金闲评
Friday, September 28, 2007
Navis Capital finds a tough hunting ground in China
By William Barnes
Published: September 24 2007, FT
Navis Capital expected to find a company to buy in China, but try as it might it could not unearth one - it is still looking.
Richard Foyston, managing director and a founder of the Kuala Lumpur-based private equity firm, says: "We like control. We like to invest in industries we understand or think we understand. For us China is difficult. There must be opportunities there but we haven't found one yet."
Navis was started by three Boston Consulting Group partners with, currently, $1.8bn (€1.2bn, £900m) of commitments. It made its first investments in 2000 with clear if slightly idiosyncratic ideas about how private equity might work in Asia.
Asset prices are higher in China and most companies are looking for funding, without loss of control, which does not suit Navis. But more than that there is a cultural divide for foreign experts schooled in a tradition of gritty Boston Consulting type logic.
"We like managers who have some years operating the business, with at least a knowledge of the same things we look at, even if it's in an unsophisticated way - return on capital, shareholder governance, the [simple] structures we like," says Mr Foyston. "Most companies [in China] don't fit these criteria. We don't understand their management very well; they don't understand us very well. There are lots of ways for things not to go as planned.
"We believe in the China story and if we really focused I'm sure we could findsomething. Many of our companies doa lot of business with China, but we're not kidding anyone, if you want to investin China go to a China fund," he adds.
Japan and Korea pose somewhat different problems than China. Their typically "gigantic, complicated" businesses are simply too big, too tricky for a company that is too small to acquire control of industry leaders and, therefore, can have no logical role to play there.
A putative management relationship also has to work at the emotional and personal level. "We have to be able to understand a market and have a high level of ability to interact [with other players]. That means it must be possible to use English in the boardroom and to be at least half-way accepted by the people you work with," says Mr Foyston.
You may be respected in Japan and Korea, but no matter how long you remain in either country you will always be seen as the foreigner, he adds. In south east Asia - lately overshadowed by booming China and India - you stand a good chance of being treated as at least "half local".
The idea of remaining an "explorer" after a dozen years in Asia seemed extremely interesting to Mr Foyston when he began to feel that his work with Boston Consulting had inclined to the "farming and administration" side of consultancy. The 1997 regional crash stripped away overpriced assets to provide Navis with its opening.
"I like to build businesses and south east Asia was ripe for a certain type of investing. We are very analytical. You live and die on logic and facts. We have a very flat management structure and I hope it will stay that way. People should be well rewarded but no one should work at Navis for the money. Boston Consulting always believed that too," he says.
The first fund was set up with contributions from 40 BCG partners (although no direct relationship exists).
Eight years on the company has closed its fifth private equity fund at $1bn and its managers have expanded from three to 35. On the way it has acquired interests as various as Australia's Dome Coffees, Bangkok Ranch - a duck business, bookshop chains, River Kwai foods (60 per cent of Thailand's canned sweet corn), building materials, packaging, and Cemex Asia (part of the Mexican cement giant).
Navis feels uncomfortable taking on much leverage, but expects to spend lots of time with its acquisitions. The focus is on the business rather than on the finance, which probably makes investment bankers snigger, Mr Foyston concedes. "We act more like a consultancy than an investment company," he says.
Among its 30-odd investments is Asia's leading private investigation firm, Hill & Associates. "We liked it because it is a leader in its field going through a period of transition. We thought it could be made much more profitable with relatively modest improvements."
The firm is willing to wait months, even years, for a deal to come to fruition, unlike the "Hong Kong outfits who come over for a few days and then expect to have everything tied up by the lawyers". Yet, because Navis does not like to be involved with government in any way - for example, heavily regulated, quasi-private or crony companies - its corporate universe in south-east Asia is relatively limited. This helps explain the move into India four years ago.
"We looked at the economies, deal flow, management structures and concluded that India would suit us, but that China wouldn't. That India would have a far better fit with our approach than China. We've seen [in pre-Navis days] all the positives of the China story, but we also realise how different things are in China."
