百度爱奇艺视频网站向IPO迈出一步

 　　Baidu, China’s equivalent of Google, said Friday that it had received a nonbinding proposal to acquire its majority stake in the Chinese video streaming website Qiyi.com, valuing the business at about $2.8 billion.

　　百度在周五表示收到一份收购其流媒体视频网站爱奇艺(Qiyi.com)多数股份的非约束性提议，对公司估值约为28亿美元。百度在中国的地位相当于谷歌(Google)。

　　Robin² Yanhong Li, the Baidu chairman and chief executive, and Yu Gong, the chief executive of Qiyi, offered to acquire the 80.5 percent stake in Qiyi owned by Baidu.

　　百度董事长兼首席执行官李彦宏和爱奇艺首席执行官龚宇提议，收购百度所持有的80.5%的爱奇艺股份。

　　The consolidation³ of ownership by Mr. Li and Mr. Gong could be a first step toward an initial public offering of stock for iQiyi. In recent years, iQiyi’s executives have said repeatedly that they are planning to list the company in the United States in the next few years. Listing the video site, which Baidu acquired in 2012, allows it to retain talent by offering new stock incentives⁴ and greater independence to the company’s leaders.

　　李彦宏和龚宇此次获取所有权的举措可能是推动爱奇艺首次公开募股的第一步。近些年来，爱奇艺高管曾多次表示，他们计划未来几年在美国上市。百度于2012年收购该视频网站，网站上市后可以提供新的股票激励，给予公司领导层更多独立空间，从而留住人才。

　　Qiyi, now known as iQiyi, started in 2010 with investments from Baidu and Providence⁵ Equity⁶ Partners. Baidu bought out Providence’s stake for an undisclosed amount in 2012.

　　百度与普罗维登斯投资(Providence Equity Partners)在2010年共同投资创办了视频网站奇艺，后更名为爱奇艺。百度于2012年收购了普罗维登斯所持股份，没有透露交易金额。

　　Baidu competes with its Chinese rivals Alibaba and Tencent to invest in online-to-offline services, the sorts of businesses where the Chinese use smartphones to order things as diverse as meals and massages⁷ brought to their homes. This has been an expensive undertaking⁸, with Baidu operating profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 falling by more than a third from a year ago in part because of rising costs.

　　百度与中国竞争对手阿里巴巴及腾讯争相投资在线-线下服务领域，中国人通过智能手机订购各种商品，享受送货到家的服务，比如送餐和按摩服务。这是一项成本高昂的业务，在截至9月30日的第三季度中，百度的运营利润同比下降超过三分之一，部分是因为成本增加。

　　The buyers would expect that Qiyi would remain a strategic partner after the transaction and enter into cooperation agreements with Baidu if the deal were consummated⁹, Baidu said.

　　百度表示，如果交易达成，买主会希望此后爱奇艺仍然是百度的战略合作伙伴，与百度签订合作协议。

　　“The board cautions Baidu’s shareholders¹⁰ and others considering trading in its securities that the board recently received the nonbinding proposal and no decisions have been made with respect to Baidu’s response to the proposal,” Baidu said in a news release.

　　百度发布新闻稿称，“百度董事会提醒公司股东和其他考虑交易公司股票的投资者，公司目前只是接到了这份收购提议，尚未作出任何决定。”

　　“There can be no assurance that any definitive¹¹ offer will be made, that any legally binding¹ agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated,” Baidu added.

　　百度还表示，“不能保证买方会给出最终的正式报价，也不能确保会实施任何具有法律约束力的协议，将来会达成任何交易。”

　　Such a transaction by a management-involved group for iQiyi would lighten Baidu’s burden in another expensive area: streaming video. Baidu competes with Alibaba, Tencent and other Chinese companies to create or buy movies and television shows — both foreign and domestic, with iQiyi showing a range of programs from Chinese costume dramas to American shows like “Homeland” — that Chinese viewers stream through their smartphones, tablets and computers. Baidu has told investors¹² it expects the costs of buying and producing content to continue to rise as a percentage of its income.

　　这项由爱奇艺管理层开展的交易会减轻百度在另一个高成本领域的负担：流媒体视频。百度与阿里巴巴、腾讯及其他中国公司开展竞争，制作或购买国内外电影及电视节目，供中国观众通过智能手机、平板电脑及电脑观看。爱奇艺拥有很多节目，从中国古装剧到《国土安全》(Homeland)等美剧。百度告诉投资者，公司希望继续增加购买及制作节目的支出在收入中所占的比重。

　　Baidu said its board had formed a special committee of three independent directors to evaluate the transaction. The law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate¹³, Meagher & Flom has been hired to advise the committee.

　　百度表示，董事会已经成立由三名独立董事组成的特别委员会，对该交易进行评估。该委员会已经聘请世达律师事务所(Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher&Flom)提供顾问服务。

1 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

2 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

4 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

6 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

7 massages   

按摩，推拿( massage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At present the doctor is giving him daily massages to help restore the function of his limbs. 目前医生每天在给他按摩，帮助他恢复腿臂的功能。
• His father massages his nose and chin. 他爸爸揉了揉鼻子和下巴。

8 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

9 consummated   

v.使结束( consummate的过去式和过去分词 )；使完美；完婚；（婚礼后的）圆房

参考例句：

• The marriage lasted only a week and was never consummated. 那段婚姻仅维持了一星期，期间从未同房。
• We consummated an agreement after a year of negotiation. 经过一年的谈判，我们达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

11 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

12 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

13 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？