10月初,我坐在曼哈頓市中心的《財(cái)富》雜志的辦公桌前,接到了卡爾·伊坎(Carl Icahn)的回電。他當(dāng)時(shí)正乘車前往總部,他公司的總部位于邁阿密北部一座俯瞰大西洋和比斯坎灣的辦公大樓。我打電話給伊坎是想問問關(guān)于伊坎企業(yè)(Icahn Enterprises)的一篇報(bào)道。伊坎企業(yè)是一家由對(duì)沖基金和工業(yè)控股公司組成的公司,他控制著該公司近90%的股份。當(dāng)埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)突然改變主意,終止了他對(duì)推特公司(Twitter)的收購(gòu)協(xié)議,然后又同意以每股54.20美元全價(jià)收購(gòu)?fù)铺毓?,這讓伊坎賺得盆滿缽滿。這一消息一出,推特股價(jià)從42美元反彈至52美元,而今年夏天的大部分時(shí)間推特股價(jià)都在35至40美元之間徘徊。
我問卡爾,你真的秘密持有5億美元的股份,然后在幾個(gè)月內(nèi)就賺了2.5億美元嗎?
“我不談?wù)撐覀兊牧?chǎng),但我不否認(rèn)這一點(diǎn)?!边@位億萬(wàn)富翁用他標(biāo)志性的布朗克斯口音回答道。“我們以36美元或37美元的價(jià)格購(gòu)買了大約5億美元的股份。對(duì)我來說,這是一種本能反應(yīng)。就像只見森林,不見樹木。你需要將分析減少到一兩件事。在這種情況下,這是顯而易見的?!睘槭裁催@么說?“從風(fēng)險(xiǎn)回報(bào)的角度來看,購(gòu)買推特公司股票看起來是一筆不錯(cuò)的交易。我們和一些律師談過了。特拉華州衡平法院在執(zhí)行合并合同方面非常強(qiáng)硬。我們認(rèn)為馬斯克的勝算很小?!焙?jiǎn)而言之,伊坎認(rèn)為獲得巨額收益的概率遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過了遭受損失的概率。
事實(shí)上,伊坎認(rèn)為,潛在的下行風(fēng)險(xiǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒有許多華爾街人士預(yù)測(cè)的那么糟糕。許多分析師和權(quán)威人士預(yù)測(cè),如果馬斯克獲勝,推特股價(jià)將跌至20-25美元的區(qū)間,并保持在這個(gè)水平。伊坎解釋說:“我認(rèn)為股價(jià)不會(huì)跌破35美元。即使下跌一段時(shí)間,我認(rèn)為它也會(huì)反彈到那個(gè)水平?!币量踩匀怀钟兴泄煞?,并預(yù)計(jì)馬斯克將以54.20美元的原價(jià)完成交易。
伊坎認(rèn)為,馬斯克一直都想收購(gòu)?fù)铺毓?。他說:“也許一些律師說服了他,他可以實(shí)現(xiàn)折扣收購(gòu)。他就像一個(gè)擁有1000萬(wàn)美元的人,非常想要一輛跑車,所以最后他不會(huì)為幾千塊錢討價(jià)還價(jià)。所以我認(rèn)為馬斯克只會(huì)說,'管它呢,我不會(huì)再抗?fàn)幜??!笔聦?shí)上,伊坎認(rèn)為,馬斯克會(huì)讓這個(gè)破敗的企業(yè)重新走向輝煌?!拔也徽J(rèn)識(shí)他,但他是個(gè)聰明人。這是一個(gè)出色的平臺(tái),雖然看起來不是這樣,但他想要這個(gè)平臺(tái)。我認(rèn)為他會(huì)取得成功的。這對(duì)他來說是一筆好交易?!?/p>
在華爾街,這是少數(shù)人的立場(chǎng)。但卡爾·伊坎是一眾聰明人中的佼佼者。他總結(jié)道,“如果世界上最富有的人想要什么,他通常都會(huì)得到?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
10月初,我坐在曼哈頓市中心的《財(cái)富》雜志的辦公桌前,接到了卡爾·伊坎(Carl Icahn)的回電。他當(dāng)時(shí)正乘車前往總部,他公司的總部位于邁阿密北部一座俯瞰大西洋和比斯坎灣的辦公大樓。我打電話給伊坎是想問問關(guān)于伊坎企業(yè)(Icahn Enterprises)的一篇報(bào)道。伊坎企業(yè)是一家由對(duì)沖基金和工業(yè)控股公司組成的公司,他控制著該公司近90%的股份。當(dāng)埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)突然改變主意,終止了他對(duì)推特公司(Twitter)的收購(gòu)協(xié)議,然后又同意以每股54.20美元全價(jià)收購(gòu)?fù)铺毓?,這讓伊坎賺得盆滿缽滿。這一消息一出,推特股價(jià)從42美元反彈至52美元,而今年夏天的大部分時(shí)間推特股價(jià)都在35至40美元之間徘徊。
我問卡爾,你真的秘密持有5億美元的股份,然后在幾個(gè)月內(nèi)就賺了2.5億美元嗎?
