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While trading in F&N and APB still halted, this piece of gossip...

Heineken may have to pay extra to control Tiger Beer maker

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Quote:Coca-Cola Said to Explore Offer for F&N Beverage Division

1 day later...

Malaysia’s Fraser & Neave jumps on Coca-Cola interest

Heineken agrees US$4b-plus APB takeover deal
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/s...35/1/.html

update:
Board of Fraser and Neave, Limited accepts Heineken N.V.’s offer of S$50 for each APB share
http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/V...F0046F944/$file/Heineken_N.V._offer_accepted_3_August_2012.pdf?openelement

F&N Seen Breaking Up in Singapore After Heineken Sale

Quote:“The elephant in the room is what happens to the property assets,” said Jonathan Foster, Singapore-based director of Global Special Situations at Religare. Selling them to CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s biggest property company, would create a Singapore developer with the scale to compete with global peers, he said.

“With a strong balance sheet including a strong cash position of S$5.1 billion, CapitaLand is always open to exploring opportunities in markets where we have a presence,” the company’s corporate communications department wrote in an e- mail Aug. 4.

ThaiBev, Kirin Votes Crucial to Heineken Deal

Breaking up is NOT hard to do - CIMB

Extracts,

The vote from Kirin is likely to be crucial. It dropped its biggest hint at a press conference last Fri, saying that its rationale for investing in FNN is not for APB but rather, for FNN’s Malaysia unit FNH (FNH MK).

[Image: b694q8.jpg]

Latest from SGX,

OFFER TO ACQUIRE THE COMPANY’S DIRECT INTEREST IN ASIA PACIFIC BREWERIES LIMITED (“APBL”)

1. RECEIPT OF OFFER BY KINDEST PLACE GROUPS LIMITED (“KPGL”)

The Company wishes to announce that it has received an unsolicited offer from KPGL today to acquire the Company’s direct interest in APBL comprising 18,753,887 APBL shares at the price of S$55.00 for each share in APBL (the “Offer”). The Offer is subject to, among other things, the entry into of definitive legal documentation between the Company and KPGL, and will lapse at 5:00 pm on 16 August 2012. The Board of the Company will review and evaluate the Offer.

Hmm, does that infer that shareholders will reject the current deal for the better one? If I were a shareholder, I would!

(07-08-2012, 07:14 PM)KopiKat Wrote: [ -> ]Latest from SGX,

OFFER TO ACQUIRE THE COMPANY’S DIRECT INTEREST IN ASIA PACIFIC BREWERIES LIMITED (“APBL”)

1. RECEIPT OF OFFER BY KINDEST PLACE GROUPS LIMITED (“KPGL”)

The Company wishes to announce that it has received an unsolicited offer from KPGL today to acquire the Company’s direct interest in APBL comprising 18,753,887 APBL shares at the price of S$55.00 for each share in APBL (the “Offer”). The Offer is subject to, among other things, the entry into of definitive legal documentation between the Company and KPGL, and will lapse at 5:00 pm on 16 August 2012. The Board of the Company will review and evaluate the Offer.

*For full article, please visit the website.

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Aug 08, 2012
Surprise new bid for APB shares
Thai firm's offer to F&N is higher than Heineken's on a per-share valuation

By Jonathan Kwok & Yasmine Yahya

A FRESH billion-dollar bidding war has erupted for the company behind Singapore's Tiger Beer.

Just when a $5.1 billion offer from Dutch brewing giant Heineken to acquire Fraser & Neave's (F&N) breweries stake looked set to go through, a new offer emerged yesterday.

A firm linked to Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi - the man behind Chang Beer - has made an unsolicited bid of $1.03 billion, or $55 a share, to buy 7.3 per cent of Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) from F&N.

That tops the $50 per share offered by Heineken, although it is for a smaller stake.

What is shaping up to be one of Singapore's hottest corporate battles started last month when Mr Charoen's Singapore-listed Thai Beverage agreed to pay $2.8 billion for a 22 per cent stake in F&N, to become its biggest shareholder.

Heineken, which has jointly run APB with F&N since 1931 and worried about the entry of a competing brewer, swiftly responded. It put in a bid for F&N's APB stake at $50 apiece.

Last Friday, F&N's board accepted Heineken's offer and agreed to recommend that shareholders accept it as well.

Now the latest move upsets the apple cart. Kindest Place Groups, owned by Mr Charoen's son-in-law, is offering to buy 18.75 million APB shares from F&N. The offer will lapse at 5pm on Thursday next week.

"The board of the company will review and evaluate the offer," said F&N in a statement.

Kindest Place's offer is for a much smaller stake of APB than Heineken's bid. It is seeking only F&N's 7.3 per cent direct stake in APB, whereas Heineken wants F&N's stake in Asia Pacific Investment and its direct APB stake.

Asia Pacific Investment is the joint venture between Heineken and F&N that holds the bulk of APB shares. In all, F&N has a deemed and direct stake of about 40 per cent of the brewer.

Market observers read the move as one to force a rethink by F&N's board, owing to the higher per-share valuation of APB. The board may have to ask Heineken for a better price, observers say.

It may be a tactic by the Thais to delay Heineken's takeover of APB. It may also be an attempt to make sure they get into a better bargaining position.
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KPGL really put Heineken in a bad position. It does not cost KPGL too much to block the privatization of APB as it is going to own or already owned 8.6% of APB @S$45. Now it offers S$55 for F&N's direct stake in APB, which is around 7.2%, if succeeds, the average price KPGL paid would be around S$50 only, exactly the price Heineken offers now. Plus, maintaining the status quo is not going to help Heineken, but KPGL is happy with current state of affair.

Don't you think that KPGL already expects Heineken to put up an improved offer which will make KPGL pay more?