The firm's Indian portfolio now includes a specialist aviation catering firm and two "iconic" restaurant chains that needed reviving in New Delhi and Mumbai, respectively.
Mr Foyston's teams do not have much time for the big picture wealth flows beloved of some fund managers and economists.
"We don't invest in macro themes. In fact I'm not sure we believe in them too much. We've tried to debunk the Asian consumer boom a little - in percentage GDP terms consumption has hardly changed in 20 years. The real key is to know where that fixed spend is moving to so, for example, there comes a tipping point when everyone can afford a car."
Mr Foyston converted to Islam several years ago, along with one other senior partner, which helped when Navis decided to set up two Sharia compliant parallel funds after requests from Gulf investors. Some 15 per cent of capital commitments are screened for Sharia compliance (low debt, non-injurious, no forbidden foods, etc). A much bigger percentage might be difficult.
More controversial among Navis's investors was the decision to set up an equity fund. "We had complaints about losing focus. We did it because we came across lots of companies we liked but that are listed." The equity fund runs to about $100m and could grow to about a third of the size of the private equity funds, says Mr Foyston.
Navis has not set itself a limit on how big it can get. It will however remain cautious and, almost certainly, located in its current geographic region. Mr Foyston says: "We are much more likely to expand into other asset classes than into other parts of the world. We are comfortable here."
Published: September 24 2007, FT
Navis Capital expected to find a company to buy in China, but try as it might it could not unearth one - it is still looking.
Richard Foyston, managing director and a founder of the Kuala Lumpur-based private equity firm, says: "We like control. We like to invest in industries we understand or think we understand. For us China is difficult. There must be opportunities there but we haven't found one yet."
Navis was started by three Boston Consulting Group partners with, currently, $1.8bn (€1.2bn, £900m) of commitments. It made its first investments in 2000 with clear if slightly idiosyncratic ideas about how private equity might work in Asia.
Asset prices are higher in China and most companies are looking for funding, without loss of control, which does not suit Navis. But more than that there is a cultural divide for foreign experts schooled in a tradition of gritty Boston Consulting type logic.
"We like managers who have some years operating the business, with at least a knowledge of the same things we look at, even if it's in an unsophisticated way - return on capital, shareholder governance, the [simple] structures we like," says Mr Foyston. "Most companies [in China] don't fit these criteria. We don't understand their management very well; they don't understand us very well. There are lots of ways for things not to go as planned.
"We believe in the China story and if we really focused I'm sure we could findsomething. Many of our companies doa lot of business with China, but we're not kidding anyone, if you want to investin China go to a China fund," he adds.
Japan and Korea pose somewhat different problems than China. Their typically "gigantic, complicated" businesses are simply too big, too tricky for a company that is too small to acquire control of industry leaders and, therefore, can have no logical role to play there.
A putative management relationship also has to work at the emotional and personal level. "We have to be able to understand a market and have a high level of ability to interact [with other players]. That means it must be possible to use English in the boardroom and to be at least half-way accepted by the people you work with," says Mr Foyston.
You may be respected in Japan and Korea, but no matter how long you remain in either country you will always be seen as the foreigner, he adds. In south east Asia - lately overshadowed by booming China and India - you stand a good chance of being treated as at least "half local".
The idea of remaining an "explorer" after a dozen years in Asia seemed extremely interesting to Mr Foyston when he began to feel that his work with Boston Consulting had inclined to the "farming and administration" side of consultancy. The 1997 regional crash stripped away overpriced assets to provide Navis with its opening.
"I like to build businesses and south east Asia was ripe for a certain type of investing. We are very analytical. You live and die on logic and facts. We have a very flat management structure and I hope it will stay that way. People should be well rewarded but no one should work at Navis for the money. Boston Consulting always believed that too," he says.
The first fund was set up with contributions from 40 BCG partners (although no direct relationship exists).
Eight years on the company has closed its fifth private equity fund at $1bn and its managers have expanded from three to 35. On the way it has acquired interests as various as Australia's Dome Coffees, Bangkok Ranch - a duck business, bookshop chains, River Kwai foods (60 per cent of Thailand's canned sweet corn), building materials, packaging, and Cemex Asia (part of the Mexican cement giant).
