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Duane Morris Singapore JLV on $4.5 Billion Heineken Bid
By Jessica Seah
August 21, 2012
The Asian Lawyer
Duane Morris & Selvam is advising Dutch beer giant Heineken N.V. on its $4.5 billion offer to buy out Fraser & Neave Ltd., its joint venture partner in Singapore's Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd.
Heineken currently owns 42 percent of Asia Pacific, which makes Tiger Beer and other brands, mostly through its joint venture but partly via direct ownership. Singapore-based beverage company Fraser & Neave owns 40 percent of Asia Pacific, also mainly through its joint venture with Heineken.
Duane Morris & Selvam managing director Arfat Selvam is leading work on the deal for Heineken. The firm operates as a joint venture between the Selvam firm and Philadelphia's Duane Morris.
Fraser & Neave is being represented by Singapore firm Stamford Law Corp. director Lean Min-Tze.
In a statement to the Singapore Exchange, the Fraser & Neave board has advised its shareholders to accept the offer, and has also agreed not to solicit, discuss or accept any other offers for its stake in Asia Pacific. Heineken has said that it will not increase its final offer. Fraser & Neave has also agreed to pay a fee of $45 million if the transaction is not completed in 120 days.
The offer represents an increase of an earlier bid by Heineken for Fraser & Neave's stake in Asia Pacific. The company raised its bid in response to recent moves by Thai Beverage Pcl, which agreed last month to pay $3 billion for an 18.2 percent stake in Fraser & Neave and a 7.3 percent stake in Asia Pacific.
ThaiBev's actions set up a potential struggle for control of Asia Pacific, and, as a major shareholder in Fraser & Neave, it could still attempt to block Heineken. ThaiBev is being advised by WongPartnership by partners Ng Wai King, Annabelle Yip, and Teo Hsiao-Huey.
This article originally appeared in The Asian Lawyer and is republished here with permission from law.com.
