【鉅亨網2011-03-31】索科爾辭職 巴菲特親撰新聞稿說明

索科爾辭職 巴菲特親撰新聞稿說明
鉅亨網新聞中心　(來源：北美新浪)　2011-03-31 14:41:08　網友評論 0條　我來說兩句 Blog談新聞　上則 下則

新浪財經訊 美國東部時間3月30日(北京時間3月31日)消息，股神巴菲特備受關注的接班人選大衛-索科爾(David Sokol)周三突然宣布辭職，原因是計劃投資家庭和創建慈善基金。對此，巴菲特親自撰寫新聞稿，除去對昔日愛將的肯定之外，也誠懇地澄清外界對索科爾擁有路博潤股票是引發其辭職的猜測。

譯文全文如下：

這是一篇不同尋常的新聞稿。首先，我會像寫一封信那樣寫這篇稿件；其次，它包括兩部分，都是關於伯克希爾子公司董事長大衛-索科爾。

3月28日當天晚些時候，我收到了由大衛的辭職信，由他的助理轉交給我。大衛辭職的理由如下：“正如我在過去跟您提到過，我的目標是利用日後職業生涯的時間去投資我的家庭，用這樣的方式創造出不朽的權益價值，並希望通過一個企業，為我的後代和慈善基金投資創造機會。我沒有比這更詳細的計劃，因為伯克希爾-哈撒韋公司是我第一個也是唯一一個商業重點。”

我從來沒有要求他辭職，這使我感到意外。大約兩年前，大衛曾兩次對我提出過辭職。每一次，他都對我說出的都是跟周一提交的那封辭職信同樣的理由。那兩次，我和其他董事會成員勸他留下來。伯克希爾今天能夠更有價值，是因為我們過去努力所取得的成功\。

大衛的貢獻無以倫比。在中美能源公司，他和Greg Abel 已經展現了在公共事業領域管理者的最佳表現。在NetJets，大衛沒有借助伯克希爾，成功\地恢複了這家臨近破產的公司的經營。他一直為Johns Manville提供巨大幫助，幾年前，大衛改善了新的管理和監督工作。

最後，在1月14日或15日的時候，大衛把收購路博潤(Lubrizol)的想法告訴我。起初，我不以為然。但在1月25日，他提供給我與該公司CEO詹姆斯-漢姆布瑞克(James Hambrick)洽談報告，我的想法迅速升溫。盡管收購要約完全是我的決定，並在3月13日得到伯克希爾董事會的支持，但是沒有大衛早期的努力就不會有這次收購。

這將我們帶到第二部分的事實面前。在我們第一次談論路博潤時候，大衛提到他擁有該公司的股票。這是順便講的話，我沒有詢問他購買股票的日期或者控股程度。

在3月19日我出發去亞洲之前，我才知道大衛在12月14日第一次購買2300股路博潤股票，並於12月21日賣出該股票。隨後，在1月5日、6日和7日，他以每股104美元的價格下單購買10萬股路博潤股票，最終成交96,060股。

大衛在跟我討論路博潤之前已經購買該公司股票，他並不知道我會對收購路博潤作出什麼反應。此外，當然，他也不知道如果我有興趣收購，路博潤將會有什麼反應。並且，他知道盡管他提出這個建議，但他在伯克希爾沒有決定權。這將是我和查理-芒格來決定，須經伯克希爾董事會批准。而大衛並不是其中的成員。

直到1月24日，我發給大衛一個簡短的說明，表示我對是否購買路博潤仍表懷疑，並且表達出我對中美能源作出的另一個重大收購的偏好。在大衛向我匯報了1月25日他和詹姆斯-哈姆布里克的晚餐\談話之後，我才真正對收購路博潤產生興趣。

大衛和我都不覺得他的路博潤股票是以任何非法的形式購買的。他告訴我，這不是他決定辭職的原因。

大衛的辭職信讓我很吃驚，盡管在此之前，他曾經兩次提出辭職。我在前一天跟他談過各種運營事宜，那時並沒有得到任何他打算辭職的暗示。這一次，我並沒有試圖勸說他放棄辭職決定，並接受了他的辭呈。

