往事揭秘:巴菲特拯救哈雷戴維森
????外界對(duì)沃倫?巴菲特高超投資技藝偶爾冒出來(lái)的懷疑情緒本周再度消散無(wú)蹤,這次是因?yàn)樵谒忻绹?guó)企業(yè)當(dāng)中具有標(biāo)志性意義的密爾沃基摩托車(chē)制造商哈雷戴維森公司(Harley-Davidson, Inc.)。 ????美國(guó)中西部地區(qū)的這兩家著名實(shí)體,也就是巴菲特位于奧馬哈的伯克希爾哈撒韋公司(Berkshire Hathaway)和哈雷戴維森公司,五年前達(dá)成的一筆交易向這家摩托車(chē)制造商注資了3.03億美元,以期在信貸市場(chǎng)和美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)同時(shí)衰退的情況下幫助后者繼續(xù)能夠向購(gòu)買(mǎi)者和經(jīng)銷商提供貸款。當(dāng)時(shí),這筆資金的借貸利率是:15%。 ????本周,哈雷戴維森公司首席財(cái)務(wù)官約翰?奧林在宣布公司第一季度財(cái)報(bào)的電話會(huì)議期間透露,公司今年2月份已經(jīng)償還了這筆貸款。 ????奧林表示,公司當(dāng)初之所以借這筆高息貸款,目的是為了協(xié)助購(gòu)買(mǎi)者進(jìn)行融資,同時(shí)確保公司生產(chǎn)線和經(jīng)銷商繼續(xù)順暢運(yùn)營(yíng)。他說(shuō),貸款是當(dāng)時(shí)唯一的辦法。這樣,二十世紀(jì)之交之后不久在威斯康辛州成立的這家公司既能借到錢(qián),同時(shí)又能保持所有權(quán)不變。 ????奧林說(shuō):“它是讓我們渡過(guò)一段艱難時(shí)期所需要的過(guò)橋貸款。”2007年至2009年期間,由于消費(fèi)者用于購(gòu)買(mǎi)摩托車(chē)、甚至汽油的可支配收入大幅減少,哈雷的經(jīng)典摩托車(chē)(以其叛逆的‘重量級(jí)’摩托車(chē)騎手形象而著稱)銷量大幅下滑,在美國(guó)市場(chǎng)的跌幅更是高達(dá)50%。 ????隨著這家公司開(kāi)始從幾近深淵的谷底爬出來(lái),它曾經(jīng)希望提前償還名下的高息貸款。但據(jù)哈雷戴維森公司透露,伯克希爾哈撒韋公司很難討價(jià)還價(jià),咬定利潤(rùn)豐厚的五年期貸款條款不放。這也難怪,因?yàn)檫@筆貸款為巴菲特賺到了數(shù)以百萬(wàn)美元計(jì)的利息收入。此前,他在2008年秋季美國(guó)金融體系搖搖欲墜之際在高盛集團(tuán)(Goldman Sachs)股票上投資的五十億美元巨資已經(jīng)為他帶來(lái)了一筆意外之財(cái)。 ????巴菲特給高盛集團(tuán)的這筆貸款的利率為10%,而且,和哈雷那筆貸款一樣,當(dāng)時(shí)也是這家投資銀行面臨緊要關(guān)頭的時(shí)候。高盛在支付了大約五億美元的利息之后,于2011年償還了這筆貸款。 ????雖然對(duì)于伯克希爾哈撒韋公司而言,向哈雷戴維森提供的這筆貸款利潤(rùn)同樣非常豐厚,但它引起的公眾關(guān)注程度遠(yuǎn)低于向高盛提供的那筆貸款,因?yàn)楹笳呔砣肓艘粯吨匾膬?nèi)幕交易訴訟。檢方在那起官司中指控前高盛董事會(huì)成員拉賈特?古普塔在伯克希爾向這家投行注資的消息公諸于眾之前就暗中把消息透露給了對(duì)沖基金基金創(chuàng)始人拉吉?拉賈拉特南,幫助后者獲利一百萬(wàn)美元。 ????伯克希爾哈撒韋公司還在可口可樂(lè)(Coca-Cola)等美國(guó)其他知名品牌持有股份,而且總是能獲得良好的還款條件。2009年,伯克希爾哈撒韋公司向這家陷入困境的摩托車(chē)制造商投資了3億美元。與此同時(shí),哈雷戴維森的最大股東戴維斯精選顧問(wèn)公司(Davis Selected Advisers LP)也向它投入了三億美元的無(wú)抵押貸款。 ????盡管經(jīng)歷了20世紀(jì)30年代經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條以來(lái)美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的波折和起伏,而且在20世紀(jì)70、80年代遭到了日本摩托車(chē)制造商的沖擊,但是哈雷戴維森去年仍然以實(shí)現(xiàn)業(yè)績(jī)?cè)鲩L(zhǎng)的態(tài)勢(shì)迎來(lái)了自己成立110周年的紀(jì)念日。 ????這家公司的標(biāo)志性的地位似乎依然完好無(wú)損。去年,為了慶祝周年紀(jì)念日,公司創(chuàng)始人的孫子曾經(jīng)向教皇弗朗西斯贈(zèng)送了一輛2013年款的哈雷戴維森摩托車(chē),這輛摩托車(chē)最近在巴黎的一場(chǎng)拍賣(mài)會(huì)上以32.7萬(wàn)美元的成交價(jià)賣(mài)出。這款摩托車(chē)的正常價(jià)格約為1.6萬(wàn)美元。 ????哈雷在最近的盈利報(bào)告中表示,2014年第一季度這家公司在全球范圍內(nèi)已經(jīng)售出了57,415輛摩托車(chē),同比增長(zhǎng)了5.8%。這個(gè)銷售業(yè)績(jī)促使這家公司的營(yíng)收同比增長(zhǎng)了10%,而盈利同比增長(zhǎng)了22%。 ????增長(zhǎng)中的大部分來(lái)自于海外銷售,這部分銷售額比上一年增長(zhǎng)了10.9%。這家公司習(xí)慣于向中年男性推銷產(chǎn)品,但隨著它向女性、非裔美國(guó)人和西裔消費(fèi)者發(fā)動(dòng)推銷攻勢(shì),美國(guó)市場(chǎng)的銷售額同比增長(zhǎng)了3%。 ????此外,這家公司還推出了一系列與其復(fù)古風(fēng)格相吻合的新款摩托車(chē)型,從而也爭(zhēng)取到了購(gòu)買(mǎi)者。沉寂了五年之后,這家公司向市場(chǎng)再度推出了Low Rider摩托車(chē)型(它是1977年推出的原型Low Rider摩托車(chē)的改裝車(chē)型)以及其他幾款用于城市騎行和長(zhǎng)途旅行的摩托車(chē)型。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)) ????譯者:iDo98 |
????The occasional doubts that crop up over Warren Buffett's investment prowess were laid to rest this week -- again -- by, of all companies, Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG), the iconic Milwaukee motorcycle maker. ????A business deal struck five years ago between the two renowned Midwestern entities -- Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), in Omaha, and Harley-Davidson -- infused $303 million into the motorcycle maker to help keep loans available to purchasers and dealers as credit markets sank along with the economy. The interest rate: 15%. ????Harley-Davidson paid back the loan in February, said chief financial