F&N saga drags on as Charoen extends offer for 5th time
The fight for control of Fraser and Neave between Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi and major Singaporean developer Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) continues, as Charoen decided yesterday to extend his offer for the fifth time to January 10.
Charoen’s bid, through TCC Assets, had already been extended for two months. As the fourth extension ended yesterday, he decided to delay it to January 10 or later, according to a filing to the Singapore Exchange.
Charoen owns a combined 33.6 per cent of F&N through Thai Beverage and TCC Assets, and is trying to increase his stake to more than 50 per cent to foil a rival bid by a group led by Singapore-listed OUE. Stephen Riady, chairman of that firm, is also the president of Indonesia’s Lippo group of companies.
OUE made a counter-bid worth 13.1 billion Singapore dollars (Bt326 billion), or S$9.08 per share, for F&N in November, higher than the Thais’ S$8.88 offer in September to acquire F&N shares that they did not already own.
OUE’s offer will expire today. Reuters quoted a source with direct knowledge of the matter as saying OUE was expected to extend its offer to as long as the fourth week of January.
Meanwhile, OUE yesterday issued an announcement concerning its agreement with Kirin Holdings, which holds a 15-per-cent stake in F&N.
“Nothing in the offeree circular on the OUE offer or the supplemental offeree letter on the OUE offer is to be construed as advice by JPMorgan to any person (other than the independent directors but solely for the purpose as stated in the offeree circular on the OUE offer) on the Kirin F&B offer or the F&B business, or a recommendation or advice by the independent directors to any person in relation to the Kirin F&B offer or the F&B business, including but not limited to any decision that any person may take in relation to any transaction involving the Kirin F&B offer or the F&B business and the exercise of voting rights in respect of their shares at any meeting of the company which may be held in connection with the Kirin F&B offer and any other matter necessary or proposed to implement the acquisition of the F&B business by Kirin, or at any adjournment thereof,” it said.
Kirin has given its conditional support to the group, on condition that if OUE succeeds with the takeover bid it would buy out F&N’s food and beverage business for S$2.7 billion.
On Monday, F&N’s independent financial adviser JPMorgan said both the offers from Charoen and OUE were “not compelling”.
The bank deemed Kirin’s offer for F&N’s food and beverage business “fair but not reasonable”.
