F&N dairy subsidiary to acquire additional 4.6% stake in Vinamilk from Jardine C&C

[SINGAPORE] F&N Dairy Investments (FNDI), a wholly owned subsidiary of food and beverage conglomerate Fraser & Neave (F&N), is set to acquire an additional stake of up to 4.6 per cent in Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock (Vinamilk) from a unit of Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC&C).

The acquisition involves about 96.1 million sale shares, with a total consideration of around six trillion Vietnamese dong (S$294 million), F&N said in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Dec 16).

The group, through FNDI and another wholly owned subsidiary, F&NBev Manufacturing, currently holds nearly 426.2 million shares in Vinamilk, representing 20.4 per cent of its issued share capital.

Its effective interest in Vinamilk will rise to 25 per cent after the proposed transaction.

F&N said that it “currently has no intention to purchase or acquire additional shares in Vinamilk in a manner that would require a public tender offer under the laws of Vietnam”.

A statement from JC&C also indicated that cash proceeds received from the proposed transaction will be used for the company’s internal funding requirements.

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Shares of F&N fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 to close at S$1.47 on Tuesday, before the news; JC&C shares closed 0.7 per cent or S$0.25 lower at S$33.38.