Fraser & Neave (F & N)

[specuvestor]

We actually been talking about the swap since at least Aug last year

[CityFarmer]

First move after the Thai Towkay took over...

(vested)
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F&N to acquire Yoke Food Industries
 Signs agreement to acquire 70% of Yoke Food Industries
 Strategic fit with non-alcoholic businesses
 Increases F&N’s capacities and capabilities with presence in high-growth markets

Ref: http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/FNL_acqu...eID=289829

[LionFlyer]

Well well, could the sudden run up today be related to this?

http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/FNL_acqu...eID=289829

The transformation continues.

F&N to acquire Yoke Food Industries
 Signs agreement to acquire 70% of Yoke Food Industries
 Strategic fit with non-alcoholic businesses
 Increases F&N’s capacities and capabilities with presence in high-growth
markets
SINGAPORE, 21 March 2014 – Fraser and Neave, Limited ("F&N”) today announced that it has signed a non-binding agreement to acquire a 70% stake in Yoke Food Industries Sdn Bhd (“YFI”), a Malaysia-based company with an annual turnover of more than RM85 million (S$32 million). YFI manufactures, markets and distributes beverages in Malaysia, as well as exports to Singapore, Indonesia and Indochina,
under brands such as Day Day, SoSoy and Juice Secret. The transaction is subject to the execution of definitive agreements and various approvals, and is expected to be completed by September 2014.
F&N's vision is to be a leading food & beverage (“F&B”) company in Southeast Asia. The investment in YFI provides a strategic pillar as it not only expands F&N’s capacities and capabilities, but also increases its presence in Indonesia and Cambodia. The investment also allows the company to optimise its existing direct distribution network to outlets across Malaysia and Singapore.

[Art or Science]

wah.. down by quite a lot today..

[CityFarmer]

wah.. down by quite a lot today..

It is due to the XE status. The capital reduction of $0.42 per share entitlement is closed today.

(vested)

[LionFlyer]

Because Ex Entitlement

[greengiraffe]

Thai Towkay has done with F&N's LBO and has stripped F&N to an optimal capital structure. F&N will be relying on its core competency and external financiers to grow in the future. Next stage of value extraction is likely to come from F&N property offspring FCL especially post the moratorium on the dilution of shares held by TCC Assets and Thai Bev after 9 Jul 14.

PUBLISHED MAY 03, 2014

No longer a target, F&N wants turn at the trigger

S-E Asia and non-carbonated drinks markets to be focus of its strategic thrust for expansion
BYKENNETH LIM
kenlim@sph.com.sg @KennethLimBT

