Heineken set to pay $4.1bn for Asia Pacific Breweries05 August 2012Heineken has edged closer to taking control of Asia Pacific Breweries after Fraser & Neave agreed to sell its 39.7% stake in the joint venture for $4.1 billion. Lee Hsien Yang, Fraser & Neave’s chairman said that the deal "represents an attractive premium, and the sale of Asia Pacific Breweries allows us to immediately unlock substantial value in the beer business." Singapore-based Fraser & Neave will schedule an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to put the offer to shareholders. Heineken said the deal represents a 45% premium on a one-month trading average. The deal will increase Heineken’s stake in Fraser & Neave to 81.56%. Asia Pacific Investment Partners, a 50/50 joint venture between Fraser & Neave and Heineken, currently owns 64.8% of Asia Pacific Breweries. Fraser & Neave has a separate 7.3% stake while Heineken owns a further 9.5%. Key to concluding the deal will be convincing Thai Beverage and Kirin Holdings to vote for the sale. Thai Beverage owns 24.1% of Fraser & Neave while Kirin holds a 15% stake. Heineken was forced into making a move for Fraser & Neave last month after ThaiBev agreed to pay $2.2 billion for a 22% share of Fraser & Neave last month. The firm has since increased its stake to 24.1%. Heineken will see taking control of Asia Pacific Breweries as an opportunity to boost sales in high growth economies in South East Asia such as Vietnam. According to Euromonitor, brands such as Tiger and Bintang provide Asia Pacific Breweries with a 50% combined market share in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. | |
 Exhibitions Fi Europe | Hi/Ni China | Fi India | Fi Asia | Fi South America | Health ingredients Europe, Ni & NuW | Fi Istanbul Languages      
| |
