Thai Beverage Plc, controlled by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, raised 77 billion baht in the country’s biggest-ever corporate bond sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company raised the money through a seven-part offering of securities and the borrowings will be used partly to refinance loans taken out by Thai Beverage for its purchase last year of a stake in Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
Thai Beverage, a spirits giant that makes Chang beer and SangSom rum, is among the nation’s most acquisitive companies. In addition to its push into Vietnam, the firm last year agreed to buy more than 240 existing KFC restaurants in Thailand.
Marc Tan, a research analyst at KGI Securities (Singapore) Pte, said he’s comfortable with Thai Beverage’s debt levels and doesn’t expect further big acquisitions after Sabeco. “We think they can deleverage like what happened after F&N many years ago,” he said, referring to Charoen’s purchase of Singapore’s Fraser & Neave Ltd in 2013.
Thai Beverage’s total debt stood at 1.46 times earnings before interest and tax as of Sept 30, 2017, falling from 1.73 times the previous year, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
The bond deal included tranches offered to both institutional investors and high-net worth individuals. The subscription period for high net worth investors closed on Sept 18 and the notes are expected to be issued on Sept 19.