????最近蘇富比決定采用毒丸計劃，阻止投資者獲得超過10%的股份，由此引發了蘇富比與Third Point之間的戰爭。花旗集團的奧利弗?陳說：“魯普雷希特和他的董事會為自己爭取了一些時間，來與其他股東協調。問題是股東的利益各不相同，既有短期利益也有長期利益，而且股東對于公司內在價值的觀點也存在明顯分歧。我不確定哪一種觀點是正確的，但就算沒有外界的壓力，蘇富比也應該已經開始著手考慮這些挑戰。”蘇富比拒絕發表任何評論。

????毒丸計劃未能讓Third Point打消念頭。這家對沖基金在一份官方聲明中，稱蘇富比此舉是“上世紀80年代的遺物。”

????倫敦調查公司Activist Insight的分析師約什?布萊克認為：“勒布不是那種會主動挑起事端的人，除非他有把握獲勝。”Activist Insight一直跟蹤約200名維權派股東的表現和活動。布萊克形容勒布是一位“出色的調音師”。去年，梅麗莎?梅耶接替雅虎（Yahoo）前任CEO斯科特?湯普森的過程中，勒布就發揮了重要作用。

????布萊克說：“他的目的是進入蘇富比董事會，同時在一段時間內扮演重要角色。他很有可能從蘇富比內部找人取代魯普雷希特。”Third Point拒絕為本文發表意見。拉賓認為，通過將蘇富比的挑戰公開，勒布已經迫使這家拍賣公司處在防守位置。“有拍品的收藏者們依然會嘗試與蘇富比協商交易，但他們或許不會像以往那樣信心十足。蘇富比眼下正在經歷什么變故？蘇富比會有怎樣的未來？這些問題或許會在收藏者的腦海中始終揮之不去。”

????蘇富比與Third Point之間的控制權之爭，有一方肯定是穩賺不賠，那就是股東。約什?布萊克說：“總體而言，維權派股東的活動對一家公司的股票有利。在這類控制權之爭當中，更換CEO使年度股票價格平均上漲了約7%。”

????花旗集團的奧利弗?陳對公司股票的預期目標是55美元（周一為50美元）。“不論最終結果如何，勒布已經提出了一些蘇富比必須解決的正當的問題。現在就看蘇富比如何接招了。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????With the recent adoption of a poison pill that prevents an investor from acquiring more than 10% of its shares, the battle lines between Sotheby's and Third Point seem to have been drawn. "Ruprecht and his board of directors have bought themselves some time to align themselves with the other shareholders," says Citigroup's Oliver Chen. "The problem is that there is a variety of interests, both long-term and short-term, as well as starkly different views of the intrinsic value of the company. I don't know who is right, but Sotheby's should have probably been thinking about these challenges even without getting forced." Sotheby's declined to offer comment.

????The poison pill has not deterred Third Point, which, in an official statement, called the move "a relic from the 1980s."

????"Loeb is not the kind of guy who would pick a fight unless he is confident he can win," says Josh Black, an analyst at Activist Insight, a London-based research firm that tracks the performance and campaigns of nearly 200 activist shareholders. Black describes Loeb, who was instrumental in replacing former Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Scott Thompson with Marissa Mayer last year, as "a fine tuner."

????"He intends to get on Sotheby's board with the intention of staying there for a significant period of time," Black says. "There is a distinct possibility he will look within Sotheby's and find an insider to take Ruprecht's place." Third Point declined to comment for this article.

????By bringing Sotheby's challenges into the open, Loeb has already forced the auction house into the defensive position, says Rabin. "Collectors with a property for sale will still call Sotheby's and try to negotiate a deal, but they probably will feel not as confident about it as they used to be. The question of what is going on at Sotheby's, and what its future will be, will definitely linger in the back of their heads."

????In the battle for control between Sotheby's and Third Point there is probably one sure winner though: the shareholder. "On the whole, the involvement of a shareholder activist does very well for the company's stock," says Josh Black from Activist Insight. "In these kinds of battles, the removal of a CEO leads to an average annualized share price increase of about 7%."

????Citigroup's Chen has given the stock, which is at $50 as of Monday, a target of $55. "Regardless of the outcome, Loeb has brought up some valid things that need to be addressed. Now it's up to Sotheby's to make its case."