邁克?戴爾：要么開口，要么下課
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????自從戴爾公司（Dell）1月宣布它將接受公司創始人兼首席執行官邁克?戴爾244億美元的收購要約后，很多人已就此事發表了高見。公司兩個最大的外部股東已站出來反對該收購，稱每股13.65美元的價格“與合理價格相去太遠”。一些沒有介入此事的私募股權公司高管則對小股東銀湖合伙基金（Silver Lake Partners）幫助達成此項交易贊譽有加，并預測它將幫助江河日下的戴爾重振旗鼓。 ????但在一片紛擾中，唯一的一位我們很少聽到聲音的人卻是邁克?戴爾本人。除了在官方聲明中做過一些靦腆的表態外，這位公司的首席執行官早已淡出了公眾視線。這種狀況亟需改變。 ????邁克?戴爾應該向股東作出解釋，為什么長期來看，如果本次收購被拒，戴爾的股票不會高于每股13.65美元。同時，最重要的一點是，他應該向大家說明，為什么戴爾成為一家私有公司后，它的股價最終會超過13.65美元（這是邁克?戴爾必須堅信的一點，除非他是有史以來第一個費勁九牛二虎之力，只是要把公司做得不賺不賠的收購者）。 ????通常一家公司被私有化后，管理層往往會發生變動。但在這樁交易中不會發生這種情況，因為銀湖合伙基金就算想趕走邁克?戴爾（另一家原本打算出價的公司就是因此才望而卻步），它也沒有這樣的實力。 ????所以不管怎么說，邁克?戴爾還是執掌大局的人。私有化之后，上市公司所不能做的哪些事情就可以開綠燈了呢？ ????這是一個非常嚴肅的問題。因為從理論觀點看，這個問題的答案似乎是絕不能為所欲為。許多上市公司的首席執行官會制定長期戰略規劃，并告訴華爾街，他們有信心達成市場的季度預期。比如亞馬遜公司（Amazon）的杰夫?貝索斯和彭尼公司（J.C. Penney）的羅恩?約翰遜。實際上，法律規定，上市公司不得發布季報指南，也不能召開分析師電話會議。對這類公司的首席執行官來說，如果他們能把時間更好地用在如何管好業務上，也就不需要經常和對沖基金或共同基金經理碰頭。 ????再者，戴爾的財務業績還是屬于上市公司范疇——這是該公司積累的可交易債券的副產品。邁克?戴爾還對董事會表示，不管是哪家私募基金公司，只要愿意出最高價，他就愿意與之合作。所以，現在對他來說，要說明為什么最后選了銀湖也是個難題。 ????也有人認為，邁克?戴爾之所以想把戴爾私有化，與其說和戰略有關，不如說和他的個性有關。他的臉皮比貝索斯和約翰遜都薄，所以在上市公司里沒法如魚得水。 |
????Ever since Dell Inc. announced in January that it had accepted a $24.4 billion buyout offer from founder and CEO Michael Dell, plenty of people have voiced their opinions. The company's two largest outside shareholders have come out in opposition, calling the $13.65 per share price "completely out of proportion to what's reasonable." Some uninvolved private equity executives have lauded minority investor Silver Lake Partners for helping to put the deal together, and predicted that it will help revive the company's flagging fortunes. ????The one person we really haven't heard much from, however, is Michael Dell himself. Save for a few milquetoast statements in the official announcement, the company's CEO has been absent from the public eye. This needs to change. ????Michael Dell should explain to shareholders why Dell (DELL) stock won't be worth more than $13.65 per share, in the long term, if the buyout offer is rejected. And, part and parcel, he should explain why Dell stock eventually will be worth more than $13.65 per share as a private company (something Michael Dell must believe, unless he is the first acquirer in history who strives to break even). ????Often when a company is taken private, the transition is accompanied by a management change. But that won't be the case here, as Silver Lake Partners wouldn't have enough clout to fire Michael Dell if it wanted to (something that scared off another potential bidder). ????So Michael Dell is in charge either way. What will being private enable him to do that being public precludes? ????This is a very serious question because, from a theoretical perspective, the answer would seem to be nothing. Plenty of public company CEOs set out long-term strategic plans, and tell Wall Street that they do not worry much about meeting quarterly expectations. Examples include Jeff Bezos of Amazon (AMZN) and Ron Johnson of J.C. Penney (JCP). In fact, public companies aren't even legally required to issue quarterly guidance or hold analyst calls. And their CEOs needn't meet regularly with hedge fund or mutual fund managers, if their time could be better spent running the business. ????Moreover, Dell's financial results will remain in the public domain – a byproduct of all of the tradable debt it is accumulating. Michael Dell also told Dell's board that he would partner with whatever private equity firm was willing to pay the highest price, so it would be difficult for him to argue that the differentiator is Silver Lake. ????Some have suggested that Michael Dell's desire to take Dell private is more about personality than it is about strategy. His skin is thinner than that of a Bezos or Johnson, and thus cannot perform as effectively in a public company. |
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