Navis feels uncomfortable taking on much leverage, but expects to spend lots of time with its acquisitions. The focus is on the business rather than on the finance, which probably makes investment bankers snigger, Mr Foyston concedes. "We act more like a consultancy than an investment company," he says.
Among its 30-odd investments is Asia's leading private investigation firm, Hill & Associates. "We liked it because it is a leader in its field going through a period of transition. We thought it could be made much more profitable with relatively modest improvements."
The firm is willing to wait months, even years, for a deal to come to fruition, unlike the "Hong Kong outfits who come over for a few days and then expect to have everything tied up by the lawyers". Yet, because Navis does not like to be involved with government in any way - for example, heavily regulated, quasi-private or crony companies - its corporate universe in south-east Asia is relatively limited. This helps explain the move into India four years ago.
"We looked at the economies, deal flow, management structures and concluded that India would suit us, but that China wouldn't. That India would have a far better fit with our approach than China. We've seen [in pre-Navis days] all the positives of the China story, but we also realise how different things are in China."
The firm's Indian portfolio now includes a specialist aviation catering firm and two "iconic" restaurant chains that needed reviving in New Delhi and Mumbai, respectively.
Mr Foyston's teams do not have much time for the big picture wealth flows beloved of some fund managers and economists.
"We don't invest in macro themes. In fact I'm not sure we believe in them too much. We've tried to debunk the Asian consumer boom a little - in percentage GDP terms consumption has hardly changed in 20 years. The real key is to know where that fixed spend is moving to so, for example, there comes a tipping point when everyone can afford a car."
