Sabeco officially handed over to Thai investor

By Minh An - Dec 18, 2017 | 04:23 PM GMT+7

TheLEADERVietnam Beverage, ThaiBev’s domestic unit has spent US$4.9 billion to turn Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage JSC (Sabeco) into its subsidiary.

Sabeco officially handed over to Thai investor
Vietnam Beverage, ThaiBev’s domestic unit, has sucessfully purchased 53.59 per cent in Sabeco

According to the result of the Sabeco auction announced by Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE), an organization has purchased all 53.59 per cent of the shares offered by the State. With the bid price of VND320,000 (roughly US$14.109), the investor has to pay a total of VND110.0000 billion (roughly US$4.9 billion).

Before the auction, ThaiBev brewery revealed that Vietnam Beverage, 49 per cent stake of which were held by ThaiBev, had registered to buy all shares in Sabeco offered by the State.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also announced that only one individual investor registered to participate in the competition with a volume of 20,000 shares.

At the end of last week, nearly US$500 million, which is equivalent to 10 per cent of the transaction value, had been transferred to Sabeco's account at Vietcombank.

Last week, Merger Market reported that foreign banks had completed procedures to provide a US$4 billion loan, US$2-3 billion of which came from Thai banks, to investors participating in the Sabeco auction.

One day before the auction, Japanese brewery Kirin decided not to participate in the auction due to the limited foreign ownership and the fierce bidding.

Asahi , another Japanese brewery, was also not expected to get involved in the deal as its strategy is focusing on the operation of new businesses acquired from AB Inbev in Europe.

After the auction, the State still holds a 36 per cent stake in Sabeco, Vietnam Beverage of ThaiBev owns 53.59 per cent stake, Heineken holds about five per cent of Sabeco’s shares, and other foreign investors possess almost five per cent stake. Only a small remaining percentage of Sabeco's shares are held by local investors.