officer John Olin during a conference call this week announcing its first-quarter earnings. ????The company took the high-interest loan, Olin said, to help finance buyers and keep its production lines and dealerships operating. It was the only way, he said. This way, the company -- which was founded in Wisconsin just after the turn of the 20th century -- could borrow money and, at the same time, keep its ownership intact. ????"It was the bridge we needed to get us through a rough time," Olin said. Between 2007 and 2009, sales of Harley's classic motorcycles -- celebrated for their heavyweight, outlaw biker image -- plummeted, down as much as 50% in the United States, as people had far less disposable income for purchases, or even for gasoline. ????As the company began to climb back from the near-abyss, it wanted to repay its high-interest loan ahead of schedule, but Berkshire Hathaway struck a harder bargain, sticking with the handsome five-year loan terms, according to Harley-Davidson. No wonder, as the loan earned millions for Buffett, who already had chalked up a stellar windfall by investing a whopping $5 billion in shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) as the financial system teetered in the fall of 2008. ????That loan had a 10% interest rate, and, like the Harley loan, came at a key time for the investment bank, which repaid the loan in 2011 -- after paying about $500 million in interest. ????While the loan to Harley-Davidson was also highly lucrative for Berkshire Hathaway, it drew much less attention than the one issued to Goldman Sachs, which became part of a key insider trading trial in which prosecutors accused former Goldman board member Rajat Gupta of helping hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam make $1 million by tipping him off to the Berkshire infusion before it became public. ????Berkshire Hathaway -- which has taken stakes in other noted American brands like Coca-Cola (KO), and always on good repayment terms -- invested $300 million in the troubled chopper manufacturer in 2009. At the same time, Davis Selected Advisers LP, Harley-Davidson's biggest shareholder, also sank $300 million in unsecured loans into the company. ????Despite twists and economic downturns as far back as the Great Depression of the 1930s, and then the onslaught from Japanese motorcycle makers in the 1970s and 1980s, Harley-Davidson celebrated its 110th anniversary last year -- on the upswing. ????Its iconic status seems to be intact. A 2013 Harley-Davidson given to Pope Francis last year by a grandson of the company's founder to mark the company's anniversary was sold recently for $327,000 at a Paris auction. Its regular price tag: around $16,000. ????In its most recent earnings report, Harley said that it sold 57,415 motorcycles worldwide during the first quarter of 2014, a 5.8% increase over the same quarter last year. This boosted total company revenue by 10%, with earnings up by 22%. ????Much of the growth came from international sales, which increased 10.9% over the prior year. Sales in the United States grew by 3% as the company, accustomed to marketing to middle-aged men, made inroads among women, African-American, and Hispanic consumers. ????The company also won over buyers by releasing new models that dovetail with its reputation for retro styling. After a five-year hiatus, it brought back the Low Rider -- a remake of the original first introduced in 1977 -- and other models for urban riding and long-distance touring. |