情景:一家典當行的三名同事正在聊某家房地產公司首次公開發(fā)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.

發(fā)行股票了!

情景:一家典當行的三名同事正在聊某家房地產公司首次公開發(fā)行股票事宜。

馬克:真不敢相信,在目前這樣的市場狀況下,一家房地產公司還要發(fā)行首次公開發(fā)行股票。

托馬斯:嗯,據(jù)我所知,管理層做了這個明智的決定。

馬克:什么?為什么這么說?

托馬斯:是這樣的,市場萎靡之前,首次發(fā)行股票是由雷曼兄弟承銷的。這是一樁包銷交易。雷曼兄弟手握這些股票,但沒有人愿意花錢購買。

馬克:哎呀!管理層某些人要因此被解雇了。

托馬斯:的確,他們不高興,但(如果不這樣),情況可能會更糟。那是一家地產投資公司,他們(雷曼兄弟)可以一直持有股票,直到地價上漲。公司沒有債務,但有大量現(xiàn)金儲備,且管理費用低,雷曼兄弟很可能中長期獲利。

馬克:嗯,希望咱們首次發(fā)行股票進展順利?，F(xiàn)在的壓力足可以殺了我。為什么還沒有消息?

托馬斯:放輕松。今天早晨,我得到通知,要同財團合作伙伴開個會?，F(xiàn)在情況很樂觀。不要認為我們同房地產公司處境相同。事實上,經濟越不景氣,情況對我們越有利。我們當鋪的生意會興隆起來,投資商會排隊來買我們的股票。

馬克:你一點兒也不擔心嗎?承銷商只會簽署代銷合同。咱們要是有包銷承諾該多好啊。當初怎么讓你改變了我的想法!

托馬斯:好吧,馬克,深呼吸,吐氣。你很清楚我們不用包銷形式的原因。那太貴了,而且我們沒必要為本可以免費的東西掏錢吧。公司正是目前投資商們尋找的對象。不要擔心了!

馬克:我仍認為,發(fā)行首次發(fā)行股票還應該再等一年。

克萊爾:打擾了,先生,我……

馬克:等會兒,克萊爾,我們正討論要事。我認為……

托馬斯:馬克,想想看!存款利息僅有0.5%。商品、商業(yè)地產、房產全都完了。現(xiàn)在到處都是證券交易,人們已經厭倦了風險。而人們想要的是安全的投資環(huán)境,如果可能的話,還希望從投資中得到相當?shù)氖找妗＿@正是我們能給的。

馬克:好吧,我知道你很可能是對的。我只是希望你可以緊張一點兒,你知道的,這會讓我好受些。

托馬斯(大笑):……不好意思,克萊爾,剛才你想干什么?

克萊爾:我想你們會想知道的,先生們。我剛從主要承銷商那里聽說,首次發(fā)行股票的訂購量是發(fā)行量的4倍。

馬克:太好了!我們要成功了!

托馬斯:看吧,我剛才怎么說來著!謝謝你,克萊爾,這正是我們想要聽的。

馬克:這來的太是時候了?？巳R爾,你是最棒的!

克萊爾(輕笑):先生,可以告訴其他同事這個好消息嗎?

馬克:去吧,他們應該知道。他們也有公司的股票。

托馬斯:那么,看來我們要成為百萬富翁了。

Notes:

1. hold onto

意為“緊緊抓住;不賣出”。

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

橫穿馬路時,孩子緊拉著我的手不放。

2. in the same boat

意為“處境相同” 。

例句:We are in the same boat.

我們處境相同。

3. be committed to

意為“承擔義務的;忠于……;堅定的”。

例句:He remains committed to his youthful ideal.

他堅持不懈地追求自己年輕時的理想。

Links:

IPO就是initial public offerings(首次公開發(fā)行股票)的簡稱。

首次公開招股是指一家私人企業(yè)第一次將它的股份向公眾出售。通常,上市公司的股份是根據(jù)向相應證券會出具的招股書或登記聲明中約定的條款通過經紀商或做市商進行銷售。一般來說,一旦首次公開上市完成后,這家公司就可以申請到證券交易所或報價系統(tǒng)掛牌交易。

某一家金融機構也許會被聘請為IPO公司的承銷商(underwriter)。由承銷商負責IPO新發(fā)行股票的所有上市過程中的工作,以及負責將所有的股票發(fā)售到市場。如果要公開募股的公司和承銷商簽署的是a firm commitment(包銷承諾),那么這就是一個bought deal(包銷交易);在部分股票未能全部發(fā)售出的情況下,承銷商要買下所有未發(fā)售出的股票。如果要公開募股的公司和承銷商簽署的是best efforts contract(代銷合同),承銷商就不用對未售出的股票負責任。