????本周末參加巴菲特的伯克希爾哈撒韋公司（BRKA）年度股東大會(huì)的維權(quán)投資者不一定持有這家公司的股份，甚至不一定支持這位先知的投資理念。但是，這并不妨礙他們就巴菲特和其他知名投資者對(duì)各家公司改革進(jìn)程施加的重要影響力展開討論，其中也包括伯克希爾公司持有股份的亨氏公司和可口可樂(lè)公司。

????緊跟在哥倫比亞大學(xué)和GAMCO Investors創(chuàng)始人馬里奧?蓋伯里舉辦的晚宴之后的雞尾酒會(huì)上，對(duì)沖基金潘興廣場(chǎng)（ Pershing Square）的比爾?阿克曼也露面了。酒會(huì)上的普遍觀點(diǎn)認(rèn)為，激進(jìn)股東掌權(quán)時(shí)，各家公司的管理層無(wú)足輕重，無(wú)論是在伯克希爾公司，還是在其他眾多公司，都是一樣。

????最近，巴菲特對(duì)公司治理的態(tài)度一直飽受批評(píng)，因?yàn)殡m然他認(rèn)為可口可樂(lè)備受爭(zhēng)議的高管薪酬計(jì)劃規(guī)?！斑^(guò)大”，但他并沒(méi)有投票反對(duì)。但投資者發(fā)現(xiàn)，伯克希爾公司最近對(duì)番茄醬生產(chǎn)商亨氏的收購(gòu)進(jìn)一步表現(xiàn)了巴菲特投資風(fēng)格的轉(zhuǎn)變。在亨氏交易中，伯克希爾公司與3G資本合作，而3G資本一直以對(duì)收購(gòu)公司進(jìn)行激進(jìn)的成本削減和管理改革而著稱。

????巴菲特通常不會(huì)對(duì)伯克希爾公司收購(gòu)的公司進(jìn)行這種大刀闊斧的革新（如更換首席執(zhí)行官以及作出其他艱難的決定）。但巴菲特與3G資本的合作讓眾多投資者感到驚訝。比如，對(duì)沖基金經(jīng)理人惠特尼?蒂爾森就指出，亨氏公司在收購(gòu)之后一年內(nèi)息稅折攤前利潤(rùn)（EBITDA）增長(zhǎng)了50%，對(duì)于一家成熟的公司而言，這種增速聞所未聞。而且，他認(rèn)為巴菲特不會(huì)就此收手：“我認(rèn)為巴菲特和3G將再次合作，收購(gòu)可樂(lè)可樂(lè)。能讓公司董事會(huì)重組就是好事一樁，因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)在很多公司都過(guò)于龐大且經(jīng)營(yíng)不善，例如亨氏?！?/p>

????周六召開年度股東大會(huì)時(shí)，巴菲特曾經(jīng)為自己在可口可樂(lè)的棄權(quán)票辯護(hù)，稱伯克希爾公司得到了想要的結(jié)果【據(jù)《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》（The Wall Street Journal）報(bào)道，可口可樂(lè)正在重新考慮自己的薪酬計(jì)劃】。巴菲特說(shuō)：“這對(duì)伯克希爾而言是最有效的行為方式。我們已對(duì)那項(xiàng)薪酬計(jì)劃的過(guò)度規(guī)模作出非常明確的聲明，同時(shí)我們絕不會(huì)為此向可口可樂(lè)‘宣戰(zhàn)’。我認(rèn)為在大多數(shù)情況下，正面沖突都不是一個(gè)好主意。而且，我認(rèn)為如果你要聯(lián)手其他力量向某人宣戰(zhàn)，你必須對(duì)這種聯(lián)盟將會(huì)帶來(lái)什么后果非常有把握。”

????周五上午在奧馬哈，投資者們就另一個(gè)有爭(zhēng)議的聯(lián)盟問(wèn)題進(jìn)行討論，當(dāng)時(shí)蒂爾森與阿克曼在外面閑逛時(shí)看到蓋伯里在消費(fèi)者新聞與財(cái)經(jīng)電視頻道（CNBC）批評(píng)阿克曼的激進(jìn)策略。阿克曼一直在做空康寶萊和JC Penney公司，最近則在忙著和制藥公司Valeant合作，希望收購(gòu)肉毒桿菌制造商Allergan。阿克曼現(xiàn)持有Allergan近10 ％的股權(quán)。蓋伯里認(rèn)為，阿克曼的這個(gè)行動(dòng)有失公允。阿克曼和蓋伯里都拒絕置評(píng)。

????蒂爾森本人對(duì)其做空訂單中的“垃圾”公司抱怨不斷，他以為阿克曼與Valeant的行動(dòng)將達(dá)成一項(xiàng)原本不可能完成的交易（因?yàn)锳llergan已多次拒絕Valeant的要約），同時(shí)給所有股東帶來(lái)利益。蒂爾森說(shuō)：“我希望出現(xiàn)更多維權(quán)投資者，這樣我的投資組合中可以加入更多公司”。

