Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate company, has submitted a filing to the authority stating that the group has sold 41.5% of its stake in its retail unit, Vincom Retail, according to the report by LSEG.
The filing did not specify the name of the buyer nor the amount of transaction value.
Vincom Retail (HM: VRE) is Vietnam’s biggest shopping mall operator with a market value of $2.34 billion (as of 18 Mar. 2024). Nearly 60% shareholding in the retail arm is controlled by Vingroup. Vincom Retail owns 83 shopping malls in Vietnam.
Vingroup wrote in the filing that after the transaction, Vincom Retail is no longer a subsidiary unit of the group. The stake could be worth about 970 million dollars, according to the valuation as of today.
It had been reported early last year that Central Group, Thailand’s conglomerate, was a potential buyer of Vincom Retail.
Reuters reported at the time by citing five sources that Vingroup was in discussions to sell a stake in its shopping mall arm in an attempt to bring in strategic investors, and Central Group was among other companies that are in negotiations to buy a stake.
The decision to sell Vincom Retail came as Vingroup was heavily focusing to develop loss-making VinFast, its electric vehicle maker, which had plans to expand its factory into the United States of America in 2023.
After the report by Reuters in March 2023, Central Retail Corporation Public Company Limited (SET: CRC) made a statement regarding the report of its parent company, Central Group, was in talks with Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, Vingroup to purchase its retail unit, Vincom Retail.
CRC stated that it was not involved in the deal as reported in the news.
