SINGAPORE: UPDATE 1-BRIERLEY RAISES SHR STAKE IN
F&N.
SINGAPORE, July
17 (Reuters) - Brierley Investments Ltd (BIL) said on Monday it had raised its
stake in food and beverage conglomerate Fraser & Neave to 6.9 percent from
2.8 percent and planned to hold the shares as a long-term investment.
BIL
did not specify the purchase price for the shares or the seller.
A company
statement said its stake in F&N was raised to 20.52 million shares,
compared with 8.80 million previously.
Dealers and analysts speculated the
block of shares could have come from the OCBC Group stable of
companies.
Earlier, a block of 11.8 million F&N shares were crossed at
S$6.24 each, or a total of S$73.63 million.
"It would be interesting to see
who the seller is. It could either be an institutional holder selling out or
it could be from the OCBC stable of companies," said Teo Hiang Boon, analyst
with GK Goh Securities.
Teo, who has a buy on F&N shares with a price
target of S$8.50, said F&N shares were undervalued.
OCBC Bank officials
were not immediately available for comment.
The bank said recently it held
a 12.5 percent stake in F&N and that it would divest to comply with the
central bank's directive to divest non-bank assets within three years. BIL
said the F&N purchase was consistent with its stated objective of
investing in undervalued businesses in Asia.
"It is BIL's intention to hold
the shares as a long-term investment. We see significant potential in the
F&N business, especially with its recent acquisition of Times Publishing
and support the new strategic direction taken by the company and its board,"
the BIL statement said.
Shares of BIL rose two cents to S$0.315 on Monday,
while F&N jumped 40 cents to S$6.55.
((Doreen Siow, Singapore Newsroom
+65 870 3080, Fax +65 776 8112 singapore.newsroom@reuters.com)).
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