Fraser and Neave rises to record after Thai group raises bid

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Shares of Fraser and Neave Ltd (F&N) (FRNM.SI) rose 1.8 percent to a record on Monday, after Thailand's third richest man raised his takeover offer for the property and drinks conglomerate to fend off a rival bid from a group run by Indonesian tycoon Stephen Riady.

By 9:04 p.m. ET, F&N shares were up 1.5 percent at S$9.72, and traded above the latest S$9.55 a share offer from Thailand's TCC Assets Ltd, headed by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

Charoen acquired an additional 90.8 million shares, or a 6.3 percent stake in F&N, at S$9.55 each on Friday and subsequently bought another 2.2 million shares on Saturday.

The move raised his total stake in F&N - held through TCC Assets Ltd and Thai Beverage PLC (TBEV.SI) - to 40.61 percent including acceptances. Charoen's previous offer was S$8.88 per share.

This puts the pressure on a consortium led by Riady's Singapore-listed property company Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd (OVES.SI) to counter the new offer or to withdraw from Southeast Asia's largest ever corporate acquisition.

(Reporting by Charmian Kok; Editing by Anshuman Daga)