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Thailand, Bangkok: A major Thai brewer has signed a three-year deal worth $2.7 million to have its twin elephants logo displayed on the uniforms of English Premier League side Everton, a daily newspaper said on June 6.

Thawatchai Satchakul, business manager for Thailand's national soccer team, said Thai Beverages would pay $900,000 per year to Everton, whose shirts were previously emblazoned with the logo of Chinese mobile phone company Kejian. "They have signed the deal and will start displaying their logo on Everton's shirts in the coming season," Thawatchai told Reuters. Thai Beverages adviser Thanit Thamsukati, however, said the company was still in talks with Everton and had yet to sign the deal. "We are still talking details but we expect to finalise this over the next few weeks," said Thanit.

The Thai firm, led by one of the country's richest men, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, produces top selling Chang Beer and several brands of whisky such as Mekong and Saeng Som. The company makes a profit of more than $250 million a year. Chang Beer has a distinctive green elephant on its label. "Chang" is the Thai word for elephant.

Thanit said Chang Beer remained interested in becoming the shirt sponsor for Everton's neighbours Liverpool, whose kit bears the logo of Danish brewer Carlsberg.

Thailand's billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has bid for a stake in Liverpool, and Thanit said last month that any kit sponsorship deal with Chang would depend on the success of the offer.

However, according to The Nation, the makers of Beer Chang is not interested in buying a share of the club, company adviser Thanit Thamsukati said on June 6. "The policy of Beer Thai (1991) Co Ltd, which produces Beer Chang, is to produce and sell beer only. We have no intention of buying a share of Everton," Thanit told The Nation. Thanit said if Charoen Siriwadhanabhakdi, the company's owner, is interested in buying a stake of Everton, he will do so negotiating through a separate company.

Everton's strip will display Chang's elephant logo for three years starting in the upcoming season thanks to the sponsorship deal with Beer Chang. "We have not yet decided whether to use the Thai or English version of the logo on Everton's strip," said Thanit. "What the firm wants from this deal with Everton is for people to remember the brand."

The deal with Everton could give three rising Thai football stars an opportunity to train at the club.

Despite the sponsorship, Beer Chang is still proceeding cautiously in the UK and European beer markets, where it will be difficult to carve out a niche due to the presence of so many leading brands. "Beer Chang exports to the UK market, but its share there constitutes less than 1 per cent. We prefer to focus on domestic consumption, where we have about a 70-per-cent market share," Thanit said.

The signing of the Everton deal came as Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra restated his intention to buy a stake in Liverpool Football Club.

The BBC reported that Thaksin's consortium of businessmen was looking at other football clubs as his Bt4.6-billion offer for a 30 per cent stake in the Anfield club is believed to be in doubt. Thaksin was planning a Bt1-billion state-sponsored lottery to fund the Liverpool deal but recently shelved the idea after encountering strong opposition.

England's Press Association website quoted on June 6 an Everton source responding to the BBC report as saying: "Nobody under league rules can hold shares in two Premiership clubs." When asked on June 6 for the latest developments in the Liverpool deal, Thaksin said, "Please be patient. I'll do my best."


08 June, 2004