Japan’s Kokuyo moves to acquire majority stake in Vietnam’s Thien Long Group

December 05, 2025 | 13:51

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Japanese conglomerate Kokuyo announced on December 4 that it is moving ahead with plans to acquire a controlling stake in Thien Long Group (TLG), Vietnam's largest stationery manufacturer, through a combination of a share purchase and public tender offer.

Japan’s Kokuyo moves to acquire majority stake in Vietnam’s Thien Long Group

Under the proposed structure, Kokuyo will first acquire all shares in Thien Long An Thinh (TLAT), the entity holding 46.82 per cent of Thien Long and owned by the company's founder and close associates.

The group will then launch a public tender offer for an additional 18.19 per cent of Thien Long's shares on the market. If both steps are completed as planned, Kokuyo will hold 65.01 per cent, making Thien Long its subsidiary.

The deal is valued at an estimated $177 million, equivalent to around $3 per share, and will be financed entirely through Kokuyo's internal capital. Two affiliated companies of Thien Long, Phuong Nam Cultural JSC and PEGA Holdings JSC, are excluded from the transaction.

Kokuyo is a well-established Japanese group specialising in stationery, office furniture, and workspace design, with operations across Asia, including China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The announcement published on Kokuyo's official website describes the acquisition as a strategic step in the group's expansion across Asia, as it aims to become the region's leading stationery brand by 2030. Kokuyo highlighted Thien Long's strong manufacturing capacity, dominant domestic market share, and extensive distribution network across ASEAN, attributes that closely align with the group's long-term growth strategy.

Combining Kokuyo's product and marketing expertise with Thien Long's production scale and distribution footprint is expected to create sustainable value and accelerate regional expansion. Kokuyo has identified ASEAN as its next core market after Japan, China, and India.

The acquisition of TLAT is expected to be completed by August 2026, followed by the public tender offer scheduled for October-November 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Kokuyo noted that the transaction is not expected to materially affect its 2025 business results and that updates will be provided as the process advances.

On the stock market, TLG shares have seen strong upward momentum and are currently trading at $2.5 per share, about 7 per cent below the all-time high reached late last year, giving the company a market capitalisation of more than $228.6 million.