据路透社4月21日孟买报道，沙特阿拉伯国家石油公司(Saudi Aramco)可以为穆凯什·安巴尼(Mukesh Ambani)的业务调整提供资金。这家中东石油巨头正考虑入股印度大亨信实工业(Reliance Industries)旗下价值1,270亿美元的石化和炼油业务。该协议将使利雅得在石油销售方面获得更大的安全保障，同时允许这家印度最大的上市公司在不增加杠杆的情况下全面发展。

安巴尼对出售其部分“皇冠上的珠宝”持开放态度，反映出在优先事项上的平衡。石油化工和炼油是摇钱树，也是增长领域。这位大亨正计划在古吉拉特邦西部的贾姆纳加尔进行大规模扩张，信实集团已在那里运营着全球最大的炼油设施，到2040年，印度至少需要将产能提高一倍，才能满足国内需求。不过，安巴尼还希望在不增加借款的情况下，继续扩大面向消费者的业务，这些业务的回报不太确定，净债务已经接近信实工业税息折旧及摊销前利润（EBITDA）的两倍。

如果沙特以150亿美元收购该公司25%的能源业务股份，这意味着两家公司的估值加起来将达到600亿美元。根据经纪公司IIFL的分析，这比该部门的隐含企业价值低五分之一，但如果所报数字是股权价值，这看起来更合理。

无论如何，这笔现金以及信实向加拿大布鲁克菲尔德资产管理公司(Brookfield Asset Management)等买家单独出售150亿美元光纤和电信塔的潜在交易，将使安巴尼能够继续向这位日常生活中的印度人示好。他的新业务已经包括印度最大的零售商和一家以极低价格提供移动数据的电信运营商。安巴尼希望，到2028年，这些“新时代”业务占EBITDA的比例从目前的四分之一左右，增至一半。这位大亨已投入数十亿美元建设电信网络，可能需要提高价格，并投资于电子商务，以挑战杰夫?贝佐斯(Jeff Bezos)的亚马逊(Amazon)和Flipkart-owner沃尔玛(Walmart)。

讨价还价是可能的。沙特阿美雄厚的财力将鼓励安巴尼坚持以更高价格收购他的宝贵资产，但沙特可能不愿知道，他们在拥有少数股权的业务中几乎没有发言权。不管怎样，达成协议的共同利益应该足以让事情越过争议底线。

薛珂 编译自 路透社

原文如下：

Aramco sale would grease Mukesh Ambani's tidy-up

Saudi Aramco can grease Mukesh Ambani’s tidy-up. The Middle Eastern oil giant is eyeing a stake in the petrochemicals and refining bit of the Indian tycoon’s $127 billion Reliance Industries. A deal would give Riyadh greater security over where it sells its oil, while allowing India’s largest publicly listed company to grow on all fronts without its leverage ballooning.

Ambani’s openness to selling some of his crown jewels reflects a balancing of priorities. Petrochemicals and refining are cash cows but also growth areas. The tycoon is planning a sizeable expansion at Jamnagar in western Gujarat, where Reliance already operates the world’s biggest refinery complex, and India needs to at least double capacity to meet domestic demand by 2040. Still, Ambani will also want to keep expanding his consumer-facing businesses, where payback is less certain, without hiking borrowings: net debt is already close to two times Reliance’s EBITDA.

If the Saudis pay a mooted $15 billion for a 25 percent stake in the energy operations, that would imply a valuation of $60 billion for the divisions combined. That's one-fifth less than the implied enterprise value of the unit based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis by brokerage IIFL, but looks more reasonable if the quoted figure is an equity value.

Either way, that cash, and a separate potential $15 billion sale of Reliance’s fibre and telecom towers to a buyer like Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, would allow Ambani to continue his courtship of the everyday Indian. His newish businesses already include the country’s biggest retailer and a telecom operator offering mobile data at dirt-cheap prices, and Ambani wants these “new age” businesses to grow from about one quarter of EBITDA at present to half the total by 2028. The tycoon has sunk billions into building the telecom network and may need to increase prices and invest in e-commerce to take on Jeff Bezos’ Amazon and Flipkart-owner Walmart.

Haggling is likely. Aramco’s deep pockets will encourage Ambani to hold out for a higher price for his prize assets, but the Saudis may resist knowing they will have little say in the business with a minority stake. Either way, the mutual benefit of doing a deal should be enough to get something over the line.