由於大衛的辭職生效，格雷格-阿貝爾(Greg Abel)，現任中美能源控股公司總裁兼首席執行官將成為公司主席；托德-拉巴(Todd Raba)，Johns Manville公司總裁兼首席執行官將成功\公司主席；約旦-漢塞爾(Jordan Hansell)，NetJets公司總裁，將成為該公司董事長兼首席執行官。

我在這份聲明中沒有任何隱瞞。因此，如果這個問題在未來受到質疑，我將會簡單地請質疑人來參考這個版本。(發自美國舊金山)

原文如下：

This press release will be unusual. First, I will write it almost as if it were a letter. Second, it will contain two sets of facts, both about Dave Sokol, Chairman of several Berkshire subsidiaries。

Late in the day on March 28, I received a letter of resignation from Dave,delivered by his assistant. His reasons were as follows:“As I have mentioned to you in the past, it is my goal to utilize the

time remaining in my career to invest my family’s resources in such a way as to create enduring equity value and hopefully an enterprise which will provide opportunity for my descendents and funding for my philanthropic interests. I have no more detailed plan than this because my obligations from Berkshire Hathaway have been my first and only business priority。”

I had not asked for his resignation, and it came as a surprise to me. Twice before, most recently two or so years ago, Dave had talked to me of resigning. In each case he had given me the same reasons that he laid out in his Monday letter. Both times, I and other Board members persuaded him to stay. Berkshire is far more valuable today because we were successful in those efforts。

Dave’s contributions have been extraordinary. At MidAmerican, he and Greg Abel have delivered the best performance of any managers in the public utility field. At NetJets, Dave resurrected an operation that was destined for bankruptcy, absent Berkshire’s deep pockets. He has been of enormous help in the operation of Johns Manville, where he installed new management some years ago and oversaw major change。

Finally, Dave brought the idea for purchasing Lubrizol to me on either January 14 or 15. Initially, I was unimpressed, but after his report of a January 25 talk with its CEO, James Hambrick, I quickly warmed to the idea. Though the offer to purchase was entirely my decision, supported by Berkshire’s Board on March 13, it would not have occurred without Dave’s early efforts。

That brings us to our second set of facts. In our first talk about Lubrizol, Dave mentioned that he owned stock in the company. It was a passing remark and I did not ask him about the date of his purchase or the extent of his holdings。

Shortly before I left for Asia on March 19, I learned that Dave first purchased 2,300 shares of Lubrizol on December 14, which he then sold on December 21. Subsequently, on January 5, 6 and 7, he bought 96,060 shares pursuant to a 100,000- share order he had placed with a ＄104 per share limit price。

Dave’s purchases were made before he had discussed Lubrizol with me and with no knowledge of how I might react to his idea. In addition, of course, he did not know what Lubrizol’s reaction would be if I developed an interest. Furthermore, he knew he would have no voice in Berkshire’s decision once he suggested the idea; it would be up to me and Charlie Munger, subject to ratification by the Berkshire Board of which Dave is not a member。

As late as January 24, I sent Dave a short note indicating my skepticism about making an offer for Lubrizol and my preference for another substantial acquisition for which MidAmerican had made a bid. Only after Dave reported on the January 25 dinner conversation with James Hambrick did I get interested in the acquisition of Lubrizol。

Neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful. He has told me that they were not a factor in his decision to resign。

Dave’s letter was a total surprise to me, despite the two earlier resignation talks. I had spoken with him the previous day about various operating matters and received no hint of his intention to resign. This time, however, I did not attempt to talk him out of his decision and accepted his resignation。

Effective with Dave’s resignation, Greg Abel, presently President and CEO of MidAmerican Holding Company, will become its Chairman; Todd Raba, President and CEO of Johns Manville, will become its Chairman; and Jordan Hansell, President of NetJets, will become its Chairman and CEO。

I have held back nothing in this statement. Therefore, if questioned about this matter in the future, I will simply refer the questioner back to this release. – End-