OUE 'serious' about making a counter-offer for F&N

We'll find out by November 15.

According to Nomura, as the offer from TCC for Fraser and Neave (F&N) is due to expire tomorrow, OUE has issued a statement saying that it will by 15 November either announce a firm intention to make an offer for F&N, or declare its intention not to make an offer for the group.

Here's more from Nomura:

Meanwhile OUE also announced that it has appointed Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as financial advisers.

Although OUE has not made an official general offer for OUE, we see this latest announcement as a sign that it is serious about making an offer and is seeking financial advice.

As acceptances to TCC’s offer of S$8.88 have been low thus far (2.02% based on TCC’s 24 October announcement), we believe it would make sense for TCC to extend its offer by another two weeks. 

We have argued that the offer price of S$8.88 is low and continue to maintain the view that the share price of F&N should rerate towards our price target of S$10.48. F&N shareholders will know by 15 November if a counter offer will materialize.