Shareholders get $3.2 bln if Heineken offer is approved

Singapore conglomerate Fraser and Neave (F&N) said Friday it plans to distribute Sg$4.0 billion ($3.2 billion) to shareholders if an offer by Dutch firm Heineken to buy its stake in a brewery is approved. F&N shareholders are due to vote at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on whether they are in favour of Heineken's revised Sg$5.6 billion offer for F&N's stake in Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), the maker of Tiger Beer. A date for the EGM has yet to be set. Heineken already owns 42 percent of APB and is seeking full control of the brewery by buying over long-time partner F&N's direct and indirect stake of 40 percent as it moves to expand in the fast-growing Asian beer market. The Amsterdam-based Dutch beer giant said last week it had inked a definitive agreement with F&N's board to "irrevocably recommend" the proposed deal to shareholders. In a statement issued late Friday, F&N said that if the deal is approved, "the company intends to distribute approximately Sg$4.0 billion from the cash proceeds of the proposed transaction to shareholders." The cash distribution, representing 84 percent of the gains after transaction costs, will be done through a capital reduction exercise aimed at achieving a "more efficient capital" structure for the company, F&N said. The rest of the proceeds, or about Sg$1.6 billion, will be used to repay existing debt and strengthen the balance sheet of the F&N Group. Heineken has said the deal, if approved, was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, but no later than December 15. The Dutch brewer was forced to up its bid to Sg$5.6 billion from Sg$5.1 billion to fend off a rival party headed by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. Charoen's Thai Beverage is a key shareholder in F&N, along with Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings.