索尼公司（Sony）的畅销电视品牌Bravia的意思是“凶猛、野蛮、狂野、野性十足的”。当索尼的高管考虑来自国外的最新收购要约时，他们的脑海中很可能就涌现出这些形容词。这种收购对日本中规中矩的商业规则造成了很大冲击。

    最近到底是哪家海外机构这么大胆，敢对日本公司下手呢？原来是美国的一家对冲基金。作为索尼最大的股东之一，它提出索尼应该剥离20%的娱乐业务，同时借助他们的基金重整旗鼓，大力发展目前业绩不佳的电子消费品业务。这家基金公司就是Third Point。5月14日，该公司CEO丹尼尔•勒布在《纽约时报》（New York Times）上首度发表了一封致索尼总裁平井一夫的公开信。信中建议，索尼应将自己的摇钱树——娱乐业务的15%到20%分拆上市。多年以来，分析师们一直认为这种建议哪怕不是那么势在必行，也非常合理。受此刺激，索尼的股票应声上涨。

    不过奇怪的是，日本方面对此并无回应。索尼只是发布了一份简短的声明，彬彬有礼地回绝了这一提议。考虑到勒布先生对索尼有很大的控股权——他的基金拥有6400万股索尼股票，相当于该公司6.5%的股权，索尼这种反应就不免让人觉得有点惊讶了。平井在该声明中称：“娱乐业务对索尼实现增长至关重要，不会出售。”

    声明结尾写道：“我们希望在推行自己战略的进程中，继续与股东进行建设性对话。”鉴于日本长期以来不会容忍任何股东耍心眼，尤其是对那些一心想抓住机会大赚一票的外国股东更不例外，我们建议这个结尾最好写成“只要你们和大多数日本股东一样不声不响，不提过多要求”。在日本，从来就没有多少人会积极参与股东维权活动。

    这并不等于没希望了。位于东京的Eurotechnology公司的杰哈德•法索尔表示：“勒布先生的提议确实来得有点突然，所以日本方面没立即回应也并不奇怪。而且平井先生和勒布先生过去也不常会晤。”不过法索尔先生也不清楚勒布到底能在多大程度上心想事成。他说：“他对索尼其实并没有那么大的控股权。毕竟索尼和夏普（Sharp）还不太一样。索尼没有遇到夏普那样大的问题，所以还没被逼上绝路。”索尼只能寄希望于那些外国搅局者自行消失，就像一直困扰索尼、亏损达八年之久的电视产品线一样。

    不管怎么说，和外国股东之间的斗争到最后几乎总是对日本公司有利。六年前，Steel Partners提出了一项收购要约，要买下日本著名酱料巨头Bull-Dog公司90%的股份。这家食品公司请来了援手，随后采用了一个自杀式方案，从美国人的魔爪下杀出了一条活路。最后，日本法院判定这个自杀式方案有效。

    Sony's best selling TV, the Bravia, translates as "ferocious, savage, wild, untamed" -- the very adjectives that are probably on the minds of Sony executives as they consider the latest bid from gaijin, or outsiders, to upset the highly ordered decorum of doing business in Japan.

    The latest audacity aimed at Japan from beyond its shining seas? A U.S. hedge fund, one of Sony's (SNE) biggest shareholders, has proposed the firm should spin off up to 20% of its entertainment business and use the funds to revive and focus on its struggling electronics arm. In a May 14 letter to Sony President Kazuo Hirai, first published in the New York Times, Daniel Loeb, chief executive of hedge fund Third Point, suggested Sony take 15% to 20% of the entertainment unit, the one that makes Sony money, public. In the light of such counsel, which analysts have for years been calling on as sound if not essential, Sony shares are surging.

    Oddly the reaction in Japan has been muted, with Sony merely issuing a terse statement to politely and gently rebut the advice, although apparently it may have come as a recent surprise that Mr Loeb held such a large control -- his fund owns 64 million Sony shares, which is about a 6.5% stake in Sony. "The entertainment businesses are important contributors to Sony's growth and are not for sale," wrote Hirai in Sony's statement.

    It ends: "We look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with our shareholders as we pursue our strategy." A suggestion, given Japan's long history of not tolerating any shenanigans from shareholders, particularly foreigners with an eye out for the main chance, that would have better ended as "just as long as you are as quiet and undemanding as the average Japanese shareholder." Shareholder activism has never been much of a participating sport in Japan.

