奢侈手机公司Vertu被中国投资者收购

Vertu luxury smartphone maker sold to Chinese investors

英国《金融时报》 丹尼尔˙托马斯 伦敦报道

Vertu, the UK-based maker of handcrafted luxury smartphones that feature precious metals, leather casings and sapphire screens, has been sold by Swedish private equity group EQT to Chinese investors, in the latest sign of the popularity of upmarket brands in Asia.

英国手工奢侈智能手机制造商Vertu的手机以贵金属、皮套和蓝宝石屏幕为特色。Vertu已被瑞典私人股本集团殷拓(EQT)出售给中国投资者，这是高端品牌在亚洲受欢迎的最新迹象。

Vertu said that Godin Holdings, a Hong Kong-based fund, had acquired the business alongside “international private investors”.

Vertu表示，香港基金公司Godin Holding联合“国际私人投资者”收购了该公司。

Massimiliano Pogliani, chief executive of Vertu, has also stepped down after three years. He said it was “an appropriate time to pass on the baton of leadership to a new team”.

Vertu首席执行官马西米利亚诺?波利亚尼(Massimiliano Pogliani)也从任职了3年的位置上退了下来。他表示，现在是“将领导接力棒传给一个新团队的合适时机”。

Vertu and EQT did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Vertu和殷拓没有公开交易条款。

EQT bought Vertu from Nokia for more than €200m in 2012 when the Finnish group was struggling to revive its once dominant smartphone business. Nokia, which founded the company in 1998 as an attempt to create a niche in luxury handsets, retains a small stake in the company.

2012年，殷拓以逾2亿欧元的价格从诺基亚(Nokia)手中收购了Vertu，当时诺基亚正努力重振其一度占主导地位的智能手机业务。诺基亚1998年创立了Vertu，试图开辟一个奢侈手机的利基市场。在出售Vertu后，诺基亚仍保留了Vertu的一小部分股权。

The group shipped its first phone in 2002. By 2015, Vertu had sold about 450,000 devices worldwide, with an average selling price of about ￡5,000 last year.

Vertu在2002年推出第一款手机。到2015年，Vertu已在全球卖出45万部手机。去年该公司手机的平均售价约为5000英镑。

Vertu’s business will continue to operate from its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Church Crookham, Hampshire, where it employs about 450 people. The company has a further 450 based around the world.

Vertu仍将继续从位于汉普郡(Hampshire)Church Crookham的总部和制造工厂运营业务。在那里，Vertu雇佣了约450名员工，此外还有另外450名员工在世界各地工作。

The idea behind Vertu was to create a handset for wealthy customers willing to pay extra for premium materials, although the brand struggled with a “bling” image and criticism that its technology has been left behind by much cheaper rivals such as Apple.

Vertu的理念是为愿意为高端材料额外花钱的富有顾客打造手机，不过该品牌一直在努力摆脱“珠光宝气”的形象，以及对其手机技术落后于苹果(Apple)等便宜得多的竞争对手的批评。

Vertu has improved its latest range of phones to match the technology available in other smartphones, while lowering prices to broaden its potential customer base.

Vertu改进了旗下最新系列的产品，以匹敌其他智能手机现有的技术，同时降价以扩大潜在客户群。

The latest Vertu model costs almost ￡7,000 for a basic version, but rises to nearer ￡17,000 if customers want a rose gold frame or bespoke colours. The cost of its most expensive handmade phones have exceeded ￡200,000, and each comes signed by the craftsman who made the device.

最新款Vertu手机的基础款售价近7000英镑，但如果顾客希望配备玫瑰金外壳或者定制颜色，售价就会上升到近1.7万英镑。Vertu旗下最昂贵的手工手机售价超过20万英镑，每一部手机都会签上制作这部手机的工匠的名字。

The market for luxury handsets has expanded in part down to the sale of higher-priced gold versions of Apple phones, while brands in the luxury market have lent their names to third-party handset makers.

奢侈手机市场已经扩大，部分是定价更高的黄金版苹果手机上市销售，此外奢侈品品牌也将品牌名借给第三方手机制造商。

译者/许雯佳