Silver Lake Partners isn't among the best-known investors in the private-equity business. But the firm could move a step closer if it pulls off a takeover -- and turnaround -- of Yahoo Inc.
私募股权公司银湖（Silver Lake Partners）在私募股权行业并不属于最知名的投资者之列。但如果该公司实现对互联网公司雅虎(Yahoo Inc.)的收购并扭转雅虎的颓势，则有望距离"最知名"更近一步。
Emboldened by its success earlier this year with the $8.5 billion sale of Skype to Microsoft Corp., the technology-focused firm is hoping to orchestrate a deal to buy all or part of Yahoo, right the struggling Internet company and reap a rich return in the process.
今年早些时候，银湖成功地把Skype出售给了微软(Microsoft Corp.)，套现85亿美元。受该交易的鼓舞，这家重点关注科技领域的私募股权公司希望组织策划收购雅虎全部或部分股权的交易，使陷入困境的雅虎走上正轨，同时使自己在这个过程中获得丰厚收益。
A Yahoo takeover would cap a recent spate of high-profile tech transactions for the 12-year-old firm at a time when the pace has slowed for some other private-equity rivals, partly due to more-expensive financing and market volatility.
如果成功收购雅虎，这家有着12年历史的私募股权公司最近在科技领域进行的一系列收购交易将随之达到高潮。目前，其他一些私募股权对手放缓了步伐，部分原因是融资成本提高和市场动荡。
Investors in Silver Lake funds say they like that the firm has pursued deals through the downturn, allowing it to drive a harder bargain on price. 'Ultimately, it translates to returns,' said one investor who has put money in all three Silver Lake large-cap funds.
银湖基金的投资者说，他们欣赏该公司在市场低迷时寻求收购机会，这使它可以更大幅度的压低价格。一位将资金投在银湖旗下全部三只大型基金的投资者说，最终这会转化为回报。
Silver Lake has held talks with Microsoft, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and other potential partners about a bid for Yahoo, people familiar with the matter said. The firm also is one of a handful that has signed a confidentiality agreement to explore the purchase of a minority stake in Yahoo, they added. Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., has a current stock market value of about $20 billion.
据知情人士透露，银湖已经与微软、加拿大退休金计划投资委员会(Canada Pension Plan Investment Board)和其他潜在伙伴就收购雅虎举行了会谈。他们还说，该公司还是屈指可数的几家就尝试收购雅虎少数股权签订了保密协议的公司之一。总部位于加州的雅虎目前市值约为200亿美元。
A Yahoo purchase wouldn't come without risks. Silver Lake faces the challenge of pulling off what would be one of the largest private-equity deals since the credit crisis and then revving up growth at the online search and advertising company at a time when people are gravitating to newer rivals such as Facebook Inc.
收购雅虎也并非没有风险。银湖面临的挑战是，要成功完成这桩有望成为信贷危机以来最大规模私募股权交易之一的收购，并在人们纷纷转向Facebook等新的竞争对手之际，加快这家在线搜索和广告公司的业务增长。
Despite a focus on one sector, Silver Lake executives say they have had more investing opportunities than some peers because they don't strictly follow a traditional private-equity playbook, where a buyout firm borrows large amounts of money to fund deals and cuts costs to boost margins.
银湖高管说，尽管他们专注于一个领域，但相比一些同行，他们有更多的投资机会，因为他们在实际操作时不会对私募股权的传统做法生搬硬套。传统做法一般说来就是，收购公司会借大量资金来为交易融资，同时也会为提高利润率而削减成本。
With technology 'you can't cut R&D and other costs like with other businesses. That would kill the company. You have to focus on growth,' said Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which co-invested in Skype.
风投公司Andreessen Horowitz的联合创始人安德森(Marc Andreessen)说，由于投的是科技公司，所以不能像其它公司一样缩减研发和其它成本，这会毁了这个公司，你必须关注增长。Andreessen Horowitz曾联合其它机构投资过Skype。
Jim Davidson, David Roux, Glenn Hutchins and Roger McNamee founded Silver Lake in 1999 at the height of the dot-com boom. Mr. McNamee later left to start Elevation Partners.