    But there is hope. "Mr Loeb's proposal certainly came out of the blue, so I am not surprised that there is no immediate response," says Gerhard Fasol of Tokyo-based Eurotechnology. "And Mr Hirai did meet Mr Loeb which was not always the case in the past." However Mr. Fasol is unsure just how far Mr. Loeb may get. "He does not have that much power over Sony. After all they are not like Sharp ," he says. "They don't have the same problems as Sharp so they don't have a gun to their heads." The hope must be that like the the other Bravia that is plaguing Sony -- its eight years of loss-making TVs -- the foreign meddlers might just disappear.

    Struggles with foreign shareholders have nearly always turned to favor Japanese companies, after all. Just six years ago when Steel Partners launched a tender offer for the 90% of a famous Japanese sauce maker, Bull-Dog, the food firm sought a white knight intervention and then a poison pill to save itself from an aggressive takeover bid from the Americans. Finally, Japanese courts voted in favor of the pill.

    分析师表示，现在外国公司更多地采取这类做法，这进一步证明日本企业正面临着一个公司并购的全新时代，这类并购将与日本海外的并购案更加相似。私募基金和对冲基金在日本曾一直被视为盘旋在公司上空的秃鹰，因此直到不久前，这类收购要约还颇为少见。而想从日本公司身上赚取高额回报的海外投资者在日本也很少成功过。

    勒布先生的策略并没有太多敌意。但是历史事实表明，索尼和其它日本公司不太可能响应他的呼吁，它们在骨子里只会对新任首相安倍晋三言听计从。这位首相近期推行的经济政策似乎正让日本重新恢复元气。最新数据显示，多亏日本央行的巨额注资，日本经济正重拾升势，不过通缩依旧，而由于没有推出新的投资计划，企业还是不愿意放开手脚。

    法索尔的问题是：“勒布先生呼吁索尼放手一搏，要么成功要么失败，我们也都知道索尼必须改革，但到底该怎么做呢？”他的建议是，和日本八大电子巨头中的其他公司一样，现在是时候聚焦到几种为数不多的产品上，并挑选出能真正赢得市场的产品了——而这些公司总是和自己的对手一样，大量生产同类产品。他说：“很多日本公司都应该像这样专注起来了，他们都太过全线出击了。”

    至于勒布的提议，法索尔认为它是索尼所需要的大手术之一。他说：“我想，包括平井在内的所有人都不会否认，索尼现在需要进行重大变革，其他日本电子巨头也概莫能外。不过，大手术只是改革举措之一。除此而外，员工态度、执行力、公司文化等很多方面都需要改变——但最重要的是，索尼要推出富有前景的产品，这才是我一直期待着的！”(财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    Analysts here say an increase in more moves like this from foreign firms is further proof that Japanese industries now face a new era of corporate mergers and acquisitions that will more closely resemble deals seen overseas. Until very recently takeover bids were rare in Japan where private equity and hedge funds have been traditionally viewed as corporate vultures. Nor have efforts by overseas investors to wring higher returns from companies found much success in Japan.

    Mr Loeb's tactics are less hostile. But historic evidence suggests that Sony and Japan Inc. are unlikely to heed his call, which essentially echoes the lead of the country's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe. His economic policies seem to have done so much to put Japan back on the map recently. Thanks to massive spending by the Bank of Japan, the nation's economy is on the up, though deflation is still the norm and firms are refusing to budge on lack of plans for new investments, according to the latest figures.

    "Successful or not is Mr Loeb's call for action, we all agree that Sony must change, but how?" asks Mr Fasol. He suggests like the rest of Japan's big eight electronics makers, it is time to focus on a few products -- many reproduce in droves the same as their competitors -- and pick whichever can succeed. "Many other companies in Japan should focus like this, they all do too much," he says.

    Regarding Mr Loeb's proposal, Fasol believes it constitutes major surgery. "I think that everyone including Mr Hirai agrees that massive change is necessary at Sony, and all other Japanese electronics companies," he says. "However, massive surgery is only one part. In addition, many changes in attitude, execution, company culture, etc. are also necessary -- but the most important are visionary products which I am still waiting for at Sony!"