????華爾街人士的薪資之高眾所周知，而且有人會說，實在高得離譜。長期以來，華爾街都是一個創造神奇的世界，一眾高管掙得缽滿瓢滿，成為人生大贏家，一點都不輸給那些用自有資金冒險的企業所有人和創業者。在華爾街拼搏的妙處是，人們不僅可以大發其財，而且還不用拿自己的錢去冒險。

????現在，一家來自中國的互聯網公司正在向華爾街展示這個過程。得益于其在爆發式增長的中國電子商務市場中的絕對主導地位、極高的成長率以及可能是科技行業有史以來規模最大的IPO，阿里巴巴公司(Alibaba)正在贏得分析師和評論人士的一致盛贊。

????阿里巴巴還有一個不那么顯眼但同樣可以產生奇跡的特點，那就是該公司把大量有高額利潤可圖的股票贈送給了員工和某些外部人士。

????阿里巴巴9月5日提交的F-1/A格式招股說明書，詳盡披露了該公司的贈股計劃。在第154頁，該公司用表格形式羅列了2011年中期至今授予員工、董事以及供應商等外部人士的股份。讓我們看一看阿里巴巴最近的一些授股活動（從2013年6月30日開始）。它們可分為兩類：受限制股份、受限股票單位（RSU，授予后可以轉換為普通股，以下與受限制股份統稱為受限股），以及期權。

????過去15個月來，阿里巴巴共授股12次，贈送的受限股總計6850萬股，這些股份將在4年內授予完畢，阿里巴巴員工每年將以普通股形式獲得四分之一的所授股份。那么，授股完畢后，這些股份將價值幾何呢？阿里巴巴已將發行價定在60-66美元之間，按照9月19日上市的計劃，具體價格將在首發前一刻確定。按66美元計算，這些受限股的總價值為45億美元。

????上市首日，阿里巴巴的股價可能遠遠超出66美元，原因是機構投資者對這只股票的需求極為旺盛。該公司股價可能大幅高開。阿里巴巴也可能上調發行價，從而使上市當天的漲幅小一些。為簡單起見，姑且假設發行價為66美元，首發當天上漲25%，達到82.50美元。在這種情況下，上述受限股的價值為56.5億美元。

????阿里巴巴在授予員工期權方面也很慷慨。去年6月份以來，該公司分8次向員工授予期權2180萬股。按每股66美元計算，這些期權的價值為5.40億美元。如果上市當天股價能漲到82.50美元，這個數字將達到8.31億美元。

????將二者相加，同時假設阿里巴巴的股價漲到82.50美元，光是過去15個月授予的受限股和期權的價值就幾乎達到65億美元。當然，并不是所有的受限股和期權最終都會轉換成股票。在它們授予完畢前會有員工離職或被解雇。但考慮到每年都能積累大量財富，阿里巴巴員工留下來的動力非常大。因此，我們可以認為這些受限股和期權中的絕大多數最終都會變成阿里巴巴的股票。此外，并不是所有受限股都到了員工手里。招股說明書中的一處腳注顯示，截至3月31日，外部人士持有約17%的受限股和期權。

????姑且認為員工持有85%的受限股和期權。那么，如果阿里巴巴上市當天大漲，員工手里的這些股份和期權的價值將達到55億美元。當然，這還要看具體的授予情況。阿里巴巴有2.2萬名員工。15個月來，他們平均每人得到了價值25萬美元的受限股和期權。要知道，中國公司一名普通員工的年收入為1萬美元，一名普通高管的年收入為8.5萬美元。得到絕大部分股份和期權的可能是阿里巴巴最重要的1000名員工——這部分人總是最大的受益者。假設他們拿到了其中的90%，就相當于得到了50億美元的股票，平均每人500萬美元。

????如果大家正在考慮是不是要買阿里巴巴的股票，那就應該看看最近該公司管理層的自我價值評估。2013年6月，阿里巴巴高層對該公司股票的估價為18.50美元——這是760萬股股票期權的行權價格。2013年底，他們所估的價格為22美元。今年9月份，該公司發行期權時依據的每股價值為59美元。按照這樣的估價，阿里巴巴管理層打算從公眾那里以遠遠超過以往的股票定價水平籌集資金。因此投資者應謹慎為妙。

????實際上，阿里巴巴已經從華爾街那里學了一招。招股說明書的第7頁上提到了定向配股計劃（Directed Share Program），也就是所謂的“親友股”。阿里巴巴給予“部分董事、管理人員、生意伙伴（等各個方面）”以發行價而非市場價購買公司2100萬股的認購權。

????我們都知道，上市當天大幅高開的股票能讓華爾街大賺特賺，原因是心懷感激之情的機構投資者會回饋給這些投資銀行高額傭金。發行“親友股”的目的也是從上市首日的高開行情中獲利。如果阿里巴巴的股價從66美元上漲到82.50美元，“親友股”受益人將在一夜之間獲利近3.50億美元。在兩大獲利源泉的共同作用下，本次IPO的受益者將實實在在地大賺一筆。（財富中文網）

????譯者：Charlie

????It’s widely acknowledged that Wall Street wrote the book on sumptuous compensation—some would say, outrageous overcompensation. It’s long been a wondrous world where high-ranking people get paid on par with owners and entrepreneurs who risk their own money, and win. The great thing about working on Wall Street is that you can get fabulously rich without risking your own money.

