Thai Billionaire’s Frasers Property Offers To Take Hotel REIT Private For Second Time In $1 Billion Deal
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May 14, 2025, 04:51am EDTMay 14, 2025, 05:01am EDTShareSave
Frasers Property—controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi—is seeking to take Frasers Hospitality Trust private for a second time in almost three years in a deal valuing the Singapore-listed real estate investment trust at S$1.37 billion ($1 billion).
Under the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, Frasers Property is offering to buy the rest of the REIT that it doesn’t own at S$0.71 per share, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
“The decision to propose this scheme was not taken lightly,” Eric Gan, CEO of Frasers Hospitality’s manager, said in a statement. “It reflects our commitment to act in the interests of our stapled securityholders amid structural challenges and an increasingly complex global environment.”
Frasers Property first attempted to take Frasers Hospitality private in June 2022 when it offered S$0.70 apiece but it failed to get enough votes from minority shareholders. About 74.9% of shareholders accepted the previous offer, falling short of the 75% threshold required by regulators.
Since then the macroeconomic situation has worsened amid higher interest rates and foreign exchange volatility, That’s made it more challenging for Frasers Hospitality to boost dividends and the REIT’s net asset value, the company said.
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Frasers Property owns about 24.2% of the REIT, while Charoen’s TCC Group holds 36.7% and minority shareholders own the rest, according to Frasers Hospitality’s latest annual report.
Listed on the Singapore Exchange since July 2014, Frasers Hospitality owns 14 properties with a total of more than 3,400 rooms across eight hotels and six serviced residences in nine major cities in Asia, Australia, and Europe. The S$2 billion property portfolio includes InterContinental Singapore, Novotel Sydney Darling Square, and The Westin Kuala Lumpur.
With an estimated net worth of $11.2 billion based on Forbes’ real-time data, Charoen is among the wealthiest in Thailand. In addition to his controlling stake in Frasers Property, he also has interests in Thai Beverages (maker of Chang Beer), property developer Asset World, and the Big C Supercenter retail chain.
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Thailand’s Dusit Thani Shares May Remain Under Pressure After Rout As Family Feud Escalates: Analyst
Contributor. I write articles about Thailand’s financial markets and economy.Follow Author
May 30, 2025, 04:33am EDTMay 30, 2025, 09:15pm EDTShareSave
Dusit Thani shares may remain under pressure despite tumbling about 30% this year as the company remained in the red and heirs of the company’s late founder Chanut Piyaoui fought for control of the Thai hotel chain.
Chanin Donavanik and his sisters Sinee Thienprasiddhi and Sunong Salirathavibhaga inherited the bulk of a 49.7% stake in Dusit Thani after their mother, Chanut, a pioneer in the Thai hospitality industry, died in 2020. After the death of the matriach, Chanin’s sisters have been fighting for control of the company.
The feud escalated this week after Chanut and Children, which is owned two-thirds by Chanin’s sisters, rejected the company’s 2024 financial statements and blocked the proposed re-appointment of four directors, including the chairman of the board, Arsa Sarasin, at the company’s shareholders’ meeting, according to local media reports. Chanin is currently vice-chairman of the board.
In a statement reported by Thai media, Chanut and Children said it rejected the financial statement because it did not receive satisfactory answers from the management with regard to the company’s assets, liabilities and investments.
Dusit Thani was among the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has accumulated a net loss of more than 3.3 billion baht ($100.8 million) over the past five consecutive years and has not paid dividends to shareholders since 2020.
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“The unresolved matters within the family of major shareholders could put pressure on the stock’s short-term sentiment,” said Wijit Arayapisit, strategist at Bangkok-based Liberator Securities.
The escalation of the family feud comes at a critical time for Dusit Thani, which could potentially turn around with the $1.3 billion Dusit Central Park, a mixed-use hotel, office and residential project in Bangkok’s central business district is set to be completed this year. The company’s net loss narrowed to 237 million baht in 2024 from 570 million baht the previous year as revenue nearly doubled to 10.1 billion baht.
“Fundamentally, Dusit is clearly on the path of recovery and its businesses have been over the worst,” Wijit said. “I believe conflicts among family members would sooner or later be settled and now could be a rewarding entry point for long-term investors who can afford to wait.”
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Dusit Thani owns and manages nearly 300 hotels and resorts across 18 countries. Central Pattana, a listed property unit of the billionaire Chirathivat family’s Central Group, owns 17% in Dusit Thani.
