随着近年来“A控A”模式频频出现，非同一控制下的常态化吸收合并还有多远？
4月30日，沪深交易所发布《上市公司重大资产重组审核规则》，完善perfectpotionsmegaways了吸收合并政策。作为并购重组的类型之一，上市公司间吸收合并在A股市场实际上十分少见，尤其非同一控制下“A吸收合并A”尚未见成功实施案例。今年以来证监会罕见多次发声鼓励吸收合并。
有券商投行人士向证券时报·券商中国记者表示，这主要因为吸收合并有助于产业整合，同时是低质低效“小老树”（即多年发展后因局限性而长不大）上市公司“主动退市”的方式之一，在监管看来可以实现退市“软着陆”。
不过，多名受访投行人士也谈到，相比近年来出现的“A控A”模式而言，吸收合并的复杂程度更高，相关方的支付成本可能更大。
另有投行人士认为，要想提高市场对吸收合并的接受度，除了需要政策鼓励和完善机制外，还要降低“壳价值”，打击“炒壳”风气。4月30日，沪深交易所均表态要多举措进一步削减“壳”资源价值。
多名投行人士展望称，随着监管鼓励吸收合并以及并购重组需求增加，非同一控制上市公司之间的市场化合并有望破冰。
鼓励退市“软着陆”
4月30日，沪深交易所出台修订后的《股票上市规则》，被市场称为“最严退市新规”，主要因为监管进一步严格“强制退市”标准。随着退市机制不断完善，A股“新陈代谢”有望加速。
事实上，除“强制退市”外，“主动退市”亦受到监管期待。以成熟的海外市场为例，“主动退市”包括私有化退市、转板退市、并购退市等。在业内人士看来，A股市场的“小老树”上市公司可以通过“被吸收合并”实现退市。
今年以来，监管层在不同场合下频频发声鼓励吸收合并。根据证券时报·券商中国记者从券商人士处独家获悉，在3月底的一场并购重组业务培训上，监管层相关人士向券商投行表态支持吸收合并，认为是出清市场低效上市公司的有效方式，比强制退市要“软着陆”，监管层相关人士在培训上尤其鼓励非同一控制下的吸收合并。
4月12日，证监会发布《关于严格执行退市制度的意见》，其中明确要逐步拓宽多元化退出渠道。一是以优质头部公司为“主力军”，推动上市公司之间吸收合并。二是以产业并购为主线，支持非同一控制下上市公司之间实施同行业、上下游市场化吸收合并。三是完善吸收合并相关政策，打通投资者适当性要求等跨板块吸收合并的“堵点”。
4月30日，沪深交易所发布《上市公司重大资产重组审核规则》，支持上市公司之间吸收合并，明确吸收合并中获得股份相关主体不满足投资者适当性管理要求的，可继续持有或依规卖出相应股份。
吸收合并也有助于推动产业整合。华东一家中小券商投行人士告诉证券时报·券商中国记者，上市公司之间通过吸收合并可以整合各自优势资源，提高资源的综合利用效率，进一步优化行业资源配置；提升合并后主体的市场份额，实现规模经济，提高抵御风险的能力。
一家大型券商投行人士也有相似观点，“并购重组是上市公司转型升级、做强做大的重要路径。上市公司之间的吸收合并，有利于同行业上市公司之间实现横向或纵向整合，提高抗周期能力和市场占有率，有利于消除低效竞争，担高经营与管理效能，属于强强联合。”
难点在哪里？
不过，当前A股市场中上市公司之间的并购重组为少数案例。“A控A”模式近年来屡有出现，但并非市场主流；吸收合并更是凤毛麟角。
东方财富Choice数据显示，2020年至今，A股仅有9单换股吸收合并案例，分别为中航电子吸收合并中航机电；徐工机械吸收合并徐工有限；王府井吸收合并首商股份；中国能建吸收合并葛洲坝；冠豪高新吸收合并粤华包；大连港吸收合并营口港；东贝集团吸收合并东贝B。
从上述案例可看出，有的属于上市公司之间的吸收合并，也有的为上市公司与非上市公司之间的吸收合并。这些案例主要发生在同一控制下的公司之间，大多具有央国企整合资产的背景；也有公司是为了实现“B股转A股”。
谈及吸收合并案例数量不多的原因，一名头部券商的并购业务人士认为，非同一控制下上市公司吸收合并涉及两家独立上市公司的结合，要考虑的技术难点和商业安排非常多，复杂度和难度都很高。
据了解，上市公司吸收合并后，被吸并方全部的资产、负债、人员、资质等，将全部由吸并方承继，被吸并方主体注销。这在实际操作中会有多个难题出现。
前述华东某中小券商投行人士谈到，为保护双方上市公司中小股东的利益，吸收合并中通常为合并方异议股东提供收购请求权、对被合并方异议股东提供现金选择权，导致合并方面临较大现金支付压力。
“同时，被吸并主体的业务资质、专利等无形资产以及可享受的优惠政策在注销后，是否可以顺利被合并方继承，存在不确定性。此外，从近年‘A控A’案例数量来看，该类控股权转让相较‘吸收合并’更容易达成交易意愿，交易成本更小，并且同样可以实现协同目的。”该名华东券商投行人士补充谈到。
Further reduce the "shell value"
In addition to the difficulty of practical operation, in the view of many market participants, another important reason for the sparse number of absorption and merger cases is the "lack of soil".
A person in the M & A business of a securities firm in Shanghai said, "before the 'shell value' is knocked down, it is not feasible to absorb and merge between listed companies under the same control." At least they don't want to be absorbed. "
In the view of this person, although the number of cases of "backdoor listing" of A shares has decreased in recent years, the concept of "backdoor listing" in the secondary market has been repeatedly hyped, especially after the pace of IPO slowed down in the second half of last year, the atmosphere of "shell speculation" was once prevalent, and some small market capitalization companies and poor performance companies came out of a rapid rise or even doubled their share prices under the strong stimulation of restructuring expectations.
But regulators have planned to crack down on "shell zombies". On April 30, the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges said that in order to avoid the "shell zombies" and "black sheep" that should have been cleared, such as "leisurely" restructuring, "three high" mergers and acquisitions, and blind cross-border acquisitions, with major shareholders cashing out and evading delisting, the next step is to carry out detailed supervision over the reorganization of the major assets of the "shell" company. Strict supervision due to the lack of sustainable operating ability and thus touch the income and profit indicators by * ST companies, companies on the verge of trading delisting indicators to plan major asset restructuring, strictly prevent illegal "shell preservation" and "shell speculation" Improve the coverage of on-site inspection for the major asset restructuring of other companies such as ST and ST, and ensure the quality of the underlying assets.
Looking to the future, a number of investment bankers are optimistic about the emergence of more market-oriented absorption and merger cases. The above-mentioned M & A person of a securities firm in Shanghai said that "market-oriented M & An among listed companies" is not only the most sensitive index to reflect the optimal allocation of stock resources in the capital market, but also the most obvious index to reflect the dynamic integration activity of the industry. compared with "A control A", market-oriented "An and A" is more meaningful, but there has been no successful case of market-oriented "An and A" in A shares. As the CSRC encourages absorption and merger, the market-oriented "An and A" is expected to set a precedent.
The large brokerage investment bankers also said that with the further increase in demand for mergers and acquisitions, market-oriented mergers and acquisitions between non-co-controlled listed companies are expected to break the ice.