| Headline: Opening Malee’s can of worms Source: Euromoney Date: February 2001 Author: Gill Baker Pineapple canner and fruit-juice maker Malee Sampran’s business goes to the very heart of Thailand’s traditional economy. Despite the growth of new economy hi-tech manufacturing business in recent years, agribusiness is still the bedrock of the nation’s exports, with pineapples, rice and prawns among the largest exports. Stock Exchange of Thailand-listed Malee exports its canned fruit and juices to 63 countries. The company, though, is loss-making: its current liabilities exceeded current assets at the end of 1999, and it had not paid a dividend for six years. It announced early in 2000 that it expected it would have repaid its Bt338 million ($7.8 million) debt by 2003 following a corporate restructuring. A year ago the company unveiled a restructuring plan that aimed to decentralize authority under five management divisions, going some way to breaking from its roots as a family-owned enterprise. The situation regarding its debt, or whether it has been negotiated, is less clear, however. The administrative shake-up followed an increase in investment by Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity, which agreed to inject Bt1 billion of capital through convertible preference shares and warrants, giving it a potential 25% stake in the company through two Netherlands vehicles, CFSB Fruta Holdings and CSFB EMA Holdings. |