Fraser & Neave Ltd.’s chairman said he was “disappointed” Overseas Union Enterprise failed to challenge Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s $13.8 billion bid for the property and drinks company.
A planned auction for F&N may have resulted in greater value for the company, Chairman Lee Hsien Yang said at a shareholder meeting today. Charoen is poised to win control of F&N after the rival bidding group led by OUE failed to match his $9.55 a share offer.
The OUE-led group on Jan. 21 said it would not raise an earlier bid of $9.08 a share. Singapore regulators had said they would hold an auction for the 130-year-old property company in case of an stalemate between the two companies.
“We were disappointed” that the OUE-led group chose not to bid, Lee said at the meeting, which was attended by more than 300 shareholders. Lee is the younger brother of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Charoen’s TCC Assets, while announcing a raised bid of $9.55 a share on Jan. 18, also said it had boosted its stake in the conglomerate.
TCC’s purchase of the 6.3% stake surprised the market and created a clear gap with OUE, Lee said.
Lee and three other directors have said they plan to sell their shares to TCC after adviser JPMorgan Chase & Co. called the Thai offer “fair.” The company said today its board plans to resign when TCC’s bid becomes unconditional.
TCC owns 46.13% of F&N, it said today. Its offer is due to close at 5:30 p.m. Singapore time on Feb. 4.
Kirin Holdings Co., which has a 15% holding in F&N, will choose the option with the best value for its shareholders, the Japanese brewer’s managing director Hirotake Kobayashi said today after the same meeting.
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