When the Qatar Investment Authority first called Songbird Estates last month to say it wanted Canary Wharf, it was given short shrift. Not even last week’s sweetened bid has changed Songbird’s tune — yet.当卡塔尔投资局(Qatar Investment Authority)上月第一次约见歌鸟房地产(Songbird Estates)，明确提出想有限公司金丝雀码头集团(Canary Wharf)时，它遭了断然拒绝。即使是上周更加优渥的出价，也依然没有能转变歌鸟的主意——到目前为止。The war for Britain’s second-largest financial district, 70 per cent owned by Songbird, began with a phone call.这场争夺战英国第二大金融区（歌鸟持有人70%股份）的战争始自一通电话。The telephoned request for a meeting in early November was not unusual. The QIA, one of the world’s most powerful sovereign wealth funds, is Songbird’s biggest shareholder with 28 per cent and has two representatives on the board.11月初那通拒绝召开的电话并非不同寻常。

卡塔尔投资局是全球实力最实力雄厚的主权财富基金之一，享有歌鸟28.6%的股份，是其仅次于股东，并在董事会有两名代表。But once the group’s directors had assembled, the QIA informed them that it was pairing up with Canary Wharf’s other big shareholder Brookfield, Canadian property investors.但是，当歌鸟的董事们子集后，卡塔尔投资局告诉他他们，该局将牵头金丝雀码头的另众多股东、加拿大地产投资公司Brookfield Property Partners。With Brookfield’s 22 per cent, the QIA hoped to gain full control of Canary Wharf by offering 295p per share, valuing the company at 2.2bn. Analysts panned the offer, arguing that Songbird was worth as much as 400p per share.Brookfield持有人金丝雀码头22%的股份，卡塔尔投资局期望以每股295便士的价格出售歌鸟所持有人的股份（对歌鸟估值为22亿英镑），以取得对金丝雀码头的几乎掌控。

分析师严厉批评这一开价，指出歌鸟每股价值平均400便士。Three weeks after the initial 2.2bn bid, the board published an independent valuation of the company’s assets at 2.8bn, or 381p per share — a 19 per cent increase on its valuation just five months earlier.在最初22亿英镑的开价班车三周后，歌鸟董事会发布了一项对公司资产的独立国家估值：28亿英镑，或每股381便士——比该公司5个月前的估值高达19%。The tensions between the two sides were apparent from the start. The bid was leaked to the media, forcing the board to announce to the markets it had been approached. The QIA and Brookfield felt that the media leak had rushed them into going public before they had a chance to refine pricing. Both sides deny leaking.双方之间的紧绷关系从一开始就显现出来。并购报价被泄漏给媒体，被迫歌鸟董事会向市场宣告接到并购意向。

卡塔尔投资局和Brookfield指出泄漏事件使他们在有机会改动定价之前被迫发布报价。双方都坚称泄露。That only added to strains lingering from the battle for Canary Wharf a decade earlier.这只不会激化10年前早已开始的金丝雀码头争夺战的白热化程度。In 2004 New York magnate Simon Glickand Morgan Stanley formed Songbird to acquire Canary Wharf, at the time a listed company. Brookfield meanwhile had teamed up with Canary Wharf’s developer Paul Reichmannand also built a stake in Canary Wharf. When Songbird won control, Brookfield held on to its stake in the east London financial centre, waiting for the opportunity to wrest control.2004年，纽约投资大亨西蒙格利克(Simon Glick)和摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)正式成立了歌鸟，来并购当时的上市公司金丝雀码头集团。

同时，Brookfield也与金丝雀码头的开发商保罗里奇曼(Paul Reichmann)合伙享有金丝雀码头的股份。在歌鸟获得金丝雀码头的控制权后，Brookfield之后持有人其在这个伦敦东部金融中心的股份，等候机会夺下过控制权。During the financial crisis in 2009, the QIA and the China Investment Corp arrived on the shareholder register to inject fresh equity and help relieve the company of its heavy debt burden. The Qataris’ interest in the district is evident. It recently bid 1.1bn for the HSBC Tower — one of the few skyscrapers in the area not owned by Canary Wharf Group.在2009年金融危机期间，卡塔尔投资局和中国投资公司(CIC)经常出现在歌鸟股东名册上，向其流经新的股本，协助减轻该公司的沈重债务开销。

