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In its heyday, Yelp got the attention of American consumers with reviews of local businesses. The company’s slow growth and lacklustre share price performance have now brought it scathing critiques from an activist investor.
在其鼎盛时期，Yelp通过对当地企业的评论吸引了美国消费者的注意。而该公司缓慢的增长和低迷的股价表现，如今招致了一位维权投资者的严厉批评。
On Tuesday, TCS Capital Management called for Yelp to explore a sale or combine with online services company Angi. TCS, which holds a stake of more than 4 per cent in Yelp, claims it is “shockingly undervalued” and worth more than twice its share price.
周二，TCS资本管理公司呼吁Yelp考虑出售或与在线服务公司Angi合并。持有Yelp逾4%股份的TCS声称，该公司股价“被严重低估”，其价值应是其股价的两倍多。
That looks a stretch. Founded in 2004, Yelp popularised user-generated write-ups. It quickly became the dominant platform for restaurant and business reviews. Rapid growth led to a splashy initial public offering in 2012. At its peak in 2014, the stock traded at nearly $100. Even after Tuesday’s 8 per cent price gain, these change hands at just $35.
这看起来有点牵强。Yelp成立于2004年，推广了用户生成的评论。它很快成为餐厅和企业评论的主要平台。快速增长导致该公司在2012年进行了引人注目的首次公开发行(IPO)。在2014年的高峰期，其股票交易价格接近100美元。现在，即使在周二价格上涨8%之后，这些股票的成交价也仅为35美元。
Yelp has struggled to fend off rivals. Hungry diners can turn to Google, Open Table, Urbanspoon and even Instagram to find restaurant recommendations. Meanwhile, small business appraisals have become more fragmented and specialised. Angi, owner of Angie’s List, focuses on home improvement and local tradesmen.
Yelp一直在努力抵御竞争对手的攻击。饥饿的食客可以转向谷歌、Open Table、Urbanspoon甚至是Instagram来寻找餐厅推荐。与此同时，小企业的评估也变得更加分散和专业化。Angie's List的所有者Angi专注于家庭装修和当地商人。
Yelp generated $1.2bn in revenue last year, helped by gains in advertising sales. But its share of US digital advertising spending stood at just 0.4 per cent last year, down from 0.9 per cent in 2017, according to research group Insider Intelligence.
在广告销售增长的推动下，Yelp去年实现了12亿美元的收入。但研究机构Insider Intelligence的数据显示，去年其在美国数字广告支出中所占的份额仅为0.4%，低于2017年的0.9%。
Merging with Angi, as proposed by TCS, should generate cost savings. But Angi loses money and trades at just 0.8 times revenue, compared with Yelp’s 1.8 times. Given the tough environment for digital ad sales, even with economies, there is no guarantee that the business will be on a better footing for growth.
按照TCS的提议，与Angi合并应能节省成本。但Angi处于亏损状态，市盈率仅为0.8倍，而Yelp为1.8倍。考虑到数字广告销售的艰难环境，即使有节约措施，也无法保证该业务将有更好的增长基础。
Yelp has a solid balance sheet with no debt. It holds $414mn in cash and cash equivalents which may have attracted TCS.
Yelp拥有稳健的资产负债表，没有债务。它持有4.14亿美元的现金和现金等价物，这可能吸引了TCS。
A better solution for Yelp than a combination with Angi would therefore be a private equity buyout. A decent cash payout would then generate positive reviews from minority investors.
因此，对Yelp来说，比与Angi合并更好的解决方案是由私募股权收购。然后，体面的现金支付将获得少数股东的积极评价。