ＩＰＯ发行股票了！

情景:一家典当行的三名同事正在聊某家房地产公司首次公开发行股票事宜。

Mark: I can't believe a real estate company went ahead with an IPO in these market conditions.

Thomas: Well, from what I've been hearing, the management team made the smart choice.

Mark: What? Why do you say that?

Thomas: Well, the IPO was underwritten by Lehman Brothers before the market turned. It was a bought deal. Lehman Brothers own the shares and no one's interested in buying them.

Mark: Ouch. Some heads are going to roll for that one.

Thomas: Well, they're not happy, but it could have been worse. It's a Land Banking Company, so they can just hold onto the stock until land prices go up again. The company has no debts and with a high cash reserve and low overheads, they'll probably make good in the medium to longterm.

Mark: Well, I hope things work out for our IPO. This pressure is killing me. Why haven't they called?

Thomas: Relax. I had a conference call this morning with the partners from the sydnicate. Everything is sounding positive. Don't imagine we're in the same boat as a real estate company. In fact the harder this recession hits, the better. Business is booming at all of our pawn shops.Investors will be lining up to buy our shares.

Mark: Aren't you even a little worried? The underwriters are only committed to a best efforts contract. I wish we'd gone for a firm commitment. Why did I let you change my mind!

Thomas: OK Mark, take a deep breath and let it out. You know why we didn't take a firm commitment. It was too expensive and we didn't need to pay a premium for something that is going to happen anyway for free. Our company is exactly what investors are looking for at the moment. Stop worrying!

Mark: I still think we should have waited another year before moving ahead with an IPO.

Claire: Excuse me, sir, I…

Mark: One second Claire, this is important. I think…

Thomas: Mark, look at the big picture! The Banks are only paying zero point five percent interest on savings. The commodities, the commercial real estate and the housing sector are all dead. Stockmarkets are all over the place, people have lost their appetite for risk. What people want is a safe place to invest and if possible, get a fair return on their investment. That's us!

Mark: OK. I know you're probably right. I just wish you could be a little more nervous. It would make me feel better, you know.

Thomas (laughing): Sorry Claire, what was it you wanted?

Claire: I thought you would want to know sir. I've just heard back from the lead underwriter, the IPO has been 4 times oversubscribed.

Mark: Yes! We're going to do it!

Thomas: See. What did I tell you! Thanks Claire, that's just what we wanted to hear.

Mark: It's all finally coming together. Claire, you are the best!

Claire(light laugh): Is it OK to tell the rest of the team the good news, sir?

Mark: Go ahead, they deserve to know. They have a stake in the company, too.

Thomas: Well, it looks like we're going to be millionaires.

发行股票了!

情景:一家典当行的三名同事正在聊某家房地产公司首次公开发行股票事宜。

马克:真不敢相信,在目前这样的市场状况下,一家房地产公司还要发行首次公开发行股票。

托马斯:嗯,据我所知,管理层做了这个明智的决定。

马克:什么?为什么这么说?

托马斯:是这样的,市场萎靡之前,首次发行股票是由雷曼兄弟承销的。这是一桩包销交易。雷曼兄弟手握这些股票,但没有人愿意花钱购买。

马克:哎呀!管理层某些人要因此被解雇了。

托马斯:的确,他们不高兴,但(如果不这样),情况可能会更糟。那是一家地产投资公司,他们(雷曼兄弟)可以一直持有股票,直到地价上涨。公司没有债务,但有大量现金储备,且管理费用低,雷曼兄弟很可能中长期获利。

马克:嗯,希望咱们首次发行股票进展顺利。现在的压力足可以杀了我。为什么还没有消息?

托马斯:放轻松。今天早晨,我得到通知,要同财团合作伙伴开个会。现在情况很乐观。不要认为我们同房地产公司处境相同。事实上,经济越不景气,情况对我们越有利。我们当铺的生意会兴隆起来,投资商会排队来买我们的股票。

马克:你一点儿也不担心吗?承销商只会签署代销合同。咱们要是有包销承诺该多好啊。当初怎么让你改变了我的想法!

托马斯:好吧,马克,深呼吸,吐气。你很清楚我们不用包销形式的原因。那太贵了,而且我们没必要为本可以免费的东西掏钱吧。公司正是目前投资商们寻找的对象。不要担心了!

马克:我仍认为,发行首次发行股票还应该再等一年。

克莱尔:打扰了,先生,我……

马克:等会儿,克莱尔,我们正讨论要事。我认为……

托马斯:马克,想想看!存款利息仅有0.5%。商品、商业地产、房产全都完了。现在到处都是证券交易,人们已经厌倦了风险。而人们想要的是安全的投资环境,如果可能的话,还希望从投资中得到相当的收益。这正是我们能给的。

马克:好吧,我知道你很可能是对的。我只是希望你可以紧张一点儿,你知道的,这会让我好受些。

托马斯(大笑):……不好意思,克莱尔,刚才你想干什么?

克莱尔:我想你们会想知道的,先生们。我刚从主要承销商那里听说,首次发行股票的订购量是发行量的4倍。

马克:太好了!我们要成功了!

托马斯:看吧,我刚才怎么说来着!谢谢你,克莱尔,这正是我们想要听的。

马克:这来的太是时候了。克莱尔,你是最棒的!

克莱尔(轻笑):先生,可以告诉其他同事这个好消息吗?

马克:去吧,他们应该知道。他们也有公司的股票。

托马斯:那么,看来我们要成为百万富翁了。

Notes:

1. hold onto

意为“紧紧抓住;不卖出”。

例句:My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.

横穿马路时,孩子紧拉着我的手不放。

2. in the same boat

意为“处境相同” 。

例句:We are in the same boat.

我们处境相同。

3. be committed to

意为“承担义务的;忠于……;坚定的”。

例句:He remains committed to his youthful ideal.

他坚持不懈地追求自己年轻时的理想。

Links:

IPO就是initial public offerings(首次公开发行股票)的简称。

首次公开招股是指一家私人企业第一次将它的股份向公众出售。通常,上市公司的股份是根据向相应证券会出具的招股书或登记声明中约定的条款通过经纪商或做市商进行销售。一般来说,一旦首次公开上市完成后,这家公司就可以申请到证券交易所或报价系统挂牌交易。

某一家金融机构也许会被聘请为IPO公司的承销商(underwriter)。由承销商负责IPO新发行股票的所有上市过程中的工作,以及负责将所有的股票发售到市场。如果要公开募股的公司和承销商签署的是a firm commitment(包销承诺),那么这就是一个bought deal(包销交易);在部分股票未能全部发售出的情况下,承销商要买下所有未发售出的股票。如果要公开募股的公司和承销商签署的是best efforts contract(代销合同),承销商就不用对未售出的股票负责任。