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sproducts. The much-publicized health problems that affected many people exposed to asbestos led to JM’s declaring bankruptcy in 1982. 最後在十二月底，我們同意以18億美元買下Johns Manville公司(簡稱JM)，這家公司過去幾十年來創造了令人難以置信的傳奇-族煩不及備載，其中又以生產石綿產品最為著名，當時因為石綿引發許多人致癌的健康問題而導致該公司在1982年宣佈申請破產。 Subsequently, the bankruptcy court established a trust for victims, the major asset of which was a controlling interest in JM. The trust, which sensibly wanted to diversify its assets, agreed last June to sell the business to an LBO buyer. In the end, though, the LBO group was unable to obtain financing. 之後破產法庭為受害人成立了一筆信託基金，其中最主要的資產就是JM的多數股權，而這筆信託基金為了要分散其資產配置，於是在去年六月同意將該公司賣給一位融資購併業者，只是後來由於該業者無法順利取得融資而使得交易告吹。 Consequently, the deal was called off on Friday, December 8th. The following Monday, Charlie and I called Bob Felise, chairman of the trust, and made an all-cash offer with no financing contingencies. The next day the trustees voted tentatively to accept our offer, and a week later we signed a contract. 之後到了12月8號星期五交易正式宣佈取消，隔週，查理跟我打電話給Bob Felise-該信託基金的董事會主席，提出全部現金不必等候融資的條件，隔天信託基金臨時表決接受我們的提案，並於一個星期後正式簽訂契約。 JM is the nation’s leading producer of commercial and industrial insulation and also has major positions in roofing systems and a variety of engineered products. The company’s sales exceed $2 billion and the business has earned good, if cyclical, returns. Jerry Henry, JM’s CEO, had announced his retirement plans a year ago, but I’m happy to report that Charlie and I have convinced him to stick around. JM是全美商業用與工業用隔熱材料的領導品牌，同時在屋頂裝設與其他工業產品也佔有相當大的市場，該公司的年營業額超過20億美金，同時也享有不錯的獲利水準，(當然該公司還是有景氣循環)，該公司總裁Jerry Henry本來已宣佈一年後計畫要退休，但在這裡我很高興向各位報告，查理跟我已經成功說服他繼續留下來。 * * * * * * * * * * * * 　Two economic factors probably contributed to the rush of acquisition activity we experienced last year. First, many managers and owners foresaw near-term lowdowns in their businesses - and, in fact, we purchased several companies whose earnings will almost certainly decline this year from peaks they reached in 1999 or 2000. The declines make no difference to us, given that we expect all of our businesses to now and then have ups and downs. (Only in the sales presentations of investment banks do earnings move forever upward.) We don’t care about the bumps; what matters are the overall results. But the decisions of other people are sometimes affected by the near-term outlook, which can both spur sellers and temper the enthusiasm of purchasers who might otherwise compete with us. 去年購併案之所以會蜂擁而現，主要有兩個原因，首先，許多經理人跟老闆都預視到自己公司的產業即將走下坡，事實上在我們這次買下來的公司當中，確實就有好幾家今年的盈餘將會較1999年或2000年減少，不過對於這點我們並不介意，因為每個產業都會有景氣循環，(只有在券商做的投資簡報中，盈餘才會無止盡地成長)，我們不在乎這短期的波折，真正重要的是長期的結果，當然有些人會比較看重短期的成敗，而這反而能增加賣方出售的意願或降低其他潛在買家的競爭意願。　A second factor that helped us in 2000 was that the market for junk bonds dried up as the year progressed. In the two preceding years, junk bond purchasers had relaxed their standards, buying the obligations of ever-weaker issuers at inappropriate prices. The effects of this laxity were felt last year in a ballooning of defaults. In this environment, "financial" buyers of businesses - those who wish to buy using only a sliver of equity - became unable to borrow all they thought they needed. What they could still borrow, moreover, came at a high price. Consequently, LBO operators became less aggressive in their bidding when businesses came up for sale last year. Because we analyze purchases on an all-equity basis, our evaluations did