Mr Foyston converted to Islam several years ago, along with one other senior partner, which helped when Navis decided to set up two Sharia compliant parallel funds after requests from Gulf investors. Some 15 per cent of capital commitments are screened for Sharia compliance (low debt, non-injurious, no forbidden foods, etc). A much bigger percentage might be difficult.
More controversial among Navis's investors was the decision to set up an equity fund. "We had complaints about losing focus. We did it because we came across lots of companies we liked but that are listed." The equity fund runs to about $100m and could grow to about a third of the size of the private equity funds, says Mr Foyston.
Navis has not set itself a limit on how big it can get. It will however remain cautious and, almost certainly, located in its current geographic region. Mr Foyston says: "We are much more likely to expand into other asset classes than into other parts of the world. We are comfortable here."
Labels: 印度
¶ 1:01 AM 0 comments
“印度会适合我们，中国不会”
作者：英国《金融时报》威廉•巴恩斯(William Barnes)
2007年9月28日 星期五
Navis Capital希望在中国找到一家可以收购的公司，但尽管尽其所能，还是没能找到。现在，该公司仍在物色。
总部位于吉隆坡的这家私人股本公司董事总经理、创始人理查德•弗伊斯顿(Richard Foyston)表示：“我们希望获得控股权。我们希望投资于那些我们了解或者我们认为自己了解的行业。对于我们而言，在中国收购很困难。那里肯定存在机会，但我们迄今仍未发现。”
Navis Capital最初由波士顿咨询公司(Boston Consulting Group)的3位合伙人创立，目前承诺资本额为18亿美元。2000年，该公司进行了首笔投资，对于私人股本在亚洲的运作方式看法相当明确，不过稍微有些另类。
中国企业不愿为融资而失去控股权
中国的资产价格较高，多数公司不愿因为融资而失去控股权，这种情况不适合Navis Capital。但除此之外，对于接受坚定的“波士顿咨询公司”型逻辑传统的外国专家而言，这里存在着文化分歧。
“我们喜欢那些拥有几年业务管理经验的管理者，至少对我们所做的事情有所了解，即便简单了解也可——资本回报、股东治理以及我们喜欢的（简单）结构，”弗伊斯顿表示，“（中国）多数企业不符合这些标准。我们不太了解他们的管理层；他们对我们也不是很了解。很多因素使得事情不能按原计划进行。”
他补充称：“我们相信中国故事，如果我们真正关注这里，我相信我们能够发现一些东西。我们的许多企业与中国开展了很多业务，但我们不想开玩笑，如果你希望投资中国，那就找一家中国基金吧。”
日本和韩国的问题与中国稍有不同。对于那些规模太小、不能获得行业领军企业控股权的公司而言，日韩两国通常“巨大复杂”的企业规模太大，太复杂，因此，在那里进行收购是不合逻辑的。
假定的管理层关系也必须在情感与个人层面发挥作用。弗伊斯顿表示：“我们必须能够了解一个市场，同时具备（与其它参与者）互动的高超能力。这意味着，必须有可能在董事会使用英语，至少能在一半程度上为与你合作的同事所接受。”
在东南亚有可能被视为“半个当地人”
他补充称，你可能会在日本和韩国受到尊敬，但不管你在这两个国家呆多久，你永远会被视作一个外国人。在东南亚地区——近来，中国和印度的蓬勃发展令该地区黯然失色——你很有可能至少被当作是“半个当地人”。
在亚洲打拼了12年后，仍然是个“探险者”的想法令弗伊斯顿极为好奇。当时，他开始感觉，他在波士顿咨询公司的工作倾向于咨询行业中的“农业和行政管理”领域。1997年的亚洲金融危机剥离了高估资产，这为Navis Capital提供了一个开业的机会。
