Heineken bids for APB takeover

Published:  24 Jul at 9 AM

Asia Pacific Breweries has seen its share price climb by 17 per cent on the Singapore Stock Exchange to hit 49 Singapore dollars each. The Tiger beer maker has received a takeover bid by Heineken which wants to pay S$50 per share for the stake in the company it does not already control.

APB, One of the largest brewers in Asia, is currently also owned by Fraser and Neave. The firm also saw its share price rise by five per cent in Singapore following Heineken’s announcement.

Heineken is not the only company interested in the Fraser and Neave shares. ThaiBev, Thailand’s brewing giant, has also offered to buy them from APB.

In a statement Fraser and Neave said that it was considering the offer made by Heineken and had been given until 27 July this year to come up with an answer.

Analysts remain unsure what the answer will be. DMG and Partners Securities analyst Goh Han Peng said that if the Heineken bid is rejected by Fraser and Neave shareholders, they could decide to bid for the rest of APB which would mean an aggressive takeover by the minority company.