SINGAPORE: The bidding war between Heineken and ThaiBev continues to increase tension after the Thai company increased its offer to take over Asia Pacific Breweries (AFB) on Tuesday in a move analysts say shows the strength of the Southeast Asian market. In what is being described as a surprise move, the Thai company linked to beverages tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakd on Tuesday offered S$55 (US$44.34) for an additional 7.3 percent stake in Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), the makers of Tiger Beer. This was higher than the S$50 per share offered by Heineken, which already owns 42 percent of APB, for the 40 percent stake held directly and indirectly by its longtime partner Fraser and Neave (F&N). “The new Thai bid for the Fraser and Neave stake in Asia Pacific Breweries reflects a broader trend of the ascendancy of Asian multinationals,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist at research group IHS Global Insight. “This is evident in the global brewing industry, with companies from Japan, China, Thailand and the Philippines building their global footprint and competing fiercely with North American and European firms.” Thai Beverage PCL said on Saturday that it had secured loans worth 2.8 billion Singapore dollars to fund its acquisition of a 22 percent stake in the Singapore beverage company Fraser & Neave. . The loans, with a tenure of one year, will be provided by HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered PLC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., ThaiBev said in a statement to Singapore Exchange. ThaiBev, which is owned by Thailand's second-richest person, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, also said that it will finance the entire transaction through loans, a change from its earlier announcement of a combination of internal and external funding. The company plans to buy the combined 22 percent stake in Fraser & Neave owned by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and partners. HSBC and Morgan Stanley are advising ThaiBev on the acquisition. The announcement comes a day after Fraser & Neave's board accepted a separate S$5.1 billion offer from Heineken to acquire the Singapore company's stake in Asia Pacific Breweries which is controlled by their joint venture. Heineken currently owns 41.9 percent of Asia Pacific Breweries and taking Fraser & Neave's 40 percent will give the Amsterdam company a distinctive edge over ThaiBev. The battle has sparked a small battle over the future of beer in the region, with Heineken seen as attempting to ensure it maintains its status as a leader in the region. The Dutch brewer sought to acquire Singapore-listed conglomerate Fraser and Neave's direct and indirect stakes in APB, one of the largest Asia-Pacific breweries, putting a S$50 per share bid on the table. The previous bid by Thai business tycoon Charoen Sirirvadhanabhakdi at S$45 per share had come as a surprise in the opening days of the selling. Asia is a key revenue driver for Heineken, having posted an 8.4 increase in first-quarter beer volumes, nearly double the growth in the Americas and well above a drop of almost two percent in its home market of Western Europe. “People were expecting something from either Heineken or Kirin, but how fast Heineken moved is the surprising thing," said Andrew Chow, head of research at UOB-Kay Hian in Singapore, in comments published by Reuters news agency. Heineken already owns 42 percent of the beer maker, a stake that it has repeatedly said it will maintain given Asia's fast-growing beer market. Rival brewer Japan's Kirin Holdings also owns a 14.7 percent stake in F&N.