戴维森(Jim Davidson)、洛克斯(David Roux)、哈金斯(Glenn Hutchins)和麦克米(Roger McNamee)在1999年互联网行业最风光的时候创建了银湖。麦克米后来离开了这家公司，创办了另一家私募股权投资公司Elevation Partners。
Mr. Davidson was a tech banker, while Mr. Roux worked as a tech industry executive. Mr. Hutchins, a career private-equity executive, also is a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The co-founders remain involved in strategic decision-making but have groomed a younger crew for leadership roles, people close to the firm said.
戴维森以前是关注科技领域的银行家，洛克斯以前是科技业的一名高管，而哈金斯则是私募股权行业的职业经理人，同时也是纽约联邦储备银行(Federal Reserve Bank of New York)的一名董事。知情人士说，这几位联合创始人目前仍参与公司的战略决策，但同时也培养了一批年轻的接班人。
With about $14 billion in assets, Silver Lake is smaller than some of the buyout giants such as KKR & Co. and TPG Capital that it occasionally teams up with. KKR, for instance, has about $44 billion in private equity assets.
银湖目前的总资产约为140亿美元，在规模上小于KKR & Co.和德太投资(TPG Capital)等一些收购业巨头。银湖有时会跟德太投资合作。KKR的私募股权资产约为440亿美元。
Silver Lake is expected to begin raising money for its fourth fund next year, according to people familiar with the matter. The firm is planning to raise an amount similar to the $9.4 billion it raised for its third fund, the people said. Its third fund is performing several notches above the industry average so far, with a gross internal rate of return of around 30%, the people said. Gross return is an industry measure of the return on invested dollars before fund expenses.
知情人士透露，预计银湖将在明年开始为其第四只基金筹措资金。此人说，该公司打算筹集的资金规模与其第三只基金94亿美元的规模近似，还说到目前为止，第三只基金的表现要高于行业平均水平好几个档次，其总内部收益率为30%左右。这是衡量扣除基金费用前投资回报的一个行业指标。
Silver Lake's second fund, valued at $3.6 billion, is performing at the low end of the industry average, with a gross return of about 15%,the people said.
知情人士说，银湖第二只基金的规模约为36亿美元，其业绩处于行业平均水平的低端，总内部收益率在15%左右。
Anupreeta Das
- partly [´pɑ:tli]
ad.部分地；不完全地 (初中英语单词) - bargain [´bɑ:gin] n.买卖合同 v.议(价) (初中英语单词)
- investment [in´vestmənt] n.投资；(时间等)投入 (初中英语单词)
- agreement [ə´gri:mənt] n.同意；一致；协议 (初中英语单词)
- challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
- advertising [´ædvətaiziŋ] n.广告a.广告的 (初中英语单词)
- venture [´ventʃə] n.投机 v.冒险；敢于 (初中英语单词)
- height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)
- banker [´bæŋkə] n.银行家 (初中英语单词)
- executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
- career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)
- director [di´rektə] n.指导者；....长；导演 (初中英语单词)
- federal [´fedərəl] a.联邦的，联邦制的 (初中英语单词)
- occasionally [ə´keiʒənəli] ad.偶然地；非经常地 (初中英语单词)
- instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
- amount [ə´maunt] n.总数；数量 v.合计 (初中英语单词)
- measure [´meʒə] n.量度；范围 vt.测量 (初中英语单词)
- billion [´biljən] num.万亿 (高中英语单词)
- pension [´penʃən] n.津贴 vt.给予...抚恤 (高中英语单词)
- potential [pə´tenʃəl] n.&a.潜在的；可能的 (高中英语单词)
- handful [hændful] n.一把，少数，一小撮 (高中英语单词)
- explore [ik´splɔ:] v.勘探；探索；探查 (高中英语单词)
- minority [mai´nɔriti] n.少数(民族)；未成年 (高中英语单词)
- crisis [´kraisis] n.转折点；危机 (高中英语单词)
- strictly [´striktli] ad.严格地 (高中英语单词)
- elevation [,eli´veiʃən] n.高度；晋升；高尚 (高中英语单词)
- leadership [´li:dəʃip] n.领导(能力) (高中英语单词)
- internal [in´tə:nl] a.内部的；国内的 (高中英语单词)
- traditional [trə´diʃənəl] a.传统的，习惯的 (英语四级单词)
- investor [in´vestə] n.投资者 (英语六级单词)
- equity [´ekwiti] n.公平；公正 (英语六级单词)
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