A four-month battle for Fraser (FNN) & Neave’s S$13.8 billion ($11.2 billion) property and beverage empire may be nearing a close as Singapore regulators consider forcing rival bidders – Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi and investors led by Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd. (OUE) – to compete for the assets at an auction. SMU Senior Lecturer of Finance Ang Ser Keng said that it does not seem to be a level playing field, and this could actually reduce the efficacy of the auction process. “The Thais with their existing shareholding, called a toehold, has an upper hand. As a bidder with a substantial shareholding, you can afford to bid more aggressively given you already own a significant number of shares,” he said.
Source
The Edge