“我不談?wù)撐覀兊牧?chǎng),但我不否認(rèn)這一點(diǎn)。”這位億萬(wàn)富翁用他標(biāo)志性的布朗克斯口音回答道?!拔覀円?6美元或37美元的價(jià)格購(gòu)買了大約5億美元的股份。對(duì)我來說,這是一種本能反應(yīng)。就像只見森林,不見樹木。你需要將分析減少到一兩件事。在這種情況下,這是顯而易見的?!睘槭裁催@么說?“從風(fēng)險(xiǎn)回報(bào)的角度來看,購(gòu)買推特公司股票看起來是一筆不錯(cuò)的交易。我們和一些律師談過了。特拉華州衡平法院在執(zhí)行合并合同方面非常強(qiáng)硬。我們認(rèn)為馬斯克的勝算很小?!焙?jiǎn)而言之,伊坎認(rèn)為獲得巨額收益的概率遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過了遭受損失的概率。
事實(shí)上,伊坎認(rèn)為,潛在的下行風(fēng)險(xiǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒有許多華爾街人士預(yù)測(cè)的那么糟糕。許多分析師和權(quán)威人士預(yù)測(cè),如果馬斯克獲勝,推特股價(jià)將跌至20-25美元的區(qū)間,并保持在這個(gè)水平。伊坎解釋說:“我認(rèn)為股價(jià)不會(huì)跌破35美元。即使下跌一段時(shí)間,我認(rèn)為它也會(huì)反彈到那個(gè)水平?!币量踩匀怀钟兴泄煞?,并預(yù)計(jì)馬斯克將以54.20美元的原價(jià)完成交易。
伊坎認(rèn)為,馬斯克一直都想收購(gòu)?fù)铺毓?。他說:“也許一些律師說服了他,他可以實(shí)現(xiàn)折扣收購(gòu)。他就像一個(gè)擁有1000萬(wàn)美元的人,非常想要一輛跑車,所以最后他不會(huì)為幾千塊錢討價(jià)還價(jià)。所以我認(rèn)為馬斯克只會(huì)說,'管它呢,我不會(huì)再抗?fàn)幜??!笔聦?shí)上,伊坎認(rèn)為,馬斯克會(huì)讓這個(gè)破敗的企業(yè)重新走向輝煌?!拔也徽J(rèn)識(shí)他,但他是個(gè)聰明人。這是一個(gè)出色的平臺(tái),雖然看起來不是這樣,但他想要這個(gè)平臺(tái)。我認(rèn)為他會(huì)取得成功的。這對(duì)他來說是一筆好交易?!?/p>
在華爾街,這是少數(shù)人的立場(chǎng)。但卡爾·伊坎是一眾聰明人中的佼佼者。他總結(jié)道,“如果世界上最富有的人想要什么,他通常都會(huì)得到?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
Sitting at my Fortune desk in downtown Manhattan in early October, I got a call-back from Carl Icahn, who was traveling by car—Carl was being driven—to his headquarters in an office tower overlooking the Atlantic and Biscayne Bay north of Miami. I’d called Icahn to ask about the report that Icahn Enterprises, the combination hedge fund and industrial holding outfit where he controls almost 90% of the shares, scored a big win when Elon Musk did a sudden about-face by ending his campaign to scrap his agreement to buy Twitter, and agreeing to pay the full price of $54.20 a share. On that news, Twitter bounced from $42 to as high as $52, after spending most of the summer in the mid-to-high $30s.
So Carl, I asked, did you really take a secret stake of $500 million, and just garner a $250 million gain in a matter of months?
“I don’t talk about our positions, but I do not deny it,” replied the multi-billionaire in his trademark, Bronx-bred twang. “We bought about half a billion in shares at $36 or $37. For me, it was kind of an instinctive thing. It was like seeing the forest not just the trees. You want to reduce the analysis down to one or two things. In this case, it was obvious.” Why so? “On a risk-reward basis, buying the Twitter shares looked like a great deal. We talked to some lawyers. The Delaware Court of Chancery is very strong on enforcing merger contracts. We thought Musk had only a small chance of winning.” Put simply, Icahn saw that the probability of giant gains far outweighed the relatively remote chance of suffering a loss.
In fact, Icahn figured that the potential downside wasn’t nearly as bad as many on Wall Street predicted. A number of analysts and pundits forecast that if Musk won, Twitter would collapse into the mid-to-low $20s range, and stay here. “I didn’t think it would go much lower then the mid-$30s,” Icahn explains. “Even if it went lower for a while, I thought it would bounce back to that level.” Icahn is still holding all of his shares, and expects that Musk will close the deal a the original price of $54.20.
Icahn thinks that Musk wanted to buy Twitter all along. “Maybe some lawyers convinced him he could get a haircut,” he says. “He’s like a guy with $10 million who really wants a sports car, so in the end he doesn’t dicker over a few grand. So I think Musk just said, ‘To hell with it, I won’t fight this anymore.'” In fact, Icahn believes that Musk will transform the beaten-down property into a winner. “I don’t know him, but he’s a smart guy. It’s a great platform and though it didn’t look that way, he wanted it. I think he’ll be successful running it. It’s a great deal for him.”
On Wall Street, that’s the minority position. But Carl Icahn is the smartest of smart guys. And, he concluded, “If the richest man in the world wants something he’s generally going to get it.”