Singapore-based F&N Dairy Investments Pte Ltd (F&N) has registered to buy shares of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) for the third time, asking for 21.77 million shares, equivalent to a 1.5 per cent stake of the dairy firm’s capital.

The transaction is expected to take place between March 10 and April 7 via the auction and negotiation methods.

F&N also registered to purchase 21.77 million shares during February 6 - March 7 but only picked up 4.11 million, lifting its Vinamilk shares to 218.8 million, an estimated 15.07 per cent of the total shares.

The company said it could not buy all the number of shares that it had sought then because of unfavourable market conditions.

Vinamilk’s price fluctuated between VND126,700 and VND134,100 (US$5.69 and $6.02) per share during the F&N’s purchase time, lower than the VND144,000 ($6.47) per share that F&N accepted during the auction hosted by the State Capital and Investment Corporation (SCIC) at the end of 2016.

If the upcoming purchase succeeds, F&N will own 240.6 million Vinamilk shares, or 16.57 per cent of the total shares.

Vinamilk was established in 1976 and was listed on the stock market in 2006. At the price of VND130,600 a share on Wednesday, the company’s market capitalisation is VND189.6 trillion ($8.3 billion).

Currently, Vinamilk’s foreign ownership stands at 53.68 per cent, of which the F&N group and its subsidairy firm F&N BEV Manufacturing own 17.77 per cent, being Vinamilk’s second largest shareholder, after the SCIC.

F&N is a subsidiary of Fraser & Neave Corporation, Singapore’s largest beverage producer, and is owned by Thai business tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. 

VNS