经济学人171:AT&T大笔吞并受阻

 　　Business

　　商业

　　AT&T's big merger¹ blocked

　　AT&T大笔吞并受阻

　　Tripped at the altar

　　功亏一篑

　　RANDALL STEPHENSON has no time for doubts.

　　兰德尔?史蒂芬森没有时间疑虑。

　　In March, when the boss of AT&T, America's second-biggest mobile-phone operator, declared that his firm would buy T-Mobile USA, the number four, for a whopping $39 billion, he seemed convinced that the deal would pass antitrust muster².

　　3月，当美国第二大手机运营商AT&T老总宣布将以390亿美金收购第四大的T-Mobile USA时，他似乎相信这笔交易会通过反垄断的审批。

　　This is an intensely competitive marketplace,he said.

　　这是一个竞争激烈的市场他说，

　　When you a watch a show or a football game, what dominates the airwaves?

　　当你在看一个节目或者足球赛时，什么主宰着电波？

　　It's advertising³ for the mobile marketplace.

　　是移动市场的广告。

　　Mr Stephenson's optimism was misplaced.

　　在这件事上，史蒂芬森乐观错了。

　　On August 31st America's justice department filed a suit to block the proposed merger, arguing that it would substantially reduce competition for mobile services in America.

　　8月31日美国司法部提出诉讼要阻止吞并，并称这将会实质性的减少美国手机服务的竞争。

　　This does not mean that the deal is dead—yet.

　　但是，还不能说这笔交易告吹。

　　But to salvage⁴ it, AT&T must fight a long battle in court at a time when the Obama administration is signaling a tougher approach to antitrust enforcement.

　　但是，在奥巴马发出指示严厉打击企业垄断行为之际，AT&T公司若要挽回这笔交易，则需要在法庭上打一场长期战。

　　Or it must accept painful conditions in a settlement.

　　或者它只能忍痛接受和解条款。

　　Critics say the merger would create a predatory duopoly: AT&T and its main rival, Verizon, would have a combined share of about 80% of America's wireless⁵ market.

　　评论家说吞并会导致两家争霸的局面：AT&T和它的主要对手Verizon将占据美国无线市场80%的份额。

　　Nonsense, retorts AT&T. The merger would be good for consumers:

　　胡说，AT&T反驳道。吞并对于消费者来说则有利可图：

　　it would give them a choice between two strong national companies; it would let the firm expand its fourth-generation networks, not least in rural areas; and it would alleviate⁶ the shortage of radio spectrum⁷.

　　这将使得消费者可以在两个全国大公司中做出选择；使公司扩展4G网络（，并且可以缓解无线电频谱短缺。

　　After five months of digging, America's antitrust regulators disagree. They reckon the merger would result in higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products for mobile wireless services.

　　经过五个月的仔细琢磨，美国反垄断调查机构否决了这比交易。他们认为吞并会导致手机无线服务涨价、选择面减少并且质量下降。

　　Unless it is blocked, says James Cole, a deputy attorney-general, consumers will suffer.

　　如果不否决这比交易，消费者将受到损失。副司法部长James Cole如是说。

　　Regulators are particularly worried that the takeover would eliminate a disruptive competitor.

　　调查机构特别担心收购会消除一个能瓜分市场的对手。

　　T-Mobile has a history of cutting prices aggressively.

　　T-mobile有着大幅降价的历史，

　　It was also the first carrier to offer wireless e-mail, the latest high-speed networks and a smartphone using the Android operating system.

　　它也是第一个提供无线电子邮件服务，最新高速网络与Android系统的智能手机的运营商。

　　The justice department doubts that the deal would yield efficiencies to outweigh⁸ its negative impact.

　　司法部怀疑这笔交易产生的市场效益将超过其带来的不利影响，

　　And it argues that AT&T could improve its services simply by investing in its own network, rather than by removing a competitor.

　　并且认为AT&T若要提高其服务质量，只需要投资改善自己的网络即可，不需消除一个竞争对手。

　　An accidentally leaked AT&T document suggests that this would be cheaper:

　　一份意外泄漏的AT&T文件上说，这么做会更加便宜：

　　the firm does not need T-Mobile's spectrum and needed to invest only $3.8 billion to catch up with Verizon's 4G coverage⁹.

　　公司不需要T-Mobile的频谱，只需要投资38亿美元即可赶上Verizon公司4G的覆盖率。

　　See you in court

　　法庭上见

　　The early signs are that AT&T is ready to fight.

　　早期现象是AT&T打算力争，

　　About an hour before the suit was announced, the firm said that it would bring 5,000 call-centre jobs back to America from offshore¹⁰ after the deal is approved.

　　在诉讼宣布的一个小时前，公司说如果这笔买卖获得批准，它将从国外带给美国本土5000个呼叫中心的职位。

　　Later, it vowed¹¹ to see the government in court.

　　不久它就发誓要和政府在法庭上见。

　　In July it hired investment bankers, signalling that it is willing to divest¹² assets to gain regulatory approval.

　　七月，它雇佣了投资银行，意味着它愿意剥离资产以获得调查机构的准许。

　　Whether all this will be enough to save the deal is unclear.

　　这么做是否可以挽救这笔交易尚不清楚。

　　Shortly before the suit was announced, a poll of telecoms experts by Stifel Nicolaus, a research firm, found that less than half expected the marriage to be approved.

　　在宣布诉讼的不久前，由Stifel Nicolaus进行的电信专家意见调查发现，不到一半人认为这场并购会得到许可。

　　Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, which must also give its blessing¹³, seemed to back the DOJ's stance.

　　并购需要联邦通讯委员会的首肯，但是其主席Julius Genachowski似乎支持司法部的立场。

　　If the justice department were to succeed in blocking the takeover, that would be quite a blow for Mr Stephenson and AT&T.

　　如果司法部分成功阻止的吞并，这将对史蒂芬森与AT&T是个不小的打击。

　　But there would also be some happy faces.

　　但是也有人对此欣然自得。

　　The prospects¹⁴ of Sprint¹⁵ Nextel, America's third-biggest wireless carrier, would suddenly be rosier¹⁶:

　　美国第三大无线运营商Sprint Nextel的前景瞬间变得明朗：

　　its shares rose by around 7% on the news.

　　接到消息后，其股价上升了7%。

　　And T-Mobile USA, which is owned by Germany's Deutsche Telekom, may get another lease of life.

　　德国德意志电信公司的T-MobileUSA可以得到继续生存的机会。

　　If the deal is blocked, it will get a break-up fee of $3 billion, a chunk¹⁷ of spectrum and a favourable¹⁸ roaming agreement. Being jilted at the altar can be lucrative¹⁹.

　　如果这笔交易受阻，该公司将获得30亿的分手费、一大批波段以及有利的漫游协议。在婚礼上被甩也可以带来好处。

1 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

2 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

5 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

6 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

7 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

8 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

9 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

10 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

11 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

12 divest   

v.脱去，剥除

参考例句：

• I cannot divest myself of the idea.我无法消除那个念头。
• He attempted to divest himself of all responsibilities for the decision.他力图摆脱掉作出该项决定的一切责任。

13 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

14 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

15 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

16 rosier   

Rosieresite

参考例句：

• Rosier for an instant forgot the delicacy of his position. 罗齐尔一时间忘记了他的微妙处境。
• A meeting had immediately taken place between the Countess and Mr. Rosier. 伯爵夫人和罗齐尔先生已经搭讪上了。

17 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

18 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

19 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。