9 December, 2013
In November 2012, Heineken International B.V. (“Heineken”) acquired from Fraser & Neave Limited (“F&N”) its shares in Asia Pacific Breweries Limited and other assets F&N held in Asia Pacific Investment Pte Ltd (“APIPL”). The merger was notified to and cleared by the CCS on 5 November 2012. In its 5 November decision, however, the CCS refused to consider a non-compete preventing Heineken from entering the soft drinks market for a period of two years as a restriction ancillary to the merger. Consequently, the non- compete was not cleared together with the merger. In January 2013, the CCS started an investigation into the non-compete clause and whether the parties had complied with it. Given F&N’s undertaking to the CCS not to enforce the clause in Singapore, the CCS has decided to close its investigation into the non-compete, with no finding on liability against F&N and Heineken
For further information, please contact:
Kala Anandarajah, Partner, Rajah & Tann
[email protected]
Dominique Lombardi, Partner, Rajah & Tann
[email protected]
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