Besides becoming a strategic shareholder, the Japanese multi-sector group Sojitz will be coordinating with its local partner to develop agri-food projects in Vietnam and the region.
PAN Group, a pioneering agriculture and food group, announced it has issued 13.4 million shares, equivalent to 10 per cent of charter capital, to Japanese partner Sojitz at a price of VND61,000 ($2.62) per share.
The deal, which was valued at VND817 billion ($35-million), helped PAN Group increase its charter capital from VND1,202 billion ($51.6 million) to VND1,336 billion ($57.3 million).
PAN Group plans to utilize the proceeds to strengthen the group’s financial resources for investment and pursuit of M&A deals in the field of agriculture and food.
The group expected that Sojitz will help improve Vietnam's agricultural products as well as facilitate exports to global markets.
"Our selection criterion in this issue is to seek a strategic business partner rather than a financial institution," said Nguyen Thi Tra My, The PAN Group’s Chairwoman.
In addition to the private placement to strategic partner, PAN Group’s Board of Directors, in a few weeks ago, approved the issuance of non-convertible bonds worth VND1,135 billion to mobilize capital ($48.7 million).
PAN Group was present in 2015 after being restructured from agricultural and food investments of SSI, the largest securities company in Vietnam. The group holds shares in seed companies (Vinaseed, SSC), high-tech agriculture company Pan Salad Bowl and food companies such as Bibica, Lafooco, Aquatex Ben Tre, Sao Ta Foods, 584 Nha Trang.
Prior to Sojitz, PAN Group offered shares for sale to TAEL (The Asian Entrepreneur Legacy) Partners, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and the IFC (International Finance Corporation).
Sojitz is a Japanese multi-sector group operating globally, including 440 subsidiaries and affiliated companies, trading and investing in many countries around the world.
Sojitz has been present in Vietnam since the early 1970s and has invested in many areas, including finance, energy, mineral resources, food, agriculture, forestry, commodities. consumption and industrial zones.
In the middle of the year, Sojitz also spent $91 million on acquiring Saigon Papers, one of the leading companies in manufacturing tissue paper and industrial paper in Vietnam.
