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Cheap oil could be vital to Li Ka-shing keeping control of his empire.
低廉的石油价格可能是李嘉诚(Li Ka-shing)保有其商业帝国控制权的关键因素。
Mr. Li, Asia’s richest man, is selling a 6 percent stake in Husky Energy to his holding company as part of a broader shake-up. The move is vital to maintaining Mr. Li’s grip on his telecommunications, retail and property businesses. The recent fall in the oil price makes it harder for shareholders to object.
亚洲首富李嘉诚将把赫斯基能源(Husky Energy)的6%股份出售给他的控股公司，这是一场规模更大的调整的一部分。这一举动对于帮助李嘉诚维持他在自己名下的电信、零售和房地产企业的控制权至关重要。最近石油价格的下跌，让股东更难提出质疑。
In an attempt to shrink a persistent stock market discount, Mr. Li is merging his main holding company, Cheung Kong, with its 50 percent owned subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa into a new company called CKH Holdings. The combined company will leverage up and spin off its property assets.
为了应对持续存在的股价折让问题，李嘉诚将他主要的控股公司长江实业(Cheung Kong)与该公司持有50%股份的子公司和记黄埔(Hutchison Whampoa)合并为长和(CKH Holdings)。合并后的公司将提高杠杆率，并剥离房地产资产。
A straightforward swap would have reduced the Li family’s stake in the enlarged holding company to around 29 percent, from 43 percent today, according to Breakingviews calculations. Dropping below 30 percent would limit the family’s ability to control the business and prevent it from adding to its stake without making an offer to independent shareholders.
如果直接置换股权，李嘉诚家族在扩大后的控股公司中控制的股权下降到大约29%，根据路透《热点透视》(Breakingviews)计算，目前的持股比例为43%。如果持股比例下降到30%以下，其家族对于业务的控制将会受到限制，而且也不能在增持股份时不向独立股东发出邀约。
That’s where the Husky deal comes in. Mr. Li is exchanging a $1.3 billion equity stake in Husky, a Canadian energy group, directly owned by his family for shares in the enlarged holding company. The extra equity lifts the family’s stake in CKH Holdings – and in the subsequent property spinoff – above the 30 percent threshold.
赫斯基股份的交易正是因此而进行的。李嘉诚用赫斯基价值13亿美元的股权，换取了扩大后的控股公司的股份。加拿大能源企业赫斯基由李嘉诚家族直接拥有。新增的股权能让李嘉诚家族在长和的持股比例，以及在之后剥离出的房地产企业中的持股，越过30%的门槛。
A few months ago, shareholders in Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa might have balked at accepting shares in Husky, which were then trading at a five-year high. But the collapse in the oil price since has knocked about a quarter off the value of Husky shares. The result is that Mr. Li has to part with a bigger stake in the Canadian group. However, it makes the trade look more attractive for independent investors who must approve the broader restructuring.
数月前，长江实业与和记黄埔的股东还可能不愿意接受赫斯基的股份，当时赫斯基股价正处于五年中的高点。然而自那时以来油价出现大跌，赫斯基股价下挫四分之一。其结果就是，李嘉诚必须割舍这家加拿大公司更大比例的股份。然而在独立投资人看来，这笔交易就显得更有吸引力。更广泛的重组必须得到独立投资者的批准。
Investors added $5.4 billion to the value of Cheung Kong by midday on Jan. 12, shrinking the discount to the holding company’s book value to 13 percent, from 24 percent before the deal. It confirms that there is value to in restructuring Mr. Li’s empire. If the Husky swap helps him keep control, it will rank as one of the tycoon’s slickest trades.
截至1月12日中午，投资者已经令长江实业的市值提高了54亿美元，股价较控股公司的账面价值相比的折扣率下降到了13%，交易之前折扣率为24%。这印证了李嘉诚帝国的重组操作是有价值的。如果赫斯基股权置换能够帮助他稳固控制权，这将是他最精明的买卖之一。