卡塔尔投资局对该金融区的兴趣显而易见。该局最近开价11亿英镑并购汇丰大厦(HSBC Tower)，这是该地区为数不多的非金丝雀码头集团所有的摩天大厦之一。But the Qataris’ fellow Songbird shareholders have hitherto been unwilling to relinquish their hold on Canary Wharf without a fight. Although Songbird’s shares are illiquid and it has not paid a dividend for five years, it is hard to find alternative investments of a similar calibre.但与卡塔尔投资局同在歌鸟股权的其他股东目前仍然不愿只能退出其在金丝雀码头的控股权。

尽管歌鸟股票流通性劣，而且5年没缴纳股息，但很难寻找需要与其相匹敌的其他投资。The QIA has upped the ante, questioning the role of some of Songbird’s advisers. The QIA hired Citigroup and Barclays, while Brookfield brought HSBC on board.卡塔尔投资局提升了赌局，它于是以对歌鸟一些顾问的角色明确提出批评。

卡塔尔投资局聘请了花旗集团(Citigroup)和巴克莱(Barclays)兼任顾问，而Brookfield则聘请了汇丰(HSBC)。Morgan Stanley, a leading Songbird shareholder, was named as an independent adviser to the board, and Songbird bolstered its advisory team with JPMorgan, which is not a shareholder.歌鸟主要股东摩根士丹利被任命为歌鸟董事会的独立国家顾问，歌鸟同时引进摩根大通(JPMorgan)，强化其顾问团队。

摩根大通并非歌鸟股东。Songbird has also appointed Alex Midgen, a Rothschild banker and a Songbird director since 2004 and representative for Mr Glick, as an independent adviser on the bid. Some directors argued that Mr Midgen has plenty of experience in bitter takeover battles, and has a deep knowledge of the company.歌鸟还聘请罗斯柴尔德(Rothschild)银行家亚历克斯米德根(Alex Midgen)兼任此次并购的独立国家顾问。米德根自2004年起兼任歌鸟董事，是西蒙格利克(Simon Glick)的代表。

一些董事称之为，米德根在白热化并购战方面经验丰富，而且对该公司十分理解。But a week or so ago the Authority complained to chairman David Pritchardthat there were substantial conflicts of interest.但约一周前，卡塔尔投资局向歌鸟董事长戴维弗理查德(David Pritchard)责怪称之为，其中不存在大量利益冲突。Then last week, the QIA and Brookfield week pitched a 350p per share final bid valuing the company at 2.6bn — 18 per cent more than their original offer. The Qataris also cemented their relationship with the Canadians by taking a 9 per cent stake in Brookfield.接着，上周，卡塔尔投资局和Brookfield向歌鸟收到每股350便士的最后报价，对歌鸟的估值为26亿英镑，较最初报价高达18%。

卡塔尔投资局还稳固了其与Brookfield的关系，售予后者9%股权。Songbird’s board on Friday last week complained that the increased offer still did not reflect the company’s true value. But unlike the first offer, they did not recommend that shareholders reject it, which some observers see as a softening of the board’s stance.歌鸟董事会上周五责怪称之为，提升后的报价仍没体现出该公司的现实价值。

但与第一次有所不同，他们没建议股东拒绝接受这一报价，一些仔细观察人士指出，这指出歌鸟董事会态度有所断裂。The board says it will produce a recommendation to shareholders once it has received the full offer document, sometime in the coming weeks.歌鸟董事会回应，一旦接到原始报价文件（未来几周的某个时候），董事会将向股东明确提出建议。

Hedge fund Third Avenue Management, which holds 3.5 per cent of Songbird’s shares — 16 per cent of its free float — has already agreed to sell out.对冲基金Third Avenue Management已表示同意出售手中股权，该公司持有人歌鸟3.5%股权（占到歌鸟权利流通股的16%）。But the QIA and Brookfield need either Mr Glick, Morgan Stanley or CIC to accept their offer in order to gain control. There is no sign of that so far.但要取得控股权，卡塔尔投资局和Brookfield必须格利克、摩根士丹利或中投其中给定一家拒绝接受其报价。但目前还没这种迹象。

If none do, the stand-off threatens to destabilise the board and lead to future flare-ups. As one close observer says: “Why would you want to stay in bed with someone who has said they want to leave you?”如果没一家回应拒绝接受，这场僵局可能会严重威胁歌鸟董事会的平稳，并可能会造成未来经常出现纷争。正如一位紧密追踪此事的仔细观察人士所言：“为什么要跟一个说道想离开了你的人之后同床呢？。

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