Heineken continues to inch toward a takeover of Tiger beer maker Asian Pacific Breweries.
It said it has purchased a 2.68% stake in the company for around $290m, even as it struggles to buy a much larger, controlling stake, from Singapore's Fraser and Neave for $4.7 billion.
The news comes as Heineken reported weak first-half earnings, with margins hurt by rising costs, although the company did report an increase in sales and market share.
Heineken's net profit rose to €783m from €605m the same time a year ago.
The company said profit would have fallen around 5% if not assisted by factors such as a €131m gain from the sale of a brewery in the Dominican Republic this year, and high restructuring costs last year.
Chief executive Jean-Frantois van Boxmeer said the Asian Pacific Breweries deal was an important part of Heineken's future growth plans.
APB's business "provides direct access to two of the world's most exciting growth regions for beer - Southeast Asia & the Pacific Islands, and China," he said in a statement.
"We are working towards a swift completion of the transaction and are looking forward to ongoing growth and success in the region, led by the Heineken and Tiger brands," he added. The deal has proved difficult to close.
Heineken has long been co-controller of APB together with F&N. In July, Heineken offered S$50 per share for F&N's 39.7% stake, in a management-approved deal which would have given Heineken 81.6%.
But Heineken was caught off guard earlier this month, when rival Thai Beverage, which owns 8% of APB, offered Fraser and Neave 55 Singapore dollars ($43.91) per share for a 7.3% stake in APB - which would give it clout to resist a Heineken buyout.
Thai Beverage-allied companies also have shares in F&N and influence on its board. In response, Heineken raised its offer for the F&N stake to S$53 over the weekend, arguing that its offer is superior since it is for F&N's entire stake.
Heineken's new offer, again supported by F&N's board, added a "breakup" fee of $42m for Heineken if Fraser shareholders reject the offer. Heineken did not reveal who sold it the 2.68% stake, though it noted it had purchased shares on and off the open market for S$53 per share.
In its first-half results, the company said wage costs rose 6.6%; energy costs rose 6.9%; commodity costs rose 9.7%; and marketing costs rose 1.7%, leading to 6.2% higher expenses overall. First half sales rose 5% to 8.78 billion, which Heineken said was due to a mix of volume growth, higher selling prices and acquisitions.
