Fraser and Neave’s board of directors has branded Overseas Union Enterprise’s (OUE) S$13.1bn (US$10.7bn) offer for the group as “not compelling, but fair”.
The Singapore conglomerate released a 116-page circular to shareholders today (19 December), outlining its opinion on the offer. OUE, a Singapore-based property group, submitted its bid for F&N last month, beating an offer from TCC Assets, a fund controlled by Chang beer brewer ThaiBev.
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Following advice from JP Morgan, F&N’s board said today: “The OUE offer price is not compelling but fair, from a financial point of view.” The view mirrors that of F&N’s view on the ThaiBev offer.
If OUE captures F&N, Japan’s Kirin Holdings has agreed to acquire the Singapore firm’s food and beverage business. In the circular, JP Morgan says Kirin’s offer for this part of the business is “fair, from a financial point of view”.
ThaiBev, which owns around 33.64% of F&N, submitted a S$8.88 per-share offer for the conglomerate in September through TCC Assets – a special purpose vehicle part-owned by ThaiBev boss Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. Since then ThaiBev has extended the deadline for its offer three times, with the latest set at 2 January.
Meanwhile, the Chang brewer announced late last night that another subsidiary, Internationnal Beverage Holdings Limited, has transferred its 28.63% stake in F&N to its own wholly-owned subsidiary, Interbev Investment Limited.
