煙草在線據《獨立報》報道編譯　　目前，關于帝國煙草被收購的傳聞還未平息。生產包括Lambert & Butler品牌在內的這家卷煙制造商，在2月16日其股價再次創下了一個新的空前高點后，表明其獨立的日子可能屈指可數了。

　　猜測已經盛傳一段時間了——目前主導歐洲市場的4家公司——作為其中最小的一個，帝國煙草是最有可能被收購的。2月16日，這個觀點被德意志銀行的Jonathan Fell重新提起，他認為合并是“非常有意義的”。

　　“我們認為對英美煙草和日本煙草來說，通過增加它們的規模，提高它們在歐洲的利潤率是有意義的，”分析師稱，并指出它們在該地區的利潤顯著低于帝國煙草的。

　　一個問題是，任何交易都有可能引發重大競爭的擔憂，Fell先生認為，盡管一家重組者能自己清除重整障礙，但是更可能是“兩個（或兩個以上）公司首先組團達成分割帝國資產的協議，然后才投標。”

　　他還提到了中國感興趣的可能性，他說：“如果中國公司真的想參與國際卷煙市場的話，我們認為并購可能是它們唯一的選擇。”

　　然而，分析師非常謹慎，補充說他“認為不會馬上進行招標，”目前該地區的經濟不穩定——“收購方可能覺得這并不是在歐盟進行大型收購的理想時間。”

　　盡管如此，帝國煙草的股價提高了43便士，提高到了2492便士，因為交易者聲稱它得到了防御品質的推動，而英美煙草的股價僅提高了3便士，提升至3148便士。

Market Report: Imperial Tobacco shares light up on takeover talk

Independent
Feb 17, 2012

　　There's no stubbing out the takeover talk around Imperial Tobacco at the moment. The cigarette manufacturer, whose brands include Lambert & Butler, set a new, all-time high last night, after its share price once again lit up on suggestions its days of independence might be numbered.

　　Speculation has been rife for a while now that – with four companies currently dominating the European market – as the smallest of the bunch, Imperial was the most likely to be taken out. The idea was revived again yesterday by Deutsche Bank's Jonathan Fell after he argued that consolidation "makes powerful sense".

　　"We believe that it would make a lot of sense for both British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco to boost their profitability in the EU via an increase in their scale," said the analyst, pointing out that their margins in the region are significantly lower than Imperial's.

　　One issue is that any deal would be likely to provoke major competition concerns, and Mr Fell argued that while a suitor acting on its own could make disposals to clear this hurdle, it was more likely that "two (or more) companies would team-up first to agree a split of Imperial's assets before making a bid".

　　He also cited the possibility of interest from China, saying that "if Chinese companies ever want serious exposure to international cigarette markets we think M&A may be their only option".

　　However, the analyst did urge some caution, adding he was "not arguing that a bid has to be imminent" and that – with the region hardly the most stable place economically at the moment – "acquirers may feel that this is not the ideal time to make a large EU acquisition".

　　Nonetheless, Imperial climbed 43p to 2,492p as traders claimed it was also being helped by its defensive qualities, although British American Tobacco could only creep up 3p to 3,148p.