Thai Beverage chief backs Heineken's Asia Pacific Breweries bid

Heineken cleared the biggest hurdle in its fight to take control of Asia Pacific Breweries as billionaire stakeholder Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's Thai Beverage pledged its support.

Thai Bev and Charoen's TCC Assets will back Heineken's S$5.6 billion (HK$35.43 billion) bid for Fraser & Neave's 40 per cent stake in the business at a shareholder meeting next week after the Dutch brewer agreed not to make a competing offer for F&N, the Amsterdam-based brewer said yesterday. Heineken had previously operated APB via a joint venture with F&N.

"For Heineken, this significantly improves the level of certainty that our offer will be approved", at the meeting, Heineken spokesman John Clarke said.

APB would be the Dutch brewer's largest acquisition since its 2010 purchase of Fomento Economico Mexicano's beermaker as it seeks to expand in faster-growing emerging markets, according to data.

Singapore-based APB has rights to brew Bintang in Indonesia, Anchor in China, Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, and Heineken from China to New Zealand.

TCC, controlled by 68-year-old Charoen, offered S$9 billion on September 13 to buy the 70 per cent of F&N he did not control, throwing Heineken's takeover of APB into doubt.

Heineken had originally been spurred to bid for control of APB, in which it held 42 per cent, after a company controlled by Charoen's son-in-law bought shares in APB.