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APPENDIX B
附录B
Some Thoughts on Selling Your Business*
对于阁下有意出售公司的一些想法
*This is an edited version of a letter I sent some years ago to a man who had indicated that he might want to sell his family business。 I present it here because it is a message I would like to convey to other prospective sellers。 W。E。B。
这是几年前我写给一位有意出售其家族事业给我们的人士，在经过修正后，我特地把这封信摆在这里，因为这正是我想传达给其它有意出售事业者的讯息…华伦巴菲特
Dear _____________：Here are a few thoughts pursuant to our conversation of the other day。
您好：以下是在前几天我们的谈话后，我个人的一些想法。
Most business owners spend the better part of their lifetimes building their businesses。 By experience built upon endless repetition； they sharpen their skills in merchandising； purchasing； personnel selection； etc。 It's a learning process； and mistakes made in one year often contribute to petence and success in succeeding years。
大部分的企业老板无不终其一生努力地建立自己的企业王国，经过不断地努力焠炼，他们在行销、采购与人事管理上的经验都能持续地精进，这是一个学习的过程，先前一时的挫败通常会成就后来的成功。
In contrast； owner…managers sell their business only once frequently in an emotionally…charged atmosphere with a multitude of pressures ing from different directions。 Often； much of the pressure es from brokers whose pensation is contingent upon consummation of a sale； regardless of its consequences for both buyer and seller。 The fact that the decision is so important； both financially and personally； to the owner can make the process more； rather than less； prone to error。 And； mistakes made in the once…in…a…lifetime sale of a business are not reversible。
相对地，自己当老板的经理人在面对来自各方的压力，偶尔会在一时冲动的情况下，考虑出售自己拥有的事业，通常是因为中间人为了赚取成交的佣金不顾买卖双方的利益而怂恿老板赶快做决定，事实上做这样的决策牵涉重大，不管是在财务或是个人方面皆是如此，仓促地决定可能使得老板做出错误而不是正确的决策，而且一旦发生可就是一辈子无法挽回的错误。
Price is very important； but often is not the most critical aspect of the sale。 You and your family have an extraordinary business one of a kind in your field and any buyer is going to recognize that。 It's also a business that is going to get more valuable as the years go by。 So if you decide not to sell now； you are very likely to realize more money later on。 With that knowledge you can deal from strength and take the time required to select the buyer you want。
价格当然很重要，但是通常它并不是整个交易最关键的因素，你跟你的家族拥有业界最棒的企业，所有的潜在买家当然都知道这一点，而随着时间的演进，你的事业也会变得更有价值，所以若你现在决定不卖了，这代表以后你可能可以赚更多的钱，而有了这样的认知，你大可以从容以对，慢慢地寻找你希望的买主。
If you should decide to sell； I think Berkshire Hathaway offers some advantages that most other buyers do not。 Practically all of these buyers will fall into one of two categories：
但是要是你真的决定要卖，我相信Berkshire绝对可以提供比别人更好的条件，基本上可能的买主可以分为两大类︰
（1） A pany located elsewhere but operating in your business or in a business somewhat akin to yours。 Such a buyer no matter what promises are made will usually have managers who feel they know how to run your business operations and； sooner or later； will want to apply some hands…on 〃help。〃 If the acquiring pany is much larger； it often will have squads of managers； recruited over the years in part by promises that they will get to run future acquisitions。 They will have their own way of doing things and； even though your business record undoubtedly will be far better than theirs； human nature will at some point cause them to believe that their methods of operating are superior。 You and your family probably have friends who have sold their businesses to larger panies； and I suspect that their experiences will confirm the tendency of parent panies to take over the running of their subsidiaries； particularly when the parent knows the industry； or thinks it does。
（1）第一种是你的同业或是与你的所处的产业相近的业者，这种买家不管他给你怎么样的承诺，通常会让你感觉到好象他比你懂得如何来经营你的事业，而早晚有一天他会想要插手来帮忙你的营运，而若是买方再大一点，通常还会应征一大堆经理人进来，借口表示以后还会有更多的购并案，他们一定会有自己的一套做事方法，虽然你过去的经营记录明显地比他们好太多，但人性的某一面还是使他们觉得他们做事的方法才是对的，你跟你家人的朋友大概也有人曾经将公司卖给大企业的，我想他们应该也有这方面的经验，可以证实大公司有倾向将子公司的业务接过去管理，尤其是他们对这行也很内行或自认很内行时。
（2） A financial maneuverer； invariably operating with large amounts of borrowed money； who plans to resell either to the public or to another corporation as soon as the time is favorable。 Frequently； this buyer's major contribution will be to change accounting methods so that earnings can be presented in the most favorable light just prior to his bailing out。 I'm enclosing a recent article that describes this sort of transaction； which is being much more frequent because of a rising stock market and the great supply of funds available for such transactions。
（2）第二类的公司是财务公司，大量运用所借来的资金，只要时机得当，总是准备随时将公司再卖给投资大众或是别的大企业，通常这类买主对公司最大的贡献就是改变公司的会计政策，使得公司盈余比以前看起来好看一点，如此一来使他得以用更好的价格脱手而出，附件是最近一篇有关这类交易的文章报导，由于最近股市热络所以这类的活动也相当频繁，同时这类的资金也相当充沛。
If the sole motive of the present owners is to cash their chips and put the business behind them and plenty of sellers fall in this category either type of buyer that I've just described is satisfactory。 But if the sellers' business represents the creative work of a lifetime and forms an integral part of their personality and sense of being； buyers of either type have serious flaws。
如果公司现在的拥有人唯一的目标只是随时准备将企业待价而沽，弃企业整体的利益于不顾，很多的卖主确实属于这类型，那么先前所描述的买方应该都可以为卖方所接受，但是要是卖方所要出售的公司是他一辈子的心血结晶，甚至已经成为其人格与生命的一部份，那么这两类的买方可能都不能符合你的标准。
Berkshire is another kind of buyer a rather unusual one。 We buy to keep；