????Now, an Internet company from China is showing Wall Street how it’s done. Alibaba is garnering all kinds of superlatives from analysts and pundits for its total dominance of China’s explosive e-commerce market, its fabulous growth rate, and now, the size of its forthcoming IPO, potentially the biggest in tech history.

????Less noticed is another feature that makes Alibaba a source of wonder: Its practice of issuing absolutely gigantic, incredibly lucrative stock grants to employees and chosen outsiders.

????The details are revealed in its most recent IPO prospectus, FORM F-1/A, filed on September 5. In a table on page 154, the company lists its equity grants to employees, directors, and groups of selected outsiders, including vendors, starting in mid-2011. Let’s examine the most recent grants, starting on June 30, 2013. They fall into two categories: restricted stock and restricted stock units, or RSUs, which can be exchanged for ordinary shares as they vest, and equity options.

????Over the last 15 months, Alibaba has made 12 grants of restricted stock and RSUs totaling 68.5 million units. Those units vest over four years; each year, employees receive one-fourth of their grant in regular shares. So what would those grants be worth if they all vest? Alibaba has stated that its shares will debut at a price somewhere between $60 and $66 a share, the exact figure to be chosen just before the offering, which is expected to take place on September 19. At $66, the restricted stock grants would carry a total value of $4.5 billion.

????It’s probable that Alibaba shares will debut at a price far above $66, since demand for the offering from institutional investors has been extremely strong. The increase could take the form of a big pop following the opening. Or the offering price could be re-priced upwards and then make a smaller pop. For simplicity, let’s assume the offering is priced at $66 and that the shares jump 25%, to $82.50. In that scenario, the restricted stock grants would be worth $5.65 billion.

????Alibaba is also generously rewarding its employees with stock options. Since June of last year, it has issued eight option grants for a total of 21.8 million shares. At $66, those options would be worth $540 million. If Alibaba pops to $82.50 at the opening, the options would have a value of $831 million.

????So the total, in-the-money value of those equity grants, over the last 15 months alone, is almost $6.5 billion, assuming Alibaba’s stock jumps to $82.50. Naturally, not all the restricted stock and options will eventually turn into shares. Employees will leave and get fired before their grants fully vest. But given the gigantic wealth employees are accumulating each year they stay, the incentive to remain at Alibaba is tremendous. Hence, we can assume that the overwhelming bulk of the grants will eventually become Alibaba shares. Not all the grants are going to employees: According to a footnote in the filing, around 17% of the restricted stock units as of March 31 were held by outsiders.

????We’ll make a quick estimate that employees now hold around 85% of those grants. So the restricted stock and options held by employees would be worth $5.5 billion if Alibaba opens with a pop, subject, of course, to vesting. Alibaba has 22,000 employees. In the past 15 months, the company has granted them what amounts to $250,000 in stock per person. Keep in mind that the average worker in China earns $10,000 a year and a typical executive makes $85,000. It’s likely that Alibaba’s top 1,000 employees have received the lion’s share of these grants—that’s where the big money always goes. If they’re receiving the rights to nine shares in ten, they’re in the money on $5 billion in stock, or $5 million apiece.

????If you’re pondering whether to buy Alibaba’s shares, you should take note of management’s own assessment of its value in recent months. In June 2013, the Alibaba brass reckoned its stock was worth $18.50 a share—the strike price it set on 7.6 million options. At the end of 2013, the number was $22. Even in September, it was issuing options based on a share valuation of $59. The management that just valued their own stock at $59 is asking the public to pay a lot more. So proceed with caution.

????In fact, Alibaba has learned a trick from Wall Street. Page 7 of the prospectus describes something called the Directed Share Program. It grants “certain of our directors, executive officers, business associates” (the list goes on) the right to purchase 21 million shares, not at a market price, but at the offering price.

????We all know that Wall Street benefits immensely when an IPO jumps at the opening, since grateful institutional investors reward the banks with rich commissions. The Directed Share Program is also designed to profit from a pop: If Alibaba’s shares jump from an offering price of $66 to $82.50, the plan’s beneficiaries will make almost $350 million overnight. It’s a great spectacle indeed, the two Great Compensators working together.