Heineken to buy big piece of ASB

Dutch brewer Heineken International said it has reached an agreement to buy 39.7 percent of Asia Pacific Breweries for $4.5 billion. The Dutch brewer stuck the $42.28-per-share deal with holding company Fraser & Neave, which held the Asia Pacific shares. It brings Heineken's ownership of Asia Pacific to 81.6 percent, The New York Times reported Saturday. The price, sweetened from previous offers, is a 54 percent premium over an adjusted one-month volume weighted average share price for APB. "I am pleased that F&N's Board has agreed that our increased offer, which is now final, represents excellent value for F&N and APB shareholders," Heineken Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said in a statement. Van Boxmeer said the company's headquarters would remain in Singapore. "We remain 100 percent committed to the growth and success of APB and the Tiger brand, just as we have been for the last 81 years," he said.