你应该对国美(Gome)表示同情。自从近两年前濒临破产、前董事长黄光裕被捕以来，中国这家排名第二的电器零售商采取了常规情况下的几乎一切举措。它曾寻求新资本、偿还借款、改革公司治理、放弃抢占地盘的战略、并因关注利润率而关闭了八分之一的门店。
但黄光裕却一直在闹事。在今年5月被判处14年有期徒刑之前，这位中国最年轻的白手起家的亿万富翁（迄今仍是国美最大股东），试图撵走由国美救星贝恩资本(Bain Capital)任命的董事。如今，身陷囹圄的他在中国最大的门户网站上发表致国美员工的公开信，设法挑动他们反对国美现任管理层。
黄光裕的指控全都站不住脚。信中称，贝恩资本及其走狗正玷污这个备受人们喜爱的中国品牌（变“国美电器”为“美国电器”）。这一说法是没有根据的，因为6年前，是黄光裕在百慕大组建了母公司，然后将一大块股权出售给了香港的国际机构。但是，这些纷争转移了投资者的注意力，让他们无法关注一个越来越具有说服力的事实，即国美业务出现了转机。自从去年6月复牌以来，国美预期市盈率已从17倍慢慢升至18倍。仍坚守扩张模式的竞争对手苏宁(Suning)，市盈率则从12倍跃升至24倍。
对于少数股东而言，聊以自慰的是国美仍然存在：4年前，在董事长顾雏军被捕后，冰箱生产商科龙(Kelon)被出售给了竞争对手海信(Hisense)。然而，即便在贝恩资本2016年执行债转股后，黄光裕所持股权仍高达近30%。在很长一段时间内，这位“价格屠夫”仍将挥刀。
Lex专栏是由FT评论家联合撰写的短评，对全球经济与商业进行精辟分析
译者/何黎
You’ve got to feel for Gome. Since suffering a near-death experience almost two years ago, with the arrest of former chairman Huang Guangyu, China’s number two electronics retailer has done almost everything by the book. It sought fresh capital, paid down borrowings, revamped its governance and tore up its land-grab strategy, closing one outlet in eight as it focused on margins.
All the while, though, Mr Huang has made mischief. Before being sentenced to a 14-year stretch in May, China’s youngest self-made billionaire – and still Gome’s largest shareholder – tried to oust directors appointed by Bain Capital, the company’s saviour. Now, from his cell, he is trying to foment an uprising with a post to employees on China’s largest web portal.
None of his accusations holds water. The charge that Bain and its lackeys are contaminating a beloved Chinese brand (turning “guomei”, beautiful country, into “meiguo”, America) is flimsy, since it was Mr Huang who incorporated the parent company in Bermuda and then sold a big chunk of Gome to international institutions in Hong Kong six years ago. But the noise has distracted investors from an increasingly convincing turnround. Since returning from suspension last June the stock’s forward price/earnings multiple has crept up from 17 to 18 times. The multiple of competitor Suning, still firmly in expansion mode, has leapt from 12 to 24.
For minority shareholders, the consolation is that Gome exists at all: fridgemaker Kelon was sold to rival Hisense four years ago, after the arrest of chairman Gu Chujun. But even after Bain converts all its bonds in 2016, Mr Huang will be left with almost 30 per cent. The “price butcher” will be wielding his cleaver for a good while yet.
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