Foreign enterprises are looking to collect shares of leading pharmaceutical companies in Việt Nam and become strategic shareholders.

The Board of Directors of Hà Tây Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DHT) has approved a plan to offer individual shares to strategic shareholders. The company plans to issue an additional 8.4 million individual shares, equivalent to 11.36 per cent of the total outstanding shares.

The offered price is VNĐ21,500 per share, equivalent to proceeds of about VNĐ181 billion. The shareholder registering to buy all new shares is ASKA Pharmaceutical Co Ltd from Japan. If the deal is completed, ASKA will hold 26.8 million DHT shares, or nearly 33 per cent of DHT's capital. The amount of newly issued shares will be restricted from transfer for three years.

ASKA is a pharmaceutical company established 100 years ago, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. ASKA's main business is manufacturing, trading and importing and exporting pharmaceuticals, medicines and medical equipment. In the pharmaceutical segment, the company specialises in internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology products and urinary tract treatments.

In 2021, ASKA became a strategic investor of DHT after purchasing nearly 5.3 million new shares at a price of VNĐ70,000 per share, 18 per cent higher than the market price at that time. At this time, ASKA holds 24.9 per cent of DHT's charter capital (6.6 million shares) and is the largest shareholder in this pharmaceutical company. In June 2023, Hà Tây Pharmaceutical issued bonus shares at a ratio of 180 per cent, meaning that shareholders holding 100 shares received 180 new shares. The number of shares held by ASKA increased to more than 18.4 million shares.

In addition to Hà Tây Pharmaceutical, Việt Nam's leading pharmaceutical enterprises such as Hậu Giang Pharmaceutical (DHG), Domesco (DMC), Traphaco (TRA), Imexpharm (IMP) and Pymepharco (PME) all have foreign shareholders, some of which even hold control of over 51 per cent, or take over the entire business.

Taisho Pharmaceutical (Japan) is currently the parent company holding 51 per cent of the shares in Hậu Giang Pharmaceutical. Abbott also successfully acquired 52 per cent of shares in Domesco through its subsidiary CFR International Spa.

SK Investment Vina III, a member of SK Group (South Korea), is currently the largest shareholder holding nearly 48 per cent of shares at Imexpharm. Daewoong Pharmaceutical is a strategic shareholder in Traphaco with an ownership rate of 15 per cent.

To own a large amount of shares in leading pharmaceutical enterprises in Việt Nam, foreign enterprises have had to struggle quite a bit, but most of the deals have borne fruit.

Taisho's acquisition of Hậu Giang Pharmaceutical (DHG) can be considered the largest M&A deal in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry. In 2016, Taisho started spending US$100 million to buy 24.44 per cent of DHG shares at VNĐ100,000 per share, 20-30 per cent higher than the market price.

After that, Taisho continuously increased its ownership in DHG. By mid-2019, its ownership in DHG rose to 51 per cent. It is estimated that the amount Taisho spent to acquire Hậu Giang Pharmaceutical is about VNĐ7 trillion. Three years after completing the acquisition, this Japanese shareholder made a huge profit as the DHG shares that Taisho was holding had a market value of nearly VNĐ8.3 trillion, not to mention DHG's huge dividends.

In 2017, a group of Korean shareholders spent more than VNĐ2.3 trillion to buy 16.6 million shares of Traphaco (TRA), equivalent to 40.12 per cent of the company's charter capital, from Mekong Capital and Việt Nam Holding Ltd. To date, Daewoong has become a strategic shareholder providing both financial and technological support for Traphaco.

The amount of shares in the hands of the South Korean shareholder currently has a market value of about VNĐ1.5 trillion, 36 per cent lower than the original capital. However, high annual dividends from Traphaco partly compensate for the above loss.

In 2020, SK Group received the transfer of more than 12.3 million Imexpharm shares (24.9 per cent) from the fund group Dragon Capital, CAM Việt Nam Mother Fund, Kingsmead, and Mirae Asset. By 2022, this group bought Red Capital, which holds Imexpharm shares, increasing its ownership to 55 per cent.

It is estimated that SK Group spent at least VNĐ1.7 trillion to acquire Imexpharm, not including the amount to buy Red Capital. Meanwhile, the market value of the shares this group holds is currently some VNĐ2.2 trillion. If dividends are included, SK Group is also enjoying profits. — VNS