先来看一下Investopedia中给出的释义：

An earnout is a contractual provision stating that the seller of a business is to obtain additional compensation in the future if the business achieves certain financial goals, which are usually stated as a percentage of gross sales or earnings.

If an entrepreneur seeking to sell a business is asking for a price more than a buyer is willing to pay, an earnout provision can be utilized. In a simplified example, there could be a purchase price of $1 million plus 5% of gross sales over the next three years.

（参考译文：earnout 是一项合同条款，规定如果企业在将来达到某些财务目标，业务的卖家将获得额外的补偿。这些财务目标通常以毛销售额或收益的百分比来表示。

如果一个寻求出售企业的企业家要求的价格超过买家愿意支付的金额，可以使用earnout条款。在一个简化的例子中，购买价格可能是100万美元，再加上未来三年内毛销售额的5%。）

简单来说，“earnout”是并购（M&A）中的一个常见条款，通常用于解决买方和卖方之间对于目标公司未来业绩的不确定性。其核心思想是将部分购买价款与目标公司的未来经济业绩（如未来的营收、利润等）绑定起来。

通俗来说，当你想卖掉你的公司时，可能买家觉得你要求的价格太高了。于是，你们可以约定这样一种方式：买家首先支付一个基础的价格给你，然后如果未来几年你的公司表现得足够好（比如销售额达到了某个预设的目标），买家会再支付一些“奖励”给你。

拿一个简单的例子来说，就像你卖一辆自行车给别人，你觉得这辆车未来能赢很多比赛，所以你要求高价。买家不完全同意，但提议：先给你一部分钱买车，如果接下来的三场比赛这辆车都获胜，他会再给你额外的钱作为“奖励”。这个“奖励”机制，就是“earnout”的原理。

中文里，earnout这种机制常常被描述为：“如果目标公司在并购后达到特定的业绩指标，买方将支付额外的购买价给卖方。”，常译为“或有支付”，但实际上，并不单纯为或有对价，或单纯的对赌。所以，earnout并无具体译法，常根据具体上下文来翻译。

如

Bausch + Lomb, the global leader in eye health, and Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH (TPV), a leading ophthalmology laser company, have entered into a definitive agreement providing Bausch + Lomb with an option to purchase all outstanding and unowned TPV shares for a total company value of up to EUR 450 million, based on the achievement of certain milestones and earnouts.

全球眼保健领域的领导厂商博士伦公司和领先的眼科激光治疗技术公司Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH（TPV）达成了一项最终协议，博士伦有权基于某些里程碑和额外对价条款的实现，收购TPV的全部已发行股票和未确认股份，TPV总市值高达4.5亿欧元。

While the initial acquisition price was agreed upon at $2 million, the contract included an earnout clause, stipulating that the seller would receive an additional $500,000 if the company's profits grow by 10% annually for the next three years.

尽管最初的收购价格被确定为200万美元，但合同中包括了一个业绩补偿条款，规定如果公司的利润在接下来的三年每年增长10%，卖家将额外获得50万美元。

To mitigate the risks associated with the uncertain future performance of the acquired company, the buyer proposed an earnout agreement where additional payments would be made if specific revenue targets are achieved over the next five years.

为了减少与被收购公司未来业绩不确定性相关的风险，买家提议了一项业绩补偿协议，如果在接下来的五年里达到特定的收入目标，将会支付额外的款项。