Masan Group (MSN) announced the acquisition of stakes in two companies on April 27.

It has acquired a 52% stake in Vietnam French Cattle Feed JSC (Proconco) and a 70% stake in Agro Nutrition Company JSC (Anco).

The acquisition was made when the group bought a 99.99% stake in Sam Kim Limited Liability Company and renamed it as Masan Nutri-Science Company.

The group said the acquisition was a key step towards increasing the productivity of Vietnam's protein sector, adding that the local GDP per capita was one-tenth of the United States, but the price of protein products was 1.5 to two times higher in comparison.

While animal feed is an integral component of the protein value chain, innovation in the industry is critical to the development of the local husbandry sector. Thus, Chairman of Masan Nutri-Science Pham Phu Ngoc Trai said the move would help the group to lead and serve the growing US$1-billion animal feed sector in Vietnam.

He said the combined businesses of Proconco and Anco would make the group the number one external pig feed market, and rank second in the overall animal feed market in Viet Nam.

Proconco was established in 1991with the popular "Con Co", one of the premium feed brands. Proconco's total capacity in 2014 was approximately 1.4 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, Anco, established in 2003 in Dong Nai province, has a total capacity of producing 750,000 tonnes.

Last year, they both supplied more than 1.7 million tonnes of animal feed products.

Masan Nutri-Science plans to earn US$1 billion in revenue in 2015. It also plans to claim 50% of the local animal feed market by 2020.

The group earned US$850 million in revenue and US$60 million in profit last year.

MSN shares ended at VND81,000 (US$3.6) each on the HCM City Stock Exchange on April 27.

VNS