SINGAPORE--Thai Beverage PCL (Y92.SG) said Saturday it has
secured bridge loans worth 2.8 billion Singapore dollars (US$2.25
billion) to fund its acquisition of a 22% stake in Singapore
beverage company Fraser & Neave Ltd. (F99.SG).
The loans, with a tenure of one year, will be provided by HSBC
Holdings PLC (HBC), Standard Chartered PLC (SNTDF, STAN.LN) 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% stake in Fraser &
Neave owned by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (O39.SG) 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 N.V. (HINKY)
to acquire the Singapore company's stake in Asia Pacific Breweries
(A46.SG) which is controlled by their joint venture.
Heineken currently owns 41.9% of Asia Pacific Breweries and
taking Fraser & Neave's 40% will give the Amsterdam company a
distinctive edge over ThaiBev.
Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at
gaurav.raghuvanshi@dowjones.com
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