seemed insufficient. Alex Mandl began talking to Michael Dell about strategic options were Dell to remain public, much of which involved cost-cutting (which was the opposite of Michael's stated vision). Mandl also told Silver Lake that $13.75 was the magic price, but Silver Lake just couldn't get there and threatened to walk. After a few more proposals it got to $13.65 per share, with Michael rolling over his shares at $13.36. This proposal also would allow Dell to continue paying out its dividend -- something it offered to suspend if the offer hit $13.80.
随后又传来了彭博社（Bloomberg）的报道，说戴尔正开始全盘收购谈判，这让股价升至每股12.29美元。第二天银湖就将出价提到了12.90美元，但还是不够。阿历克斯?曼德尔开始和迈克尔?戴尔商量，如果戴尔维持上市公司格局，应该采取什么战略，多数都涉及到削减成本（而这恰恰和迈克尔已经表明过的愿景背道而驰）。曼德尔还向银湖表示，13.75美元是很完美的价格，但银湖就是不答应，还威胁要退出。几轮博弈后，收购价提到了每股13.65美元，而迈克尔则以13.36美元的股价投入自己的股份。这个方案还是能让戴尔继续支付红利——而如果收购价达到了13.80美元这就没戏了。
In short, the special committee moved Silver Lake from $11.22-$12.16 to $13.65.
一句话，是特别委员会推着银湖把出价从11.22-12.16美元一路提高到13.65美元。
Southeastern math: When the agreement was announced, Southeastern issued a statement saying that $13.65 per share "grossly undervalues" Dell. It also offered up its own analysis, saying the company is worth at least $24 per share. In private, however, Southeastern said it would be okay with a $14-$15 per share bid so long as it and other "large existing" shareholders were given the opportunity to roll over a portion of shares. Later in the proxy, the "large existing" language is dropped in favor of the more inclusive "shareholders."
东南资本的算法：就在双方协议达成宣布之际，东南资本发布了一个声明，称13.65美元“严重低估了”戴尔公司的价值。它同时还拿出了自己的分析，称戴尔每股至少值24美元。不过东南资本称，如果戴尔选择私有化，那每股14-15美元也是可以接受的，只要它和其他“现在的大”股东们有机会再投入一部分股份。后来在委托书中，所谓的“现在的大”这类措辞被更笼统的说法“股东”一词取而代之了。
Go-Shop: Evercore Partners contacted 67 different parties during the go-shop, with 10 entering the process. We've already detailed the end results, but a few interesting tidbits (1) Insight Venture Partners, working with Blackstone, has never held discussions with members of Dell management. (2) As Fortune previously reported, Blackstone threatened to walk away unless Dell agreed to reimburse its out-of-pocket expenses. (3) TPG Capital conducted two weeks of due diligence during the original process, opting not to submit a bid. But it did reappear during the "go-shop," working with Blackstone. Unclear why it wasn't part of the final Blackstone bid, but that sure makes it harder for Blackstone to do this deal without Michael Dell's shares. (4) Still unclear why the special committee thinks Carl Icahn's proposal could result in a superior bid, when it is premised on a dividend recap that the special committee already examined and determined would pose too many long-term risks.
询价：在询价阶段，Evercore Partners共接触过67家客户，其中10家最终参与了竞价。我们已对最终结果做了详细报道，但还有一些花边新闻值得关注：（1）与黑石合作的Insight Venture Partners从未和戴尔的管理层展开过会谈。（2）《财富》杂志（Fortune）报道过，黑石曾威胁称，除非戴尔同意补偿现款支付的费用，否则就退出竞价。（3）德州太平洋投资集团（TPG Capital）一开始做过为期两周的尽职调查，但最后选择不出价。但在“询价”阶段它又现身了，和黑石展开了合作。现在还不清楚为何黑石最终出价中不包括它，但这肯定让黑石在没有迈克尔?戴尔股份的情况下更难达成这笔交易了。（4）还不清楚为何特别委员会认为卡尔?伊坎的方案可能会带来最佳出价，它是建立在债务红利上的，对此特别委员会已做过详细审查，同时认为它会带来过多的长期风险。
Strip sale talks: During negotiations with Silver Lake, Dell received a call from an undisclosed strategic party, expressing interest in purchasing Dell Financial Services at book value ($3.5b-$4b). Boston Consulting Group examined the proposal, but determined it would not create sufficient value for Dell. Worth noting that another strategic party -- believed to be General Electric (GE) -- signed a joiner to Blackstone's non-disclosure agreement, in order to conduct due diligence on DFS. This suggests Blackstone would sell DFS to GE -- a likely point of contention with Michael Dell (yet another reason why Blackstone is unlikely to bid).
抛售谈判：在与银湖展开谈判过程中，戴尔公司接到过一个不明身份的战略投资方的电话，表示有意按照账面价值（35亿-40亿美元）收购戴尔的金融服务业务。波士顿咨询公司（Boston Consulting Group）在审查过该提案后认为它无法为戴尔带来足够的价值。值得注意的是，另一个战略投资方——据信是通用电气（General Electric）——也和黑石签署了一个保密协议，以对戴尔的金融服务业务开展尽职调查。这意味着黑石有意把戴尔金融卖给通用电气——这可能是与迈克尔?戴尔起争执的另一个要点（也是另一个为何黑石不太会出价的原因）。