Heineken ready to up the ante in battle for Tiger

By KRISTY DORSEY
Published on 18/08/2012 00:00

HEINEKEN is considering raising its offer for Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) as it fights off one of Thailand’s richest men for full control of the maker of Tiger beer.

Sources said the Dutch brewer was in discussions with Singapore’s Fraser & Neave (F&N) about raising its offer of S$50 (£25.40) per share for the APB stock it does not already have. F&N owns 40 per cent of APB and is the company’s second-largest shareholder after Heineken’s 42 per cent stake.

Heineken and F&N declined to comment on suggestions that a revised offer, said to be pegged at S$53 per share, could be conditional upon F&N refusing a partial offer from Thai rivals led by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

Kindest Place Groups, which is owned by Charoen’s son-in-law, has offered to buy 7.3 per cent of APB from F&N for S$55 per share. Separately, Charoen’s Thai Beverage group recently became F&N’s largest shareholder with a 26.4 per cent stake.

Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewer, wants full control of APB as it seeks to protect its hold in a key region. It has the smallest presence among the world’s top three brewers in faster-growing emerging markets.

APB, which has breweries in 14 countries, has clocked up nearly 20 per cent annual earnings growth during the past decade.

Nearly one-third of APB’s volume comes from brewing Heineken for markets from China to New Zealand. The company also makes Tiger, Bintang and Anchor.