ThaiBev to ride on F&N for regional expansion plan

The group is restructuring its 28% stake in both F&N and FCL.

ThaiBev is set to divest its stake in FCL for a bigger stake in F&N, and analysts are seeing this a positive move by the F&B firm.

To recall, the market had long been expecting a corporate restructuring of Thaibev’s 28% stake in both F&N and FCL. The restructuring is expected to be completed by this year.

"We recently caught up with F&N’s management, and a key takeaway was that F&N confirmed our view that Thaibev will use F&N to grow the non-Thai business. We like the regional expansion story and expect F&N to be among the bidders for Sabeco, and to also gradually increase its Vinamilk stake, which is now at 18.74%," CIMB analyst Jonathan Seow said.

Seow also noted that ThaiBev can also see potential catalyst in its M&As in Vietnam.