煙草在線據(jù)《獨(dú)立報(bào)》報(bào)道編譯　　目前，關(guān)于帝國(guó)煙草被收購(gòu)的傳聞還未平息。生產(chǎn)包括Lambert & Butler品牌在內(nèi)的這家卷煙制造商，在2月16日其股價(jià)再次創(chuàng)下了一個(gè)新的空前高點(diǎn)后，表明其獨(dú)立的日子可能屈指可數(shù)了。

　　猜測(cè)已經(jīng)盛傳一段時(shí)間了——目前主導(dǎo)歐洲市場(chǎng)的4家公司——作為其中最小的一個(gè)，帝國(guó)煙草是最有可能被收購(gòu)的。2月16日，這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)被德意志銀行的Jonathan Fell重新提起，他認(rèn)為合并是“非常有意義的”。

　　“我們認(rèn)為對(duì)英美煙草和日本煙草來(lái)說(shuō)，通過(guò)增加它們的規(guī)模，提高它們?cè)跉W洲的利潤(rùn)率是有意義的，”分析師稱，并指出它們?cè)谠摰貐^(qū)的利潤(rùn)顯著低于帝國(guó)煙草的。

　　一個(gè)問(wèn)題是，任何交易都有可能引發(fā)重大競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的擔(dān)憂，Fell先生認(rèn)為，盡管一家重組者能自己清除重整障礙，但是更可能是“兩個(gè)（或兩個(gè)以上）公司首先組團(tuán)達(dá)成分割帝國(guó)資產(chǎn)的協(xié)議，然后才投標(biāo)?！?/p>

　　他還提到了中國(guó)感興趣的可能性，他說(shuō)：“如果中國(guó)公司真的想?yún)⑴c國(guó)際卷煙市場(chǎng)的話，我們認(rèn)為并購(gòu)可能是它們唯一的選擇。”

　　然而，分析師非常謹(jǐn)慎，補(bǔ)充說(shuō)他“認(rèn)為不會(huì)馬上進(jìn)行招標(biāo)，”目前該地區(qū)的經(jīng)濟(jì)不穩(wěn)定——“收購(gòu)方可能覺(jué)得這并不是在歐盟進(jìn)行大型收購(gòu)的理想時(shí)間。”

　　盡管如此，帝國(guó)煙草的股價(jià)提高了43便士，提高到了2492便士，因?yàn)榻灰渍呗暦Q它得到了防御品質(zhì)的推動(dòng)，而英美煙草的股價(jià)僅提高了3便士，提升至3148便士。

Market Report: Imperial Tobacco shares light up on takeover talk

Independent
Feb 17, 2012

　　There's no stubbing out the takeover talk around Imperial Tobacco at the moment. The cigarette manufacturer, whose brands include Lambert & Butler, set a new, all-time high last night, after its share price once again lit up on suggestions its days of independence might be numbered.

　　Speculation has been rife for a while now that – with four companies currently dominating the European market – as the smallest of the bunch, Imperial was the most likely to be taken out. The idea was revived again yesterday by Deutsche Bank's Jonathan Fell after he argued that consolidation "makes powerful sense".

　　"We believe that it would make a lot of sense for both British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco to boost their profitability in the EU via an increase in their scale," said the analyst, pointing out that their margins in the region are significantly lower than Imperial's.

　　One issue is that any deal would be likely to provoke major competition concerns, and Mr Fell argued that while a suitor acting on its own could make disposals to clear this hurdle, it was more likely that "two (or more) companies would team-up first to agree a split of Imperial's assets before making a bid".

　　He also cited the possibility of interest from China, saying that "if Chinese companies ever want serious exposure to international cigarette markets we think M&A may be their only option".

　　However, the analyst did urge some caution, adding he was "not arguing that a bid has to be imminent" and that – with the region hardly the most stable place economically at the moment – "acquirers may feel that this is not the ideal time to make a large EU acquisition".

　　Nonetheless, Imperial climbed 43p to 2,492p as traders claimed it was also being helped by its defensive qualities, although British American Tobacco could only creep up 3p to 3,148p.