Two subsidiaries of Fraser & Neave Ltd controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi each bought 39.19 million shares of Vinamilk, or a 2.7 per cent stake, at the minimum price at an auction held at the HCM Stock Exchange on December 12.

The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) offered 130.6 million shares, or 9 per cent, on sale at an initial price of VND144,000 (US$6.32).

Each investor was allowed to buy a maximum of 2.7 per cent stake.

F&N Dairy Investment, one of the two Thai companies, is now Vinamilk’s largest foreign shareholder with a 11 per cent stake, and its CEO Lee Meng Tat is a member of Vinamilk’s management board.

The company has been buying Vinamilk shares since 2005.

F&N Bev Manufacturing PTE.LTD was the other buyer. There were no other participants in the auction.

SCIC raised VND1.286 trillion ($56.59 million) from the stake sale.

It said that, given the “vulnerable” stock markets in Southeast Asia and Việt Nam, the auction could be deemed a success especially since the shares were sold at more than a 6 per cent premium to the market price.

Vinamilk is the largest stock by market capitalisation in Việt Nam, with SCIC still holding more than 36 per cent.

Vinamilk shares closed yesterday at VND133,700.

Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Saigon Securities Inc and VinaCapital Corporate Finance Vietnam were the advisors for the sale of Vinamilk shares. 

VNS