Vietnam retail giant Masan Group Corporation (Masan) has said its integrated consumer-retail arm, The CrownX Corporation, has received US$350 million investment from a consortium of investors.
The list of investors includes TPG, Platinum Orchid (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority), and SeaTown Master Fund (managed by a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Temasek Holdings).
The CrownX plans to utilise the proceeds to invest in growth initiatives and conduct a share buyback, aiming for an international IPO by 2024.
“We look forward to a 2023-2024 international IPO of The CrownX with three simple KPIs: i) increasing our share of the consumer wallet by expanding our network, ii) digitising our entire platform to become a consumer tech company, and iii) double-digit profit margins,” said Danny Le, CEO of Masan said in a statement.
This is the last capital transaction by The CrownX, which has attracted over US$1.5 billion in investment since its inception last year. The previous round of US$400 million came in in July and was led by Alibaba Group and Baring Private Equity Asia.
Upon completing the latest deal, Masan will own 81.4 per cent of The CrownX.
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The CrownX leverages the mini-mall concept that integrates both offline and online formats to offer a wide range of daily, essential products and services.
The firm’s next strategy is to develop fintech solutions, including buy now pay later (BNPL) products for the underserved, mass-market consumers. To realise this goal, The CrownX will leverage its loyalty platform with the core of Reddi, a mobile virtual network operator (which it acquired in September).
“Investors are paying close attention to the rising middle class, rapid urbanisation, and strong underlying economic fundamentals in Vietnam. This well-positions the country as “a significant driver of the next chapter of Asia’sconsumption story,” said David Tan, managing director at TPG Capital Asia.
His belief in The CrocnX is buoyed by Masan’s turnaround of WinCommerce, a retail network (formerly known as VinCommerce) that Masan took over from the real estate and retail giant Vingroup. The business has reported profits for the first time in the third quarter of 2021.
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Image Credit: Masan
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