ThaiBev first to bid for stake in Vietnam’s biggest brewery
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade announced this week that Vietnam Beverage, a unit of Thai Beverage, would hold at least a quarter share in Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corp (Sabeco), in which the government plans to sell stakes totalling nearly US$5 billion.
Vietnam Beverage on December 11 became the first investor to register to buy a large quantity of Sabeco shares.
Bidders keen to own quarter shares or more must give a week’s advance notice.
News website cafef.vn said Vietnam Beverage – with charter capital of $30.3 million – was wholly owned by Vietnam F&B Alliance Investment Co, which in turn is 49-per-cent owned by BeerCo Ltd.
BeerCo Ltd is a subsidiary of Thai Beverage, owned by tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
The government aims to see 53.59 per cent of the country’s largest brewery, equivalent to nearly 343.7 million shares to investors.
The shares, coded SAB, will be auctioned at an initial price of $14.04 each on December 18 via open competitive bidding.
At the initial price, Sabeco’s market capitalisation will reach $9 billion. If at least 25 per cent of the company is bought, Vietnam Beverage will have to pay $2.25 billion.
Foreign investors will be allowed to buy up to 247.47 million shares in Sabeco, or 38.59 per cent. Foreign ownership in Sabeco is limited to a maximum of 49 per cent. Currently, foreign entities own 10 per cent.
HCM City Securities Corp forecasts that by the end of 2017, Sabeco’s net revenue will total VND34.6 trillion, up 13.4 per cent year-on-year, and its post-tax profit will reach VND4.9 trillion, up 9.4 per cent year-on-year.
In the first half of this year, Sabeco’s post-tax profit touched VND2.5 trillion, up 8 per cent from the figure of last year’s corresponding period.