Dutch beer giant Heineken yesterday moved one step closer to a US$4.6 billion takeover of top Asian brewer APB when it gained the backing of a Thai rival ahead of a vote on the issue.
Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) and TCC Assets, both controlled by tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, said in a joint statement with Heineken that they would support the Dutch firm’s bid to gain control of Asia-Pacific Breweries (APB).
Heineken in turn promised not to make a counter-offer for APB’s parent company Fraser and Neave (F&N), which the Thais want to take over.
Photo: Reuters
“Heineken is now in touching distance of acquiring APB after this surprise backdown by ThaiBev,” said Justin Harper, an analyst with IG Markets Singapore. “There will be a huge sigh of relief coming from Holland [the Netherlands] this morning.”
Heineken already owns 42 percent of Singapore-based APB and offered S$5.6 billion (US$4.6 billion) for the 40 percent stake held by F&N.
This has to be ratified at an extraordinary general meeting of F&N shareholders on Sept. 28.
Until yesterday’s compromise was announced, Heineken’s bid was in doubt after ThaiBev and TCC Assets, which jointly own 30 percent of F&N, last week offered other owners S$8.7 billion to take over the group.
In the joint statement to the Singapore Exchange, the Thais promised to vote in favor of Heineken’s offer, while the Dutch brewer said it “irrevocably undertakes not to make a general offer” for F&N, in which it has no stake.
APB, the crown jewel of F&N, makes Tiger Beer and other popular brands in Asia, where beer consumption is rapidly growing as sales taper off in mature markets like Europe, Heineken’s traditional base.
ThaiBev makes Chang Beer and is also involved in food and non-alcoholic drinks.
A Heineken takeover of APB would give it an edge over other rivals in Southeast Asia as well as China.
Beer consumption in nine of the 10 Southeast Asian countries totaled 6.84 billion liters last year, up more than 6 percent from 2010, with Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines leading the market, data from research firm Euromonitor showed.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
RSS