阿爾斯通收購案是法國的勝利?

It was a moment to savour for Arnaud Montebourg, France’s flamboyant economy minister who carries the torch for the interventionist left in President François Hollande’s Socialist government.

就在法國政府爲通用電氣(GE)收購阿爾斯通(Alstom)掃除障礙後，法國工業部長阿諾德•蒙特布赫(Arnaud Montebourg)宣佈，在與通用電氣的鬥爭中取得了勝利。

At a dramatic press conference relayed live on television, he proclaimed victory in his tussle with General Electric, titan of US industrial capitalism, over the terms of its takeover of much of the energy group Alstom, symbol of French engineering prowess.

蒙特布赫是在一場電視直播的記者招待會上作出這一聲明的。此前，法國政府與通用電氣圍繞對能源集團阿爾斯通的收購案展開了一場博弈。通用電氣是美國工業資本的巨頭，而阿爾斯通則是法國工程實力的象徵。

“It is a victory for Alstom, a success for France and undeniably a political success for the return in force of the state in the economy,” Mr Montebourg said.

對於蒙特布赫來說，這是值得回味的一幕。這位爲人張揚的部長，一直是法國總統弗朗索瓦•奧朗德(François Hollande)政府中，左傾“干預派”的代表人物。

For him, the key condition of the deal was for the state to become Alstom’s biggest shareholder, acquiring a 20 per cent stake. That will make the French government GE’s main partner in the three areas where GE and Alstom will have 50:50 joint ventures – in power grid operations, renewables and nuclear turbines, with the state holding an additional “golden share” in the latter.

蒙特布赫表示：“這是阿爾斯通的勝利，也是法國的勝利。無可否認的是，這還是政府對經濟影響力在政治上的成功迴歸。”

In the end, GE got most of what it really wanted, swallowing whole Alstom’s global coal and gas-fired turbine business. But for Mr Montebourg and the government, an important and longstanding principle of French industrial policy has been upheld: the central role of the state.

對他來說，該交易的一個關鍵條件是法國政府將收購阿爾斯通20%的股份，成爲阿爾斯通最大股東。這樣，在通用電氣和阿爾斯通將擁有對等股份的三家合資企業中（這三家企業的業務分別爲電網運作、可再生能源和核電汽輪機），法國政府將成爲通用電氣的主要合作方。此外，法國政府還在三家合資企業中持有額外的“黃金股”。

There were differences within the government over the Alstom case. Until the last, Mr Montebourg’s preference was for a rival bid he solicited from Siemens. the German group, which ultimately joined forces with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to propose a deal similar in structure to that eventually struck with GE.

最終，通用電氣實現了多數它希望實現的目標，吞併了阿爾斯通整個全球煤炭和燃氣渦輪業務。不過對蒙特布赫和法國政府來說，法國工業政策中一條重要而又長期持有的原則——法國政府的核心角色——得以遵循。

Mr Hollande was careful to remain neutral, his team clearly mindful of GE’s long record as a good corporate citizen in France.

法國政府內部在阿爾斯通收購案上也存在分歧。蒙特布赫直到最後一刻還傾向於他從德國集團西門子(Siemens)那裏獲得的要約。西門子集團聯合日本三菱重工(Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)提出了在股權結構上與通用最終達成的交易類似的收購要約。

But there were no arguments over the necessity to step in when news of Alstom’s original plan to make a clean sale of its energy business to GE leaked in April.

奧朗德則對此十分小心地保持中立，他的團隊明顯對通用電氣在法國作爲優良“企業公民”的記錄十分關注。

“It was perfectly natural for the government to intervene,” said a senior presidential aide, citing the strategic nature of Alstom’s operations, particularly in nuclear power. “Such a deal would have been impossible for a French company in the US,” he added.

不過，今年4月，就在阿爾斯通將能源部門完全出售給通用電氣的最初計劃被泄露之時，兩者對於法國政府出手干涉的必要性並無爭議。