Pan Group to ramp up possession at Bibica to 100 per cent

As part of its priorities for the year announced earlier on at the annual general meeting held in April, Pan Group is now bidding for the 7.7 million shares, equivalent to 49.93 per cent of holdings at Bibica, at a projected price of VND68,500 ($2.97) apiece. Pan Group will likely spend around VND530 billion ($22.9 million) to take over the stakes from other shareholders, including Korea’s Lotte Confectionery Co., Ltd. and a number of minor investors.

According to the regulatory filing, the transactions are expected to take place within 30-60 days upon the approval of the State Securities Commission.

As at the end of 2018, Lotte Confectionery, as one of the largest shareholders at Bibica, held 44.03 per cent of company’s stakes. Pan Food Manufacturing JSC, a subsidiary of Pan Group, meanwhile, owned 50.07 per cent of Bibica.

Since 2013, there have been growing conflicts between these two largest shareholders, which was exacerbated by their similarly large holdings that prevented either of them from making the major decisions at Bibica.

Over the past years, Pan Food has taken its initiative to acquire more stakes at Bibica and consequently take control of the board of directors at the company.

Last year, Bibica posted VND1.42 trillion ($61.73 million) in revenue and VND109.5 billion ($4.76 million) in post-tax profit, an up of 10.2 per cent and 12.5 per cent on-year, respectively.

Pan Group, meanwhile, reported its consolidated revenue and post-tax profit at VND7.82 trillion ($340 million) and VND567 billion ($24.65 million), growing 92 per cent and 13 per cent on-year. Pan Group attributed its rosy performance to the sustainable growth of its subsidiaries Bibica and Vinaseed.