他表示：“我喜欢创建企业，对于某些类型的投资而言，东南亚已相当成熟。我们的分析能力非常强。我们的一切都依靠逻辑和事实。我们的管理结构十分扁平，我希望能够保持下去。人们应该得到很好的报酬，但任何人都不应为了金钱而在Navis Capital工作。波士顿咨询公司也一向信奉这一点。”
凭借40位波士顿咨询公司合伙人的出资，该公司设立了首只基金（尽管之间不存在任何直接的关系）。
经过8年的发展，该公司已设立了第5只私人股本基金，价值10亿美元，经理人数量也从3人扩大到了35人。该公司收购的公司多种多样，例如，澳大利亚的 Dome Coffees、Bangkok Ranch（一家养鸭企业）、书店连锁店、River Kwai食品公司（占泰国甜玉米罐头60%的市场）、建筑材料公司、包装企业、Cemex Asia（墨西哥水泥巨擘Cemex的下属企业）
更像一家咨询公司
杠杆比率偏高会令Navis感到不安，但该公司预计将在收购对象的经营上投入大量时间。其重点放在企业而非财务方面——弗伊斯顿承认，这点可能会遭到投资银行家们的嘲笑。他表示：“我们的做法更像是一家咨询公司，而不是投资公司。”
该公司进行了逾30项投资，其中包括亚洲领先的私人调查公司Hill & Associates。“我们喜欢这家公司，因为它经历一段时期的转型后，成为该领域的领跑者。我们认为该公司在相对温和的改善后，盈利能力可能大幅提高。”
为达成一笔交易，该公司愿意等上数月乃至数年时间，不像“一些香港公司刚来几天，然后就希望由律师敲定所有事情”。不过，由于Navis不喜欢以任何方式与政府打交道——例如，受到严格监管、准私营或与政府关系密切的企业——因此该公司面对的东南亚企业相对有限。这也可以解释为何4年前该公司会进军印度。
“印度会适合我们，中国不会”
“我们对经济、交易流动和管理结构进行审视，然后得出了结论：印度会适合我们，而中国不会。与中国相比，印度更适合我们的方式。我们参考了（在建立Navis之前时期）投资中国的所有积极因素，但我们也意识到中国与其它地方如何不同。”
目前，该公司在印度的投资组合包括一家专业航空餐饮公司，以及两家需要重振其新德里和孟买业务的“标志性”连锁餐馆。
在一些基金经理和经济学家喜爱的宏观财富流动分析方面，弗伊斯顿的团队没有投入太多时间。
对投资“主题”不感兴趣
“我们不投资宏观主题。事实上我不确定我们对这些主题有多大信心。我们已试图揭穿亚洲的消费热潮假相——以占国内生产总值(GDP)的百分比衡量，20年来亚洲消费几乎没有变化。真正的关键在于知道这种固定支出流向哪里，因此，例如当大家都能买得起汽车时，拐点就出现了。”
几年前，弗伊斯顿与另一位高级合伙人一道皈依了伊斯兰教。当应海湾国家投资者要求，Navis决定成立两只符合伊斯兰教教规的平行基金时，这一点起到了帮助。该基金对于约 15%的资本投资项目进行审查，确保其符合伊斯兰教教规（低债务水平、不具有伤害性、没有违禁的食物等）。要审查比例更大的投资项目可能非常困难。
在Navis 投资者中引发更大争议的，是该公司决定成立一只股票基金。“我们收到了有关我们丧失侧重点的抱怨。我们之所以决定这么做，是因为我们遇到许多我们青睐的公司，但它们都上市了。”弗伊斯顿表示，该股票基金的规模达到约1亿美元，今后可能发展至相当于其私人股本基金约三分之一的规模。
Navis对自己能达到的规模并没有设定限制。不过，该公司仍将非常谨慎，并且几乎可以肯定的是，该公司会继续留在目前的地理区域。弗伊斯顿表示：“与进军全球其它地区相比，我们向其它资产类别扩张的可能性要大得多。我们对目前的地点很满意。”
译者/何黎
2007年9月28日 星期五
Navis Capital希望在中国找到一家可以收购的公司，但尽管尽其所能，还是没能找到。现在，该公司仍在物色。
总部位于吉隆坡的这家私人股本公司董事总经理、创始人理查德•弗伊斯顿(Richard Foyston)表示：“我们希望获得控股权。我们希望投资于那些我们了解或者我们认为自己了解的行业。对于我们而言，在中国收购很困难。那里肯定存在机会，但我们迄今仍未发现。”
Navis Capital最初由波士顿咨询公司(Boston Consulting Group)的3位合伙人创立，目前承诺资本额为18亿美元。2000年，该公司进行了首笔投资，对于私人股本在亚洲的运作方式看法相当明确，不过稍微有些另类。
中国企业不愿为融资而失去控股权
中国的资产价格较高，多数公司不愿因为融资而失去控股权，这种情况不适合Navis Capital。但除此之外，对于接受坚定的“波士顿咨询公司”型逻辑传统的外国专家而言，这里存在着文化分歧。
“我们喜欢那些拥有几年业务管理经验的管理者，至少对我们所做的事情有所了解，即便简单了解也可——资本回报、股东治理以及我们喜欢的（简单）结构，”弗伊斯顿表示，“（中国）多数企业不符合这些标准。我们不太了解他们的管理层；他们对我们也不是很了解。很多因素使得事情不能按原计划进行。”
