UMEHL seeks court order for F&N to sell brewery stake

Military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited has asked the Singapore High Court to order Fraser and Neave to sell its 55 percent stake in Myanmar Brewery, reports said.

In the latest twist to a legal battle that began in 2013, UMEHL asked the court on July 29 to order the Singapore-based beverages and property conglomerate to complete the sale by August 20, said the Straits Times.

It said UMEHL had also led an application for an interim injunction requiring its joint venture partner to sell its stake for K500 billion, or about US$428 million at current exchange rates.

F&N has insisted that the any sale of its stake be at the estimated fair value of $560 million, about K653.5 billion, a sum it says was determined by a jointly-appointed independent valuer, the report said.

In a filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange on July 31, F&N said UMEHL had breached its obligations by refusing to complete the sale at $560 million.

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F&N wants any sale to be at the 2013 kyat-dollar exchange rate, but UMEHL has demanded it be based on the official exchange the day before a buyout is completed, the Straits Times said.

A Singapore arbitration panel ruled in October 2014 that F&N sell its share to UMEHL, which had accused the conglomerate of defaulting on the joint venture agreement.

However, the arbitration panel set aside an original valuation of $246 million and ordered that the sale take place at a fair price determined by an independent valuer.

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