Runway clear for ACV’s stake sale to ADP

Vu Anh Minh, head of the Ministry of Transport’s (MoT) Department for Enterprise Management, told VIR that Aeroport de Paris (ADP) and Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) were assessing each other’s documents on financial reports, human resources, and others. The talks would focus on the price per share, the involvement of ADP in ACV’s board of directors, business governance, investment plans, and others.

“As per our schedule, the result of the negotiation will be secured in July before being submitted to the government for approval,” Minh said.

According to a resolution passed at ACV’s shareholders’ general meeting in March 2016, the negotiation starting price will be VND13,100 ($0.6) per share, which was the lowest winning bid set at the initial public offering (IPO) last December.

“If everything goes smoothly, this stated sale, which is the hottest in the aviation industry, is expected to be fully completed in September 2016,” Minh said. “As a company managing 37 airports, including some of Europe’s biggest, ADP’s revenue from its airport operations made up 95.4 per cent of its total revenue in 2014. We hope they can help ACV improve its state governance and financial capacity.”

According to the equitisation plan, ACV, which is currently operating 22 airports in Vietnam, has the chartered capital of VND22.43 trillion (nearly $1.03 billion), whose 75 per cent is held by the state. ACV plans to sell a 20 per cent stake to ADP, and will operate as a joint stock company from April 2016 onwards, and will join the unlisted public companies (UPCoM) by July at the latest. ACV is aiming to rake in over VND12.095 trillion ($554.8 million) in revenue, and VND2.056 trillion ($94.3 million) in pre-tax profits in 2016, when it also expects to handle 73.46 million passengers, up 16 per cent from 2015.

This year, the corporation plans to pump VND5.8 trillion ($266.05 million) into ongoing and new projects, including the $48.6 million expansion of Tan Son Nhat international airport; the $31.92 million expansion of Phu Quoc international airport’s passenger terminal; and the construction of Cat Bi international airport’s passenger terminal, worth $22.93 million.