他补充称：“我们相信中国故事，如果我们真正关注这里，我相信我们能够发现一些东西。我们的许多企业与中国开展了很多业务，但我们不想开玩笑，如果你希望投资中国，那就找一家中国基金吧。”
日本和韩国的问题与中国稍有不同。对于那些规模太小、不能获得行业领军企业控股权的公司而言，日韩两国通常“巨大复杂”的企业规模太大，太复杂，因此，在那里进行收购是不合逻辑的。
假定的管理层关系也必须在情感与个人层面发挥作用。弗伊斯顿表示：“我们必须能够了解一个市场，同时具备（与其它参与者）互动的高超能力。这意味着，必须有可能在董事会使用英语，至少能在一半程度上为与你合作的同事所接受。”
在东南亚有可能被视为“半个当地人”
他补充称，你可能会在日本和韩国受到尊敬，但不管你在这两个国家呆多久，你永远会被视作一个外国人。在东南亚地区——近来，中国和印度的蓬勃发展令该地区黯然失色——你很有可能至少被当作是“半个当地人”。
在亚洲打拼了12年后，仍然是个“探险者”的想法令弗伊斯顿极为好奇。当时，他开始感觉，他在波士顿咨询公司的工作倾向于咨询行业中的“农业和行政管理”领域。1997年的亚洲金融危机剥离了高估资产，这为Navis Capital提供了一个开业的机会。
他表示：“我喜欢创建企业，对于某些类型的投资而言，东南亚已相当成熟。我们的分析能力非常强。我们的一切都依靠逻辑和事实。我们的管理结构十分扁平，我希望能够保持下去。人们应该得到很好的报酬，但任何人都不应为了金钱而在Navis Capital工作。波士顿咨询公司也一向信奉这一点。”
凭借40位波士顿咨询公司合伙人的出资，该公司设立了首只基金（尽管之间不存在任何直接的关系）。
经过8年的发展，该公司已设立了第5只私人股本基金，价值10亿美元，经理人数量也从3人扩大到了35人。该公司收购的公司多种多样，例如，澳大利亚的 Dome Coffees、Bangkok Ranch（一家养鸭企业）、书店连锁店、River Kwai食品公司（占泰国甜玉米罐头60%的市场）、建筑材料公司、包装企业、Cemex Asia（墨西哥水泥巨擘Cemex的下属企业）
更像一家咨询公司
杠杆比率偏高会令Navis感到不安，但该公司预计将在收购对象的经营上投入大量时间。其重点放在企业而非财务方面——弗伊斯顿承认，这点可能会遭到投资银行家们的嘲笑。他表示：“我们的做法更像是一家咨询公司，而不是投资公司。”
该公司进行了逾30项投资，其中包括亚洲领先的私人调查公司Hill & Associates。“我们喜欢这家公司，因为它经历一段时期的转型后，成为该领域的领跑者。我们认为该公司在相对温和的改善后，盈利能力可能大幅提高。”
为达成一笔交易，该公司愿意等上数月乃至数年时间，不像“一些香港公司刚来几天，然后就希望由律师敲定所有事情”。不过，由于Navis不喜欢以任何方式与政府打交道——例如，受到严格监管、准私营或与政府关系密切的企业——因此该公司面对的东南亚企业相对有限。这也可以解释为何4年前该公司会进军印度。
“印度会适合我们，中国不会”
“我们对经济、交易流动和管理结构进行审视，然后得出了结论：印度会适合我们，而中国不会。与中国相比，印度更适合我们的方式。我们参考了（在建立Navis之前时期）投资中国的所有积极因素，但我们也意识到中国与其它地方如何不同。”
目前，该公司在印度的投资组合包括一家专业航空餐饮公司，以及两家需要重振其新德里和孟买业务的“标志性”连锁餐馆。
在一些基金经理和经济学家喜爱的宏观财富流动分析方面，弗伊斯顿的团队没有投入太多时间。
对投资“主题”不感兴趣
“我们不投资宏观主题。事实上我不确定我们对这些主题有多大信心。我们已试图揭穿亚洲的消费热潮假相——以占国内生产总值(GDP)的百分比衡量，20年来亚洲消费几乎没有变化。真正的关键在于知道这种固定支出流向哪里，因此，例如当大家都能买得起汽车时，拐点就出现了。”
几年前，弗伊斯顿与另一位高级合伙人一道皈依了伊斯兰教。当应海湾国家投资者要求，Navis决定成立两只符合伊斯兰教教规的平行基金时，这一点起到了帮助。该基金对于约 15%的资本投资项目进行审查，确保其符合伊斯兰教教规（低债务水平、不具有伤害性、没有违禁的食物等）。要审查比例更大的投资项目可能非常困难。
在Navis 投资者中引发更大争议的，是该公司决定成立一只股票基金。“我们收到了有关我们丧失侧重点的抱怨。我们之所以决定这么做，是因为我们遇到许多我们青睐的公司，但它们都上市了。”弗伊斯顿表示，该股票基金的规模达到约1亿美元，今后可能发展至相当于其私人股本基金约三分之一的规模。
Navis对自己能达到的规模并没有设定限制。不过，该公司仍将非常谨慎，并且几乎可以肯定的是，该公司会继续留在目前的地理区域。弗伊斯顿表示：“与进军全球其它地区相比，我们向其它资产类别扩张的可能性要大得多。我们对目前的地点很满意。”
译者/何黎
Labels: 印度
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