好時收購金絲猴背后的擴張野心

????中國經濟的繁榮發展以及中國消費者對于知名洋品牌的熱衷都不能確保外來品牌一定就能在中國市場獲得成功。好時公司（Hershey）最近以5.84億美元收購糖果制造商上海金絲猴食品公司（Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Company）就是一個例子，它足以證明外來者拓展中國市場的艱難。

????金絲猴食品遠不能與好時公司相提并論。這家中國公司2013年的預計銷售額為2.25億美元，而好時公司預計銷售額為70億美元。好時擁有好時之吻（Kisses）巧克力；金絲猴有紅豆味奶糖。而這正是好時在中國面臨的難題：它著名的牛奶巧克力在中國賣得并不太好，因為中國消費者傾向于購買除巧克力之外的其他糖果。

????中國市場的巨大潛力讓好時做了一些前所未有的嘗試。收購金絲猴之前，好時從未進行過超過2億美元的收購。今年夏季，好時在中國推出了悠漫（Lancaster）品牌香純奶焙糖，這是它近120年歷史中首次在美國之外的市場推出一個新品牌。好時一位發言人上周四接受《糖果》雜志（Confectionery News）采訪時稱，公司的目標是到2017年，讓中國成為繼美國之后的第二大市場。

????簡單計算一下就能判斷，好時進入中國市場付出了不菲的代價。有些交易告訴我們，中國市場對于西方公司是多么重要，就算是好時這樣的美國知名品牌也不例外（好時85%的銷售額來自美國），而收購金絲猴就是這樣一筆交易。

????據兩家公司稱，金絲猴今年的銷售額有望達到2.25億美元。如果我們假定金絲猴的利潤率與全球最大的巧克力市場——美國最具標志性的一個品牌好時的水平相似，金絲猴今年將獲得約2,250萬美元的利潤。當然，這是一個慷慨的假設。

????好時這筆5.84億美元的收購意味著它支付的價格是金絲猴利潤（使用凈利潤數字）的26倍，是銷售額的2.6倍。這樣的收購估值沒有高得離譜，但的確不便宜。為了讓這宗收購物有所值，好時將依靠金絲猴在中國的分銷平臺以及經營經驗，這些都是好時必須掏錢才能買到的東西。（財富中文網）

????For proof that the Chinese market is difficult for outsiders, a place where even a booming economy and a love for top foreign brands isn't enough to guarantee success, look to Hershey's (HSY) recent $584 million deal to buy candy maker Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Company.

????The Golden Monkey is no Hershey. Its estimated sales of $225 million in 2013 compare to Hershey's estimated $7 billion. Hershey has Kisses; Golden Money has red-bean milk candies. And that's part of Hershey's problem in China: Its famous milk chocolate doesn't work well in the country, where consumers tend to prefer candies besides chocolate.

????The promise of the Chinese market has Hershey doing things it has never done before. Before Golden Monkey, Hershey had never spent more than $200 million on an acquisition. And this summer, for the first time in the company's nearly 120-year history, it launched a new brand outside the U.S., a condensed milk candy in China called Lancaster. A company spokesperson told Confectionery News Thursday that Hershey aims for China to become its second-largest market, after the U.S., by 2017.

????Some simple math suggests Hershey isn't getting into China on the cheap. The acquisition is the type of deal that shows how important the Chinese market is to Western companies, even those like Hershey, a famously domestic brand (with 85% of sales coming from the U.S.)

????Golden Monkey may post sales of $225 million this year, according to the companies. If we assume Golden Monkey boasts profit margins similar to those at Hershey, one of the most iconic brands in the biggest chocolate market in the world, the U.S., then Golden Money will earn around $22.5 million this year. That's a generous assumption.

????Hershey's $584 million deal means it is paying more than 26 times earnings for Golden Monkey (using net earnings) or 2.6 times sales. That's not an outrageous M&A valuation, but it's not cheap either. To make the deal worthwhile, Hershey is dependent on Golden Monkey's distribution platform in China and the company's Chinese know-how, things that Hershey had to buy.