Newsletter
Vietnam M&A Spotlight - January 2020
Freshfields' Vietnam M&A Spotlight keeps you up-to-date with the key business and legal developments in this sector. Please contact us if you would also like to receive either our Vietnam Infrastructure Spotlight or our Vietnam Competition Law Spotlight.
REVIEW OF MAJOR CROSS-BORDER M&A TRANSACTIONS IN VIETNAM IN 2019
January
- Real estate. Singapore-based Keppel Land divested its 70 percent stake in a waterfront township project, the Dong Nai Waterfront City Company, to Nam Long Investment for nearly US$100m. Source: VNExpress
- Finance company. The State Bank of Vietnam approved Prudential’s sale of Prudential Vietnam Finance Company to Shinhan Card. Established in 2007, Prudential Finance was the first foreign non-bank financial institution licensed for consumer finance lending in Vietnam. Source: Vietnam News
March
- Drugs. Taisho Pharmaceutical acquired an additional 21.7 percent stake in DHG Pharmaceutical, Vietnam’s biggest drug company by revenue, to increase its holding from nearly 35 percent to a controlling 56.69 percent. Source: VNExpress
May
- Shrimp. MPM Investments, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui & Co, acquired 60 million shares in Minh Phu Seafood (MPC) to raise its stake in the Vietnamese shrimp processor to 35.1 percent. The purchase was made through a private placement worth nearly VND3.04 trillion (US$130.5 million), equivalent to VND50,630 per share, a 40.6 per cent premium. Source: Vietnamnet
- Real estate and retail. SK Group spent about US$1 billion to acquire 154.3 million shares of Vingroup (VIC) as well as 51.4 million shares of VinCommerce. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
July
- Fintech. Japan-based Softbank Vision Fund and Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund GIC agreed to invest US$200 million and US$100 million, respectively, to VNLIFE, which is the parent company of fintech VNPAY, the leading Vietnamese digital payment firm established in 2007, and also the pioneer of QR code payments in the country. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
- Banks. Seoul-based KEB Hana Bank bought a 15 percent stake in Vietnamese state-owned Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) for 1 trillion won (US$849.6 million). Source: The Investor Korea
- Technology. Samsung SDS, a system developer unit of Samsung Electronics, bought a 25% stake in Vietnam's No. 2 tech company CMC for an undisclosed amount. The companies will work together on AI and internet of things. Source: Nikkei Asia Review
August
Real Estate
- Nomura Real Estate Development acquired the 14-story Zen Plaza building in central Ho Chi Minh City, also buying the company which owns the tower. The deals followed Nomura’s acquisition of a controlling interest in Sun Wah Tower, the company’s second rental office building in the city. Source: Vietnam Insider
- Vietnamese developer SonKim Land Corporation closed some US$121 million in fundraising from an investor consortium led by EXS Capital, ACA Investments, and Credit Suisse. This was a follow-up round of fundraising for SonKim Land, following a successful initial investment of some US$37 million in 2013 and US$46 million in 2016, all sponsored, advised, and led by EXS Capital. Source: Vietnam Economic Times
- Keppel Land acquired real estate developers for US$110.4m. Keppel Land completed the acquisition of 60 per cent of Phu Long Real Estate and 60 per cent of Nha Be Real Estate in July, to develop residential condominiums in Ho Chi Minh City. Source: Deal Street Asia
September
- Retailers. GIC invested US$500 million (VND11.5 trillion) for a minority stake in VCM Services and Trading Development JSC (VCM), a subsidiary of Vingroup engaged primarily in consumer retail. Earlier, Vingroup had split VinCommerce, the entity that ran its retail business, into P&S Trade and Investment JSC and Adayroi Commerce and Service Development JSC. In conjunction with the split, Vingroup also set up VCM to indirectly hold shares in VinCommerce. In December 2019, Vingroup announced that VinCommerce (retail), VinEco (agriculture) and Masan Consumer Holdings (consumer goods) had merged to create the leading retail and consumer goods company in Vietnam. Masan Group operates the new company, while Vingroup is a shareholder. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
October
- E-logistics. Temasek invested in the fast-growing Vietnamese logistics firm Scommerce. Scommerce is one of the leading e-logistics service providers in Vietnam, offering last-mile express and instant delivery, as well as business-to-business trucking and fulfillment services under the brands GHN and AhaMove. GHN and AhaMove have been delivery partners for Vietnam’s four largest ecommerce platforms – Shopee, Tiki, Sendo, and Lazada – as well as over 100,000 online small and medium-sized merchants. Source: DealStreetAsia
November
- Beer. Dutch brewer Heineken sold over 5 million Sabeco shares worth over VND1.2 trillion (US$51.79 million), bringing its stake in Vietnam’s biggest brewer, Sabeco, down to 4.32 per cent. Source: VnExpress
- Insurance. Insurer FWD Group acquired Vietcombank-Cardif Life Insurance, a life insurance joint venture between Vietcombank and BNP Paribas Cardif, and forged an exclusive 15-year bancassurance tie-up with Vietcombank. FWD plans to integrate VCLI into its existing business in Vietnam after the transaction is approved and completed. Source: Reuters
- E-commerce. Sendo, Vietnam's leading C2C e-commerce marketplace announced that it had secured an investment of US$61 million in its Series C financing round. This Series C financing round again saw strong support from Sendo's existing investors including SBI Group, BEENOS, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Daiwa PI Partners, and Digital Garage. In addition, new financial and strategic investors in this round included EV Growth from Indonesia, and Kasikornbank from Thailand. Source: DealStreetAsia
December
- Flowers. International private equity firm Lombard Investments was reported to have invested US$70 million in Vietnamese floriculture company Dalat Hasfarm for a majority stake. Dalat Hasfarm was established in 1994, and currently operates about 320 hectares of farms as well as a network of distribution centres in major cities of Vietnam. Source: Nhip Cau Dau Tu