MR NG
Says previous tie-up with Coca-Cola curbed group's regional plans. - PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN
Singapore
THE lion is awake, and it is thirsty. Freed from the constraints of its long association with Coca-Cola and newly backed by one of Thailand's richest men, Fraser and Neave (F&N) will be aggressively making up for lost time on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) trail.
And its strategic thrust will be aimed at the fast-growing South-east Asia and non-carbonated drinks markets, in addition to continued focus on its 100Plus isotonic brand, F&N's chief executive for non-alcoholic beverages Ng Jui Sia told The Business Times this week as the company inked its acquisition of a 70 per cent stake in Malaysia's Yoke Food Industries (YFI).
"We're a bit late now today," Mr Ng said. "But my aim is the next few years, if the opportunity arises, we will buy. We have to buy."
Before the YFI acquisition, F&N had rarely been in the market as a buyer of non-alcoholic drinks businesses.
"My biggest regret is when we were part of the Coca-Cola system," Mr Ng said. "Although we grew 100Plus, we couldn't grow regional because of Coke. As a result, because of that we never seriously took position. As a part of the Coke system we were not allowed to buy brands, not allowed to go regional."
But Coca-Cola and F&N ended their relationship in 2011, freeing F&N to pursue its own ambitions.
China would have been intriguing, but Mr Ng acknowledged that F&N might be a little late to that party, and would only be opportunistic investors there for now.
"We're too late for China," he said. "They have created their own giant."
F&N's chief focus is therefore in developing and emerging South-east Asia, where the company sees positive demographics fuelling a bright outlook.
In this vision, carbonated drinks will be a key pillar for growth, matching local preference for still beverages. The 100Plus brand will play a critical role as a unique segment-straddling product, while other carbonated drinks will remain stable cash generators.
"The larger market growths are the Philippines, the Vietnams, the Thailands, the Indonesias. These are the future markets," Mr Ng said.
Thai tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's investment into F&N in 2012, culminating in a takeover in 2013, has given F&N a regional boost through Mr Charoen's control of listed drinks maker Thai Beverage Public Co (ThaiBev).
But even with their combined size, F&N and ThaiBev will find it tough to simply export into other regional markets.
"For many of these markets, it's not so much the manufacturing," Mr Ng said. "You can always put a new plant. It's the distribution. All these outlets are created by the local players over the years."
There is also a sense of urgency. To begin with, other rivals are homing in on F&N's backyard in South-east Asia.
"The Japanese are coming in," Mr Ng observed.
The strong competition for strategic targets can make pricing tricky, but long-term focused Mr Ng appeared willing to incur a little bit of business cycle premium as long as the fit was good and the cost was still fair.
"When the deal is available to you, you have to make the decision," he said. "You cannot peg it to a history. You have to make a decision whether it fits your purpose, it fits your strategy, and is the target available. But we're not saying you must always buy low to sell high. We never sell high. F&N has never sold any of its businesses (willingly)."
CIMB analyst Kenneth Ng said that F&N's next set of results will shed more light on the company's balance sheet strength - and the company's ability to buy - after taking out the debt held by now-spun off property unit Frasers Centrepoint. But the strong competition for targets could make it hard to execute the M&A strategy even if F&N was sitting on a cash pile.
"Even if they want to do M&A, consumer names around the region are not easy to find and buy," the analyst said. "And obviously if they could buy, it will not be cheap."
The analyst reckoned that a lot could hinge on this strategy because of an ongoing dispute that threatens F&N's partial ownership of a fast-growing brewery in Myanmar.
Losing that stake - still a wildcard possibility - would deprive F&N's overall beverage business of significant revenue and a key driver of growth, the analyst said.
"The risk for F&N is even if they get paid for it (their stake in the brewery), they might get paid a lowball number," Mr Kenneth Ng said. "From Mr Charoen's side, the perspective of wanting F&N was also probably the beer business. Now they've lost (Tiger Beer brewer) Asia Pacific Breweries, they probably don't want to lose Myanmar as well."
Whatever happens, Mr Ng Jui Sia is confident of one thing: The old F&N that had to watch its rivals' empire building from the sidelines is no more.
"It will be a new dawn," he said.

[specuvestor]

Thai Towkay has done with F&N's LBO and has stripped F&N to an optimal capital structure. F&N will be relying on its core competency and external financiers to grow in the future. Next stage of value extraction is likely to come from F&N property offspring FCL especially post the moratorium on the dilution of shares held by TCC Assets and Thai Bev after 9 Jul 14.

Not yet until F&N is leveraged to hilt and share swap with FCL is completed.

[hongonn]

Something that i don't understand.

The minority interest is about 13.8% out of the total equity. But they are allocated about 47% of the profit. And they are not burdened by the loss of discontinued operation and exceptional loss.

How can it be like that? Please enlighten. Thanks.

[CityFarmer]

Something that i don't understand.

The minority interest is about 13.8% out of the total equity. But they are allocated about 47% of the profit. And they are not burdened by the loss of discontinued operation and exceptional loss.

How can it be like that? Please enlighten. Thanks.

May be I didn't know F&N detail enough? I don't quite understand the question? Where is the reference?

(vested)