巴菲特260億美元收購美國鐵路運營商

Warren Buffett yesterday struck the biggest deal of his life with the $26bn purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the largest US railroad operators, in what the billionaire investor called an “all-in wager” on America's economic future.

沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)昨日做成了他有生以來最大的一筆交易，用260億美元收購了美國最大的鐵路運營商之一BNSF(Burlington Northern Santa Fe)。這位身價億萬的投資者稱此舉是對美國經(jīng)濟前景的“全盤下注”。

The cash-and-shares deal by Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which already has a 22.6 per cent stake in BNSF, caps a long search by the legendary investor for an “elephant” deal to deploy his vast cash pile.

巴菲特旗下的伯克希爾哈撒韋公司(Berkshire Hathaway)此前已經(jīng)擁有BNSF 22.6%的股權。這筆現(xiàn)金加股票交易，將會為這位傳奇投資者物色“大象級”交易、以配置其巨額現(xiàn)金的漫長過程劃上句號。

The takeover deepens Mr Buffett's exposure to the US- focused old economy sectors that have long been the backbone of his empire alongside financial services, and underlines his confidence in a rebound in domestic growth.

此次收購加深了巴菲特對面向美國的老經(jīng)濟部門的投資，突顯其對美國經(jīng)濟增長反彈的信心。美國的老經(jīng)濟部門與金融服務業(yè)一直構成巴菲特帝國的主要投資。

“America's best years lie ahead, no question about it,” Mr Buffett told CNBC after the deal, which values Texas-based BNSF at $44bn, including $10bn of debt and the value of the stake Berkshire had accumulated since 2007.

“美國的最美好時代還在未來，這一點毫無疑問，”巴菲特在交易公布后對CNBC表示。這筆交易對德克薩斯州BNSF的估值為440億美元，其中包括100億美元的債務和伯克希爾自2007年以來累積的股份價值。

After a few overseas purchases prior to the crisis, Mr Buffett refocused on the US during the turmoil, buying into then-ailing corporate icons like General Electric and Goldman Sachs and urging Americans to purchase US shares.

在危機前的幾宗海外收購之后，巴菲特在金融危機期間將目光重新轉向美國。他買入通用電氣(General Electric)和高盛(Goldman Sachs)等當時陷入困境的標桿企業(yè)股票，并敦促美國人購買本國股票。

Doug Kass, general partner at the hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management and a former Berkshire shareholder, said the BNSF takeover could be a defining moment for the 79-year-old investor.

對沖基金Seabreeze Partners Management普通合伙人、伯克希爾哈撒韋公司前股東道格•卡斯(Doug Kass)表示，收購BNSF的交易可能是這位79歲投資者的決定性時刻。

“Considering the size, this could be Mr Buffet's coup de grace on the deal world. And it's going to take a while to absorb it. I think it's his last meaningful deal,” he said.

他表示：“從這筆交易的規(guī)?？矗@可能是巴菲特在交易界決定性的一擊。需要一段時間來消化。我認為這是他最后一筆有意義的交易。”

Mr Buffett said that he would steer clear of large deals for some time but added that, even after paying for BNSF, Berkshire would have more than $20bn in cash.

巴菲特表示，他將在一段時間內(nèi)避開大額交易，但補充表示，即使在購買了BNSF之后，伯克希爾仍將擁有200多億美元的現(xiàn)金。

英國《金融時報》弗朗西斯科•格雷拉(Francesco Guerrera)、賈斯廷•巴爾(Justin Baer)紐約、羅伯特•賴特(Robert Wright)倫敦報道