BankInvest has purchased an additional 6,350,474 shares of MSN at the current market price of VND 36,300 per share, increasing its ownership of Masan Group from approximately 10.15% to 11.48%.
Lars Kjær, Deputy Managing Partner of BankInvest, commented, “The businesses are performing extremely well and we expect Masan to deliver 50% growth in 2009 and 30 to 50% growth in 2010.”
Hans Christian Jacobsen, Managing Partner, added “Masan has assembled a strong management team that will continue to execute on M&A and grow new businesses.”
Masan Group Corporation (HOSE: MSN), one of the largest private sector groups in Vietnam, is pleased to announce that leading Japanese food and beverage company, House Foods Corporation (TSE: 2810) ("House Foods") has today signed an agreement to take make an investment of approximately US$20 million in the business, acquiring 9 million new ordinary shares at a price of approximately VND40,000 per share, representing a stake of around 1.85% of Masan Group Corporation’s enlarged share capital. The transaction values Masan Group Corporation at over US$1 billion.
On November 5th, 2009, Masan Group began trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE). The share price rose 20%, the HoSE’s first trading ceiling, from the initial listing price and closed at VND 43,200. At closing, Masan Group’s market capitalization was VND 20,580 billion (approximately US$1.15 billion), making Masan Group a top 5 private sector listed company in Vietnam by equity value with the 3rd largest weighting on the VN Index. VietCapital Securities Joint Stock Company acted as the advisory for the listing of 476,399,820 ordinary shares of par value VND 10,000 each.
On October 26th, 2009, Masan Group announced that it has signed investment agreements with TPG and BankInvest. Under the terms of the agreements TPG and BankInvest will invest over US$50 million in Masan Group Corporation.
Commenting on the investments, Dr Quang Nguyen, Chairman of Masan Group, said “Our success at Masan is based on a strong belief in the Vietnam middle class, an ability to hire and manage the best talent and a relentless focus on the consumer and shareholder value.”
Madhur Maini, CEO of Masan Group added, “We will continue to execute on our strategy to build dominant “local multinationals” by partnering up with the leading financial and strategic players. “
Mr. Varun Kapur, Partner of TPG said, “We are delighted to partner with Masan Group, a pioneering business in Vietnam. Masan Group’s management team not only has a tremendous track record of delivering growth, but also the ability to integrate international best-practice and deep local insight, rare for a private group in Vietnam.”
Mr. Hans Christian Jacobsen, Managing Director of BankInvest added, “Vietnamese consumers will increasingly demand branded consumer goods to guide them and financial services to provide more convenience. Masan Group Corporation is ideally positioned to tap into this demand and to develop future products and services.”
Masan Group plans to use the capital raised to invest in existing businesses and to continue to build new businesses.
On November 6th, 2008, BankInvest, a multi-billion, European asset manager, purchased an 8% stake in our
food & beverage company, Masan Food.
Invested through its BI Private Equity New Markets II Fund, BankInvest brings to our group in-depth knowledge of the consumer retail industry and a network of contacts and resources developed over years of operating in emerging markets. We are proud to welcome BankInvest as a partner and a board member of Masan Food.
In May 2009, Mekong Capital through its Vietnam Azalea Fund (“VAF”), invests approximately US$10,000,000 into Masan Food Corporation (“Masan Food”).
The Masan Group, Masan Food’s parent and largest shareholder said: “We welcome Mekong Capital, through its Vietnam Azalea Fund, as a partner and investor into Masan Food. They share our vision in building Masan Food into the leading food and beverage company in Vietnam.”
Expressing his outlook for the investment, Dr. Thomas Lanyi, Portfolio Manager of VAF, comments: “Masan Food is a leading player in one of the most attractive sectors in Vietnam. The company has built an excellent management team, and is determined to take full advantage of existing and new opportunities in Vietnam’s fast-moving-consumer-goods industry. Besides its strong leadership, the company’s branding skill, R&D capability and wide distribution network were highly compelling reasons to invest in the company. We see a big future for Masan Food and commit to empowering their management to realize their ambitious growth plans in the coming years.”
About Vietnam Azalea Fund Ltd.
The Vietnam Azalea Fund is a $100 million fund focused primarily on making investments in Vietnamese companies at the pre-listing stage.
Utilizing Mekong Capital’s proven post-investment value-creation platform, the Vietnam Azalea Fund works closely with its investee companies to empower them in their growth plans and prepare them for a successful listing on a local or regional stock exchange.
For more information on Mekong Capital, please visit the company’s website at
Vietnam Business Pioneer
