Global Switch, the data centre company owned by the billionaire Reuben Brothers, has sold a 49 per cent stake in the business to a consortium of Chinese investors², despite concerns about national security.

亿万富翁鲁本兄弟(Reuben Brothers)拥有的数据中心公司Global Switch已将49%股份出售给由中国投资者组成的一个财团，尽管存在国家安全方面的担忧。

The stake has been sold for ￡2.4bn in cash to a consortium called “Elegant Jubilee³”. The figure is in line with reports that the business had been valued at around ￡5bn. Global Switch has long been linked with a potential float or trade sale. David and Simon Reuben purchased it in 2004 for a reported ￡585m, but have invested more than ￡1bn in expanding the business.

这笔股份以24亿英镑现金出售给一个名为“Elegant Jubilee”的财团。这个数字与这块业务估值达到约50亿英镑的相关报道吻合。Global Switch一直被人与潜在的上市或业内出售联系在一起。戴维.鲁本(David Reuben)和西蒙.鲁本(Simon Reuben)在2004年据报道以5.85亿英镑买下该公司，但自那以来已投资逾10亿英镑扩大业务。

Li Qiang, a major shareholder⁴ in Chinese data centre company Daily-Tech Beijing, pulled together the consortium. The largest investor¹ comes from outside the technology sector⁵ in the form of Jiangsu Sha Steel Group, the largest private steelmaker in China.

中国数据中心公司北京德利迅达(Daily-Tech Beijing)的大股东李强牵头组建了这个财团。最大投资者是科技行业以外的江苏沙钢集团(Jiangsu Sha Steel Group)，这是中国最大的民营钢铁企业。

Global Switch tried to quash any suggestion of security issues resulting from the sale to Chinese backers by stressing that its data centres would continue to comply with the UK Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure⁶, as part of the government’s national security strategy. It has argued it is more like a real estate⁷ business and does not have access to the servers installed at its locations.

Global Switch强调其数据中心将继续遵从英国国家基础设施保护中心(Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, CPNI)的要求，作为英国政府国家安全战略的一部分，从而试图打消向中国支持者出售股份所引发的安全担忧。该公司辩称，它在更大程度上像是一家房地产企业，对于安装在其场地的服务器并无访问权。

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former MP who previously⁸ ran the government’s intelligence and security committee, said in September that intelligence agencies should be consulted about a Global Switch sale to determine whether an intervention⁹ was necessary on security grounds.

曾经执掌英国政府情报和安全委员会的前议员马尔科姆.里夫金德爵士(Sir Malcolm Rifkind)今年9月表示，对于出售Global Switch股份的交易，应该征求情报机构的意见，以确定是否需要基于安全理由进行干预。

It is the second British data centre company to be tapped by international investors in the past 18 months after Equinix of the US paid ￡2.35bn to buy Telecity.

这是过去18个月里海外投资者投资的第二家英国数据中心公司，此前美国Equinix斥资23.5亿英镑收购Telecity。

The investment in Global Switch also comes just weeks after Chinese regulators increased scrutiny¹⁰ on outbound investment.

中资对Global Switch出手仅几周前，中国监管机构对本国企业境外投资加强了审查。

The central government has encouraged groups in good financial health to buy overseas technology that complements¹¹ their businesses at home. However, China’s foreign exchange regulator also plans to crack down on investments used to move cash offshore¹², as the country’s economy slows and its currency depreciates¹³ against the dollar.

中国中央政府鼓励财务健康状况良好的企业集团收购对其本土业务构成补充的海外技术。然而，随着中国经济放缓和人民币兑美元贬值，中国外汇监管机构也计划打击旨在向境外转移资金的投资。

Companies and private equity¹⁴ funds in China invested about $146bn overseas during the first 10 months of the year, surpassing the amount invested during the whole of 2015.

今年头10个月，中国企业和私募股权基金在境外投资约1460亿美元，超过2015年全年的投资额。

The consortium investing in Global Switch brings together a diverse range of interests — from Jiangsu Sha Steel, which has made its first appearance on the global stage through its investment, to mPing An, one of China’s largest financial conglomerates¹⁵.

投资Global Switch的财团聚集了各类企业——从通过其投资首次登上全球舞台的江苏沙钢，到中国最大金融集团之一平安(Ping An)。

The consortium resembles several deals proposed this year in which a strategic buyer, sometimes contributing little equity to the deal, is backed by a wide range of financial investors.

这个财团类似于今年提出的好几笔交易，这些交易都有一个战略买家（有时仅贡献少量股权），另有一批金融投资者作为后台。

In July, German lighting¹⁶ manufacturer Osram agreed to sell its lamps business to a first-time overseas Chinese buyer called MLS. The EURO400m deal was backed by IDG Capital Partners and Yiwu State-Owned Assets Operation Center.

7月，德国照明设备制造商欧司朗(Osram)同意将其灯具业务出售给首次从事境外收购的中资买家木林森(MLS)。这笔4亿欧元的交易得到IDG Capital Partners和义乌市国有资产运营中心支持。