Traders frequently lament the failed punt that becomes a long-term investment. China Evergrande might, then, be celebrating. The property developer turned conglomerate has made a great trade in China Vanke, its developer peer. The latter’s shares have been on a tear since early August when Evergrande revealed its interest. On Tuesday after Evergrande said it had lifted its stake to nearly 7 per cent, Vanke’s mainland-listed A shares rose a further tenth — the daily limit in Shanghai. On the first tranche alone, Evergrande has paper gains of $700m. Despite this success the deal smacks of poor governance.

交易员们常为变成长期投资的失败押注哀叹。那么，中国恒大集团(China Evergrande Group)可能正为此庆祝。由地产开发商转型为综合性集团的恒大，在同为地产开发商的万科(Vanke)身上做了一笔大交易。自8月初恒大披露其买入万科股份以来，万科的股价一直呈现上涨态势。周二，在恒大宣布增持万科股份至近7%后，万科A股更是上涨了10%，触及涨停板。仅凭增持前的股份，恒大就获得了7亿美元的账面收益。尽管取得了这样的成功，这笔交易仍然带有治理不善的味道。

Evergrande says that its holding is purely an investment. But the company hardly has the spare cash to be pumping more than $2bn into a minority stake in a competitor. Its net debt of $29bn is almost 10 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation; that ebitda barely covers interest payments (which the company capitalises). S&P Global Ratings has said that should these metrics deteriorate, it may downgrade Evergrande’s B- debt rating, worsening its financing options.

恒大表示，其对万科的持股纯粹只是一项投资。但恒大几乎匀不出逾20亿美元的闲钱，来收购一个竞争对手的少数股权。恒大290亿美元的净负债几乎是其息税折旧及摊销前利润(EBITDA)的10倍；这样的EBITDA将将够偿付利息（而这家公司还把这些利润拿去投资了）。标普全球评级(S&P Global Ratings)已表示，如果恒大的这些指标恶化，可能会将该公司评级从目前的“B-”进一步下调，这将导致该公司的融资难度加大。

Evergrande’s allegiance is also unclear. Vanke is in the midst of a battle for control between major shareholder Baoneng, the insurance group, and Vanke’s management. The latter is backed by second-largest shareholder and unlisted state-owned enterprise, China Resources Holdings. In March, Vanke announced an asset purchase for shares that would install a new major shareholder, Shenzhen Metro, which is also supportive of management. That deal has yet to go ahead.

另外，人们也不清楚恒大到底站在哪边。万科的大股东、保险集团宝能(Baoneng)正与万科管理层争夺控制权。后者得到了万科第二大股东、未上市的国企华润集团(China Resources Holdings)的支持。3月，万科宣布了一笔以发股方式购买资产的交易，这笔交易如果完成，将使同样支持万科管理层的深圳地铁(Shenzhen Metro)成为万科新的大股东。这笔交易目前还未进行。

By inserting itself into the mix, Evergrande confuses the Vanke issue still further. If Evergrande wants solo control, it has not got the firepower to win. If it hopes to have influence as kingmaker to either side in the tussle, its poor control of its finances make it a bad match for more disciplined Vanke.

恒大投身这个乱局，让万科控制权之争更加扑朔迷离。如果恒大想的是独自控制万科，它并没有取胜所需的财力。如果恒大想拥有能决定哪方将在这场争斗中胜出的影响力，它对自身财务状况的糟糕管控，令它与一个纪律严明的万科不太般配。

And if it really is just a trade, Evergrande’s shareholders did not need Evergrande to make it on their behalf.

另外，如果恒大对万科的持股真的只是一笔交易，那么恒大的股东们并不需要恒大代表他们做这笔交易。