Beverage maker in audacious deal leads a diverse group of Manufacturing plays

SINGAPORE (Oct 27): When Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi launched his bid for Fraser and Neave (F&N) in 2012, he might not have realised how difficult the process of gaining control of the then property and beverage group would be.

Apart from attracting a counter-bid from a consortium led by Indonesia’s Riady family, some of F&N’s long-time partners decided to go their own way. Even while F&N was in play, Dutch brewer Heineken acquired F&N’s stake in Asia Pacific Breweries and took it private at a stiff premium. And, last year, F&N was forced to sell its stake in Myanmar Brewery to its partner, following a legal dispute stemming from the change in control of F&N.

Yet, Charoen’s Thai Beverage, which owns 28.5% of F&N, has done well over the three years to 2015. Among companies in the Manufacturing category, ThaiBev achieved the highest total stock return over the period. The company was also the second-best performer in terms of pre-tax profit growth and return on equity (ROE). Overall, that made it the top scorer within the sector.

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