Mr Thapana likes to use mergers and acquisitions as a tool to expand ThaiBev's empire as it seeks to reach the global level. Mr Thapana was the force behind the 336-billion-baht acquisition of Fraser and Neave (F&N) in Singapore last year, a stepping stone to help ThaiBev have a strong overseas network to bring its products to Asian customers as well as widening the company's non-alcoholic product portfolio. Last year he also bought the Est soft drinks brand from Sermsuk for 1.56 billion baht.