Charoen gives way to Heineken's takeover
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Thai Beverage Plc and TCC Assets Ltd (TCCA) - two firms majority owned by Thai tycoon Charoen Sirividhanabhakdi and his wife, Khunying Wanna - today announced that they would no longer contest Heineken's bid for Asia Pacific Breweries.
In a statement to the Singapore Exchange, they said that at the upcoming meeting of F&N shareholders on Sept 28, they would vote for sale of F&N's direct and indrect interests in APB to Heineken.
In return for this promise, "Heineken irrevocably undertakes not to make a general offer for shares in F&N under the Singapore Code on take-overs and mergers."
The combined stake of ThaiBev and TCCA in F&N reached 30.36 per cent as of last Thursday. TCC is launching an offer to buy all remaining shares in F&N in the open market. Other major shareholders of F&N included Kirin International Holdings, Japan's second largest brewer which has so far avoided the takeover wrangling.
F&N holds 40 per cent per cent of direct and indirect interests in APB, the brewer of Tiger beer which has breweries in 14 countries. Heineken's stake in APB is relatively the same.
The decision ends the months-long competition between ThaiBev - the maker of Chang beer and Thailand's largest brewer by volume - and Heineken which is now the world's third largest brewer.
Last week, TCCA's offer for all shares in F&N not held by ThaiBev affirmed Charoen's dire need for a larger presence in the Singapore food and drink company.
