The deals market is back in a big way.

　　并購市場東山再起，來勢兇猛。

　　In just the past 48 hours, new mergers popped up across the globe -- including Texas Instruments $6.5 billion purchase of venerable National Semiconductor, an unsolicited $6.5 billion offer by a state-owned Chinese mining company for a Canadian-Australian firm, KKR's $2.4 billion deal for a Pfizer unit, and a consortium of Japanese metal companies paying $680 million for Kentucky-based Arco Aluminum.

　　就在過去48小時，全球各地都涌現新的并購活動，包括德州儀器(Texas Instruments)65億美元收購備受尊敬的國家半導體公司(National Semiconductor)，中國一家國有礦業公司在未經請求的情況下提出以65億美元的價格收購一家加拿大-澳大利亞公司，KKR以24億美元的價格收購輝瑞制藥(Pfizer)的一家子公司，以及日本金屬企業成立銀團，以6.8億美元的價格收購美國肯塔基州的Arco Aluminum。

　　So far this year, companies around the world have announced $784.1 billion worth of deals, up from $637.9 billion over the same period in 2010, according to Dealogic. That marks the largest year-to-date volume since 2007, when $1.1 trillion worth of transactions were announced in the same stretch.

　　據Dealogic數據，今年以來，全世界公司共已宣布價值7,841億美元的并購案，高于2010年同期6,379億美元。這是2007年同期共宣布1.1萬億美元的并購交易以來，同一時間段最大的并購總額。

　　The deals show a renewed confidence by corporate executives and private-equity firms -- many in the developing nations of Asia -- who are sitting on $2.4 trillion in cash. With rates held low by the U.S. Federal Reserve, financing rates remain at some of the cheapest on record. The deals also reflect the unleashing of years of pent-up demand, as mergers across the globe largely came to a halt at the end of 2007, and worries that inflation might pick up, boosting rates.

　　這些并購顯示公司高管和私募基金（很多都位于亞洲發展中國家）信心的回歸。它們坐擁2.4萬億美元現金，而在美聯儲(Federal Reserve)維持低利率的情況下，融資利率仍舊處在歷史少見的低點。這些并購案還反映出多年來積壓需求的釋放；2007年年底，全世界并購活動基本陷入停頓。并購活動也反映他們擔心通貨膨脹可能加劇，進而推高利率。

　　All this has happened while evidence mounts that mergers often fail. Nonetheless, a change in psyche has pushed corporations to make deals -- if only for fear that a rival may strike first. Nowhere is that more clear than in the financial-exchanges business, where seven global players -- in the U.S., Germany, Canada, England, Singapore, and Australia -- are fighting for primacy of the world's financial markets. "There are certain situations if you don't act now, you've lost your chance," said Bruce Evans, head of Americas M&A at Deutsche Bank.

　　這一切的發生，時值越來越多的證據表明并購常常歸于失敗。但心態的改變還是推動各公司從事并購，哪怕只是因為擔心可能有競爭對手率先出擊。體現得最明顯的莫過于金融交易所這個行業，位于美國、德國、加拿大、英國、新加坡和澳大利亞的全球七大交易所公司，正在奮力爭奪世界金融市場的霸主地位。 德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)美洲并購部負責人伊萬斯(Bruce Evans)說，某些形勢下，如果不馬上行動，你就已經失去了機會。

　　Deal makers may be further encouraged by stockholders, who are tending to reward companies that make acquisitions, pushing shares higher after deal announcements. Typically, shareholders punish companies that make big deals. Shares of Nasdaq OMX Group, for instance, rose 9% on Friday, after it announced an unsolicited $11.3 billion for NYSE Euronext Group last week.

　　交易撮合者或許會受到股東的進一步鼓勵，因為宣布并購計劃之后，股價往往上漲，給從事并購的公司帶來回報。一般情況下股東懲罰的是做大宗并購交易的公司。舉個例子，Nasdaq OMX Group上周宣布在未經請求的情況下以113億美元的價格收購紐約泛歐交易所集團(NYSE Euronext Group)后，上周五其股價上漲9%。

　　Chip maker Texas Instruments on Monday announced its all-cash purchase of rival National Semiconductor, bringing together two big makers of devices used in cell phones, industrial equipment and consumer electronics. The price represented a nearly 80% premium over what National shares traded at on Friday.

