飛兆半導體拒絕中企26億美元收購要約

China's appetite for US assets was stifled on Tuesday after Fairchild Semiconductor turned down a $2.6bn bid from Chinese state-backed enterprises over fears that the deal would be blocked by US regulators.

週二，中國對美國資產的濃厚興趣被澆了一盆冷水，飛兆半導體（Fairchild Semiconductor，亦稱“仙童半導體”；當前半導體行業巨擘英特爾(Intel)、AMD等的創始人均出身此公司——譯者注）拒絕了中國政府背景企業發出的26億美元的收購要約，原因是擔心會受到美國監管機構的阻撓。

The California-based company chose an offer by US rival ON Semiconductor instead of a higher bid by China Resources and Hua Capital, highlighting the difficulties for Chinese groups in securing sensitive assets in America.

總部位於加利福尼亞州的飛兆選擇接受美國競爭對手安森美半導體(ON Semiconductor)發出的收購要約，而不是由華潤(China Resources)和華創投資(Hua Capital)發出的開價更高的收購要約，這一事實凸顯出中國企業在美收購敏感資產面臨的困難。

ON Semiconductor agreed to acquire Fairchild for $20 per share in cash, while the Chinese consortium countered with $21.70 per share in cash.

安森美同意以每股20美元全現金收購飛兆，而上述中國財團的還價是每股21.70美元全現金收購。

Fairchild's decision may unsettle ChemChina, which has agreed to buy Swiss agribusiness company Syngenta for $44bn, marking China's largest overseas takeover in history.

飛兆的決定也許會令中國化工(ChemChina)感到不安。後者已同意以440億美元收購瑞士農業企業先正達(Syngenta)，這是有史以來最大手筆的中資海外收購。

The Chinese chemicals group has been trying to reassure politicians in Washington that the acquisition of Syngenta, which has a presence in the US, poses no risks to national security.

這家中國化工集團一直在努力說服華盛頓的政客相信，其對先正達的收購不會對美國造成國家安全方面的風險。先正達在美國有業務。

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, last month blocked a $3.1bn sale of a lighting unit from Philips, the Dutch conglomerate, to a Chinese consortium due to “unforeseen concerns”.

上個月，美國外國投資委員會(Committee on Foreign Investment)以“預想不到的擔憂”爲由，封殺了荷蘭集團飛利浦(Philips)將旗下照明部門以31億美元賣給一家中國財團的交易。

Last year, a planned $23bn bid for chipmaker Micron by Tsinghua Unigroup, the Chinese state-owned semiconductor business, was aborted partly because it had little confidence it could complete the deal.

去年，中國國有半導體企業清華紫光(Tsinghua Unigroup)以230億美元收購芯片製造商美光(Micron)的計劃夭折，部分原因在於紫光對自己能夠完成這宗交易沒有什麼信心。

"Chinese companies are desperately trying to buy assets outside of their home market but they are aware that the US isn't the easiest place to get deals approved," said a senior banker in New York.

紐約一名資深銀行家表示：“中國企業正竭盡全力在海外市場收購資產，但他們知道，要讓交易在美國交易獲批可不那麼容易。”

However, another banker said that CFIUS’s tough stance on Chinese takeovers would not prove a deterrent for Beijing-backed buyers.

不過，另一名銀行家表示，美國外國投資委員會對中資收購交易的強硬立場，不會對中國政府背景的買家起到嚇阻作用。

"They will keep on trying... have a mandate to buy foreign assets and they will keep finding ways in," said an adviser who works with Chinese buyers.

一名與中國買家合作的顧問表示：“他們會繼續努力……收購海外資產是他們的一項任務，他們會繼續想方設法去辦。”

So far this year, four of the five biggest cross-border deals have involved Chinese groups bidding for US and European assets worth $61.7bn in total.

今年到目前爲止，規模最大的5宗跨境併購交易中，有4宗涉及中國企業競購美國和歐洲資產，交易總價值爲617億美元。