Should ThaiBev’s minority shareholders support the proposed FPL-F&N share swap?

WHILE this column was on a hiatus last month, Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) unveiled a proposal to offload its entire interest in Frasers Property (FPL) and increase its stake in Fraser and Neave (F&N).

The deal will turn ThaiBev into a more focused beverage and food group, and is expected to be immediately accretive to its earnings.

Yet, minority shareholders of ThaiBev may have misgivings about the significantly higher premium to market price at which the company is receiving F&N shares under the deal versus the FPL shares it is parting with.