Heineken has launched a bid to take control of Asia Pacific Breweries, the maker of Tiger Beer, in response to a challenge from ThaiBev last week. The Dutch brewer is offering S$5.1 billion $4 billion to buy out Fraser and Neave’s stake in the company, which would take its interest up to 81.6% and thwart its Thai rival’s ambitions.
The move did not come as a big surprise. On Thursday, ThaiBev and an associated company agreed to pay S$3.8 billion for a 22% stake in Fraser and Neave and an 8.6% stake in Asia Pacific Breweries. That put Heineken in an impossible position. It has been making Tiger...