　　芯片制造商德州儀器周一宣布用全額現金收購競爭對手國家半導體公司，兩家生產手機、工業設備和消費電子產品所用設備的大公司合二為一。收購價相比上周五國家半導體公司的股價溢價近80%。

　　The scope of this year's deals has been larger than in years past, with three so far valued at more than $15 billion each, compared to four at those heights in all of 2010, said Antonio Weiss, Lazard's global mergers-and-acquisitions chief.

　　投資銀行Lazard全球并購業務主管魏斯（Antonio Weiss）說，今年并購交易的規模大大超過前幾年。迄今為止已有三宗交易的規模分別超過150億美元，2010年全年只有四宗交易達到這樣的規模。

　　The latest deals are bypassing traditional hot spots in the U.S. and Europe. In nearly a third of all deals last year, at least one party came from an emerging market, Mr. Weiss said. Emerging-markets deals are at their highest ever, says Dealogic, at around $210 billion during 2011.

　　在美國和歐洲，最近的這些交易避開了傳統熱點。魏斯說，去年近三分之一的交易中至少有一方來自新興市場。Dealogic說，新興市場交易正處于有史以來最活躍的時期，2011年已累計達到約2100億美元的規模。

　　China is now the third-most active nation for cross-border deals, with volume about one-third that of the U.S. and more than half that of the United Kingdom, according to Dealogic. Chinese firms have targeted oil and gas deals most avidly, followed by mining and chemicals.

　　據Dealogic透露，中國的跨境交易也非常活躍，其活躍度位列全球第三，總體交易規模約占美國的三分之一，占英國的比例超過50%。中國企業最感興趣的交易是石油和天然氣交易，緊隨其后的是采礦業和化學品。

　　One of the boldest moves this week came from China's Minmetals Resources Ltd., which said Monday it was making a $6.5 billion bid for Canadian-Australian Equinox Minerals Ltd. Minmetals is part of a Chinese state-owned mining conglomerate, whose previous interest in Canadian companies in 2004 received widespread derision among Canadian politicians at the time. Sentiment in Canada has changed since then, as politicians view Chinese deals as a necessary part of raising capital for new natural-resources investment.

　　其中一個最大膽的舉動是中國五礦資源有限公司（Minmetals Resources Ltd.，簡稱：五礦資源）周一宣布向加拿大和澳大利亞兩國共同持有的企業Equinox Minerals Ltd.發出65億美元的收購要約。五礦資源是一家中國國有大型礦業集團的子公司，該公司2004年曾對幾家加拿大公司表示出興趣，不過遭到當時加拿大政界人士的廣泛嘲笑。此后加拿大的態度有所轉變，該國的政界人士把和中國的交易看做是為新的自然資源類投資募集資金的必要內容。

　　The proposed deal represents China's largest acquisition bid since China Petrochemical offered $7.1 billion for a 40% stake in Repsol Brasil last October, according to Dealogic.

　　據Dealogic透露，五礦資源擬定的交易是去年10月中石化斥資71億美元收購Repsol Brasil公司40%的股權之后最大的收購要約。

　　Despite turmoil in the Japanese economy, companies there haven't shied away from transactions. On Monday, Japan's Sumitomo Light Metal Industries announced it was leading a group of Japanese firms to buy Kentucky-based Arco Aluminum from BP PLC for $680 million.

　　盡管日本經濟動蕩，但日本公司并沒有回避并購交易。周一，日本住友輕金屬工業公司（Sumitomo Light Metal Industries）宣布該公司正牽頭幾家日本公司從英國石油（BP PLC）手中以6.8億美元的價格收購旗下位于肯塔基州的鋁業公司Arco Aluminum。

　　Companies and private equity firms see the next several months as a window of opportunity, especially if inflation picks up. Private equity firms also need to put money to work as funds wind down and they embark on new fundraising rounds.

　　多家企業和私募股權投資公司將未來數月視作機會之窗，尤其是如果通脹加速的話。私募股權投資公司也需要將資金運作起來，原因是基金接近終止期，并開始新一輪融資。

　　On Monday, Pfizer Inc. announced it was selling its Capsugel unit, which makes hard capsules, to Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts in a $2.4 billion deal. Also, private equity firm Apax Partners announced it was acquiring Epicor Software Corp. and Activant Solutions Inc., both software providers, in deals totaling about $2 billion.

　　周一，輝瑞公司（Pfizer Inc.）宣布將旗下生產硬膠囊劑的Capsugel作價24億美元出售給私募股權投資公司KKR（Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts）。此外，私募股權投資公司Apax Partners宣布斥資總計20億美元收購軟件供應商Epicor Software Corp.和Activant Solutions Inc.。