The four-month battle for Fraser and Neave's S$13.8 billion ($11.2 billion) property and beverage empire is coming to a climax with the Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi raising his offer at midnight on Friday to S$9.55 (Bt232) a share for control of the Singapore company. Charoen was seen to have the upper hand even before he raised his offer for F&N. SMU Senior Lecturer of Finance Ang Ser Keng told Bloomberg: "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 significant number of shares."
The Nation, Thai News Service