KIDO Group is seeking a partner to sell its entire stake in KIDO Foods - the company once behind two iconic Vietnamese ice cream brands. Is this the conclusion to the brand ownership dispute over Celano ice cream?

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The Celano ice cream brand was once at the center of a dispute between KIDO Group and a Nutifood-affiliated company. Photo: S.T

KIDO Group (stock code: KDC) has announced plans to transfer its entire 49% stake in KIDO Foods, which owns the Celano and Merino ice cream brands.

The group expects to raise approximately 2.5 trillion VND (about 103 million USD) from this transaction.

KIDO Foods currently has a charter capital of 741.6 billion VND (roughly 30.5 million USD), of which KIDO Group holds 36.3 million shares, equivalent to a 49% ownership stake.

In July 2022, KIDO Foods was privatized and increased its charter capital from 541.6 billion VND to 741.6 billion VND. Subsequently, KIDO Group reduced its ownership from 100% to 73.3%.

In 2023, KIDO Group further cut its ownership to 49% after selling 23.4% of its shares in KIDO Foods to Nutifood Nutrition Food JSC.

After acquiring additional shares from other stakeholders, by September 2024, Nutifood became the controlling shareholder in KIDO Foods with a 51% stake.

This marked the beginning of a legal dispute between KIDO Group and KIDO Foods over the rights to the Celano ice cream brand. KIDO Group filed a lawsuit, and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court accepted the case under the category of “intellectual property ownership dispute.”

On January 17, the court issued a temporary injunction prohibiting KIDO Foods from using the Celano brand. The court also ordered Dat Viet Media Corporation to cease all advertising and promotional activities related to Celano in shows like “Anh Trai Say Hi,” “2 Ngay 1 Dem,” and on all social media platforms.

According to a VietNamNet source, after the temporary injunction was imposed, KIDO Group and KIDO Foods entered negotiations, and the dispute is now moving toward a settlement.

KIDO Group claims that under a brand transfer agreement dated June 30, 2022, KIDO Foods transferred full ownership of all protected trademarks to the group, including the Celano brand.

The Merino brand, initially owned by KIDO Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of KIDO Foods) since KIDO Group acquired the Wall’s ice cream brand in 2003, was later transferred to KIDO Group in December 2023.

Anh Phuong