美菸草巨頭RJ雷諾謀求收購Lorillard

RJ Reynolds, the US Tobacco giant, is exploring a bid for its rival Lorillard in a deal that would shake up the industry at a time of plummeting smoking rates and the rise of electronic cigarettes.

美國菸草業巨頭RJ雷諾(RJ Reynolds)正在研究收購競爭對手Lorillard的可行性。在吸菸率大幅下降、電子煙逐漸流行之際，這樣一筆收購可能震撼全球菸草業。

The exact value of an RJR bid is not known, but any offer could value the company at more than $20bn, people familiar with the matter said. It is unclear if RJR is planning to bid for all of Lorillard, buy part of it, or seek a merger. No deal is certain, these people stressed.

知情人士表示，RJ雷諾的確切出價尚不清楚，但Lorillard至少值200億美元。目前尚不清楚RJ雷諾計劃全面還是部分收購Lorillard，抑或是謀求合併。知情人士強調，交易會不會發生都還是個未知數。

Lorillard, which makes brands including Maverick, Old Gold and Kent, has a market value of $18.7bn and was an early mover into e-cigarettes, buying the Blu brand in 2012 for $135m. Analysts estimate e-cigarette sales reached $2bn last year, three times 2012’s figure.

Lorillard目前市值爲187億美元，旗下擁有Maverick、Old Gold和健牌(Kent)等品牌。該公司也是向電子煙轉型的先行者，在2012年以1.35億美元的價格收購了Blu品牌。據分析師估計，該公司去年的電子煙銷售額達到了20億美元，是2012年的3倍。

More than 80 per cent of Lorillard’s sales come from the Newport brand of menthol cigarettes, which have bucked a long-term decline in US smoking rates. The wider US cigarette market, with annual sales of $90bn, has been shrinking at a rate of 3 per cent a year.

Lorillard的銷售額有逾80%來自旗下新港(Newport)牌薄荷煙。美國的吸菸率長期以來呈下跌趨勢，但薄荷煙是個例外。整體而言，年銷售額900億美元的美國菸草市場，近年來一直以3%的速度逐年縮減。

Founded in New York in 1760, Lorillard controlled 11.7 per cent of the North American tobacco market in 2012, according to Euromonitor, compared with RJR’s 25 per cent and Altria’s 41.5 per cent.

Lorillard於1760年在紐約成立。歐睿(Euromonitor)數據顯示，2012年，該公司佔據北美菸草市場11.7%的份額，而RJ雷諾和奧馳亞(Altria)分別佔據25%和41.5%的市場份額。

RJR, which produces Camel, Pall Mall and Kool cigarettes, has appointed Lazard, the investment bank, to explore the deal, according to people familiar with the situation. None of the parties involved were immediately available for comment.

知情人士表示，RJ雷諾已任命投行瑞德(Lazard)爲該交易作評估。記者無法立即聯繫到交易相關的任何一方置評。RJ雷諾旗下擁有駱駝(Camel)、Pall Mall和Kool等香菸品牌。

The deal would see British American Tobacco taking a major role, as the UK group – which has a far smaller US market share – owns 42 per cent of RJR.

持有RJ雷諾42%股份的英美菸草公司(British American Tobacco)將在這次交易中起到舉足輕重的作用。該集團總部在英國，在美國的市場份額要小得多。

BAT took its stake in RJR almost a decade ago. A standstill agreement preventing a hostile takeover by the UK group comes to an end in July.

英美菸草公司入股RJ雷諾已近10年。一項旨在防止英美菸草公司敵意收購的停頓協議(standstill agreement)將於7月到期。

Lorillard shares were up 4.5 per cent to $51.27 in midday New York trading. Bonnie Herzog, an analyst with Wells Fargo Securities, said a “fair” price for RJR to offer could be “much higher” than $60.

週一紐約正午時分，Lorillard股價上漲4.5%，報每股51.27美元。富國證券(Wells Fargo Securities)分析師邦尼•赫爾佐克(Bonnie Herzog)表示，一個“公允”的出價可能“大大高於”每股60美元。

However, she raised questions about how RJR would finance such a move, saying it could be structured as merger, or BAT could help finance a takeover.

然而，她懷疑RJ雷諾有足夠資金來收購Lorillard，稱交易更可能採取兩家合併的形式，或英美菸草集團可能爲收購提供資金。

Additional reporting by Shannon Bond in New York

香農•邦德(Shannon Bond)紐約補充報道