????著名共同基金經(jīng)理人沃利?韋茨對(duì)此事的觀點(diǎn)較為矛盾，他對(duì)Valeant公司的投資近期超過(guò)對(duì)伯克希爾?哈撒韋公司的投資，Valeant公司已經(jīng)成為他投資組合中的最大重倉(cāng)股。他不太愿意評(píng)價(jià)阿克曼收購(gòu)Allergan的方法：“技術(shù)上而言這是非法的，但是...你懂的?！?/p>

????至于股東行動(dòng)主義會(huì)有多大效果，韋茨說(shuō)，“阿克曼的行為處于中等水平”。他補(bǔ)充道，阿克曼“快速出擊”，增持Allergan公司股票，從而增加它阻止收購(gòu)的難度，這種做法讓他感到有點(diǎn)不屑。他擔(dān)心激進(jìn)投資方式的壓力日后會(huì)給Valeant帶來(lái)后果，或許會(huì)導(dǎo)致糟糕的管理決策。他說(shuō)：“我不確定是否會(huì)長(zhǎng)期持有這家公司”。

????盡管如此，韋茨也認(rèn)為伯克希爾哈撒韋公司以后可能會(huì)更加積極地改革它投資的公司，尤其是在與3G合作成功收購(gòu)亨氏之后。關(guān)于此次交易，他回憶起巴菲特的說(shuō)法“適合我們與3G資本合作收購(gòu)模式的公司有100家之多，”韋茨補(bǔ)充說(shuō)。“我喜歡巴菲特的風(fēng)格，要用一個(gè)詞來(lái)形容他的話，那就是靈活。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：Lina

????The activist investors in Omaha this weekend for Warren Buffett's annual Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) meeting don't necessarily own shares in the company or even subscribe to the Oracle's investment philosophy. That didn't stop them, however, from debating the way Buffett and other high-profile investors exert their heavyweight influence to reform companies -- including Berkshire holdings Heinz and Coca-Cola (KO).

????At a cocktail hour following a dinner hosted by Columbia University and GAMCO Investors' founder Mario Gabelli, which featured Pershing Square's Bill Ackman, the consensus view was that company management matters little when activist shareholders are in charge -- even at Berkshire itself, as well as many other businesses.

????Buffett's approach to corporate governance has been criticized lately after the Oracle declined to vote against a controversial compensation package for Coke executives that he characterized as "excessive." But investors found Berkshire's recent purchase of ketchup maker Heinz more illustrative of Buffett's evolution. In the Heinz deal, Berkshire partnered with 3G Capital, which is known for its aggressive cost cutting and management reform at companies it acquires.

????Buffett doesn't usually do that kind of overhaul, which often involves replacing CEOs and making other tough decisions, with Berkshire acquisitions. But Buffett's partnership with 3G surprised investors like hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, who noted that Heinz grew its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) by 50% in the year after the acquisition -- growth generally unheard of for a mature business, Tilson said. And he thinks Buffett won't stop there: "I think that Warren Buffett and 3G will team up again to buy Coke," he said. "Anything that shakes up corporate boards is a good thing, because there are a lot of companies that are just fat and poorly run. Take Heinz."

????Buffett, for his part, defended his abstention on the Coke vote as the annual shareholders meeting opened Saturday, saying Berkshire got the result it wanted anyway (Coke is reconsidering its compensation plan, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal.) "That was the most effective way of behaving for Berkshire. We made a very clear statement about the excessiveness of the plan, and at the same time, we in no way went to war with Coca-Cola," Buffett said. "I don't think going to war is a very good idea in most situations, and I think if you're going to join forces in going to war with somebody, you have to be very sure about what that alliance might mean."

????A debate over another controversial alliance surfaced in Omaha Friday morning when Tilson was hanging out with Ackman and they saw that Gabelli had criticized Ackman's activist tactics on CNBC. Ackman, who is known for his campaigns against Herbalife (HLF) and J.C. Penney (JCP), recently teamed up with pharmaceutical company Valeant (VRX) to attempt an acquisition of Botox-maker Allergan (AGN), of which Ackman now owns nearly 10% -- a move that Gabelli called unfair. Ackman and Gabelli declined to offer comment.

????Tilson, who himself rails against "dreck" companies that make up his short-selling book, said that he thought Ackman's Valeant maneuver would benefit all shareholders by delivering a deal that otherwise would not be possible, as Allergan has repeatedly refused Valeant's offers. "I hope more activists put more companies in play in my portfolio," Tilson said.

????Renowned mutual fund manager Wally Weitz, whose investment in Valeant has recently replaced Berkshire Hathaway as his portfolio's largest holding, was more conflicted. He winced discussing Ackman's approach to buying Allergan. "It's not technically illegal but … there's letter and there's spirit."

????On the spectrum of how useful shareholder activism can be, "Ackman falls somewhere in the middle of that," Weitz said. Ackman's "quick hit" move in buying Allergan stock to make it harder for the company to block a takeover make him slightly uncomfortable, Weitz added, and he worries that the activist pressure could take a toll on Valeant, perhaps inciting bad management decisions. "I'm not sure it will be a long-term holding for us," he said.

????Still, Weitz also thought that Berkshire Hathaway might grow more active in reforming the companies it invests in going forward, particularly after the successful partnership with 3G on Heinz. Reflecting on that deal, he recalled Buffett's remark that "there are 100 companies that could use a 3G." Added Weitz, "I love Warren. The way I like to describe him is, he's flexible."