Shareholders in Thai retailer CP All have approved the company’s Bt189bn (US$6.1bn) bid to acquire cash-and-carry wholesaler Siam Makro.
According to Bloomberg, close to 87 per cent of shareholders who attended a meeting in Bangkok last week voted in favour of the proposal, paving the way for Thailand’s biggest ever takeover.
The two companies were at the centre of a Stock Exchange of Thailand probe earlier this year, following irregular share price movements in the lead-up to the announcement of the takeover bid.
CP All, which operates stores under the 7-Elven brand, is controlled by Thai retail magnate Dhanin Chearavanont, who plans to buy Dutch conglomerate SHV Holdings’ 64 per cent stake in Siam Makro.
Chearavanont set up Siam Makro with SHV Holdings in 1988, but sold the majority of his interest in the membership-based discount chain after the financial crisis in 1997.
Siam Makro currently operates 57 stores across Thailand.
Chearavanont’s Charoen Pokphand Group plans to expand the discount wholesaler throughout South East Asia and into Pakistan and China.
The deal is expected to be finalised by the third quarter of this year.
