HANOI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - 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 digitizing 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)