微軟為什么白借錢(qián)給戴爾私有化
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????戴爾公司（Dell Inc.）宣布，公司接受以244億美元進(jìn)行私有化。這個(gè)結(jié)果并不出人意料，但微軟（Microsoft）決定為戴爾提供20億美元貸款，而不是獲得該公司股權(quán)，這就有些匪夷所思了。 ????知情人士透露，這家軟件巨頭擔(dān)心，其他制造商可能會(huì)認(rèn)為，微軟偏袒戴爾，因此公司才沒(méi)有選擇獲取戴爾公司的股權(quán)。 ????此外，微軟也意識(shí)到公司此舉可能會(huì)造成一種連鎖效應(yīng)。例如，如果其他設(shè)備制造商也要求微軟參與其私有化或其他融資活動(dòng)，公司該如何應(yīng)對(duì)？如果微軟拒絕，其他制造商肯定會(huì)認(rèn)為微軟確實(shí)在偏袒戴爾。 ????看來(lái)，微軟認(rèn)為，雖然未來(lái)可以聽(tīng)聽(tīng)其他公司的請(qǐng)求，但是幫助戴爾生存下來(lái)，并取得成功，值得冒險(xiǎn)嘗試。此外，戴爾對(duì)于微軟、乃至整個(gè)個(gè)人電腦市場(chǎng)都異常重要。戴爾僅次于惠普（Hewlett-Packard）和聯(lián)想（Lenovo），是世界第三大個(gè)人電腦制造商。 ????微軟在關(guān)于這筆投資的一份簡(jiǎn)短聲明中說(shuō)： ????“微軟已經(jīng)為計(jì)劃私有化戴爾的財(cái)團(tuán)提供了20億美元貸款。微軟致力于整個(gè)PC生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的長(zhǎng)期成功，將通過(guò)各種方式大力投資建設(shè)未來(lái)的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。我們處在一個(gè)常變常新的行業(yè)。我們將一如既往地尋求各種機(jī)會(huì)，來(lái)支持致力于在微軟平臺(tái)上進(jìn)行創(chuàng)新和發(fā)展業(yè)務(wù)的合作伙伴?！?/p> ????需要注意的是，這次牽頭收購(gòu)戴爾的私募股權(quán)公司銀湖投資集團(tuán)（Silver Lake Partners）已經(jīng)不是第一次與微軟的合作了。2011年，銀湖曾以85億美元將Skype出售給微軟。據(jù)稱，雙方的關(guān)系對(duì)于微軟參與戴爾私有化交易起到了重要作用，但并非根本原因。 ????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓 |
????There weren't too many surprises in Dell Inc.'s announcement that it has agreed to be taken private for $24.4 billion. Except for one: Microsoft's $2 billion investment will come as a loan, instead of as equity. ????A source familiar with the situation tells me that the software giant was worried about other customers thinking that Microsoft (MSFT) had incentive to value one over another, so it chose not to take an equity position. ????That said, Microsoft also realizes that it may have created a slippery slope. For example, what if another customer requests involvement in a take-private or other sort of financing event? If Microsoft declines, then is clearly would seem to be valuing one customer (Dell) over another. ????Seems Microsoft decided that helping Dell (DELL) survive and prosper was worth that latter risk, although it is expected to at least listen to any future requests. Moreover, Dell is unusual in its importance to Microsoft and the broader PC market -- with only Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Lenovo selling more personal computers. ????In a brief statement about its investment, Microsoft said the following: ????"Microsoft has provided a $2 billion loan to the group that has proposed to take Dell private. Microsoft is committed to the long term success of the entire PC ecosystem and invests heavily in a variety of ways to build that ecosystem for the future. We're in an industry that is constantly evolving. As always, we will continue to look for opportunities to support partners who are committed to innovating and driving business for their devices and services built on the Microsoft platform." ????It also is worth noting that this isn't the first time Microsoft has worked with Silver Lake Partners, the private equity firm leading Dell's acquisition. In 2011, Silver Lake sold Skype to Microsoftfor $8.5 billion. I'm told the existing relationship was valuable to Microsoft's participation in the Dell transaction, but was not its genesis. |
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