SINGAPORE--Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (O39.SG) and its units
said Tuesday they finalized the sale of their stakes in Fraser
& Neave Ltd. (F99.SG) and Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd. (A46.SG)
to Thai Beverage PCL (Y92.SG) and Kindest Place Groups Ltd.,
effectively making Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi the
single largest shareholder in F&N.
Last month, ThaiBev and Kindest Place said they agreed with OCBC
and its units to acquire shares in F&N and APB for about US$3
billion.
ThaiBev agreed to buy a 22% stake in F&N, while Kindest
Place, owned by Mr. Charoen's son-in-law, agreed to buy an 8.6%
stake in APB.
"The parties have agreed to effect the sales and purchases
today," OCBC said in a filing to the Singapore Exchange.
With the deal, ThaiBev becomes the single largest shareholder in
F&N, with a 26.2% stake, potentially complicating matters for
Dutch brewer Heineken NV (HEIA.AE), which has made a $4.1 billion
offer for F&N's entire stake in APB, the maker of Tiger
beer.
Earlier this month, F&N's board recommended its shareholders
accept Heineken's offer to buy F&N's APB stake for S$50 a
share. The proposal will now be put to F&N shareholders for
approval.
ThaiBev may now have a greater say in how the company responds
to Heineken's offer.
Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@dowjones.com
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