CHAPTER 147 The F&N Saga1
I feel nostalgic this week. On July 18, 2012, the OCBC Group in Singapore sold to Thai Beverage Limited (ThaiBev) its significant interest in the F&N group of companies, Fraser & Neave Limited (listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, SGX-ST). For the first time since 1883, management and control of F&N will no longer be vested in Singaporeans working closely with the Lee family group of companies (LFG). I have been associated with the LFG for the past 16 years, having served since 1996 on the board of directors of F&N Holdings (FNH) in Malaysia, its publicly listed company on Bursa Malaysia (the stock exchange in Kuala Lumpur), as well as at various times on the boards of some LFG in Singapore and Malaysia.
The Deal and the Man
ThaiBev (listed on SGX-ST) has since entered into sales and purchase agreements with OCBC Ltd., Great Eastern Holdings Ltd., and Lee Rubber Company (Pte) Ltd. to acquire 22 percent of the issued share capital of F&N for S$2.78 billion (at S$8.88 per share). F&N has three core businesses—food and beverages; properties; and publishing and printing. F&N’s soft drinks and dairies business is generated through FNH with operations and investments in Malaysia, Singapore, China, and Vietnam while its beer business is conducted via Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd. (APB), listed on SGX-ST, operating 31 breweries in 15 countries in Asia Pacific. F&N’s properties business is based on two SGX-ST listed real estate investment ...
Get The Global Economy in Turbulent Times now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
