Vietnam's Masan eyes international IPO for retail unit in 2023-2024

Vietnamese conglomerate Masan said on Monday it was considering launching an international initial public offering for its consumer retail unit The CrownX in 2023-2024 after raising a further $350 million from a consortium of investors.

The consortium of investors comprised private equity firm TPG, Platinum Orchid, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Temasek-owned SeaTown Master Fund, Masan said in a statement.

The CrownX, Vietnam's biggest retail company, was formed through a merger of Vingroup's retail units and high-tech farms with Masan's food and beverage unit in 2019.

According to Masan, the post-investment valuation of The CrownX is $8.2 billion, or $105 a share. Parent company Masan will hold 81.4% of the consumer retail unit.

"The transaction marks the end of our capital raising activities at The CrownX as we shift our entire focus to scale up our Point of Life platform nationwide both off and online," said Danny Le, chief executive officer of the Masan Group.

The CrownX was considering strengthening its consumer wallet services and digitising its entire platform to become a consumer tech company ahead of its IPO, said Le.

The retail unit has raised a total of $1.5 billion since late 2020 including $400 million funding from an Alibaba-led consortium in May and $340 million from South Korea's SK group in November.

Credit Suisse advised Masan on the deal.

(Editing by Ed Davies)