SK Group acquires 25 per cent of Imexpharm

June 01, 2020 | 14:44

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South Korean conglomerate SK Group has become a large shareholder of Imexpharm (IMP), adding to its considerable portfolio of shares in Vingroup, Masan, and PV Oil.

sk group acquires 25 per cent of imexpharm

SK Group has increased its portfolio in Vietnam by buying into Imexpharm

On May 29, SK Investment III, a subsidiary of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, received 12.32 million shares, equivalent to 24.9 per cent of Imexpharm Corporation (code: IMP).

The transaction was carried out through Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) at an undisclosed value. However, at the end of last week, the price of IMP shares was around VND54,000 ($2.35), so if the transaction was made at market price, it would be around VND665 billion ($28.9 million).

Most of the shares (11.3 million) were acquired from Dragon Capital Group, while the rest came from CAM Vietnam Mother Fund, Kingsmead, and Mirae Asset.

The latest investment is quite modest compared to the two previous transactions where SK Investment Vina I spent $470 million on 9.4 per cent of Masan Group, and SK Investment Vina II poured $1 billion into acquiring 6 per cent of Vingroup. Additionally, another SK Group subsidiary, SK Energy, also holds 5.2 per cent of PV Oil.

At Imexpharm, foreign investors now hold approximately 49 per cent of the total shares. Other big shareholders are VinaCapital (7 per cent), KWE Beteiligungen AG (14.3 per cent), and Vietnam Pharmaceutical JSC – Vinapharm (22.9 per cent).

At present, numerous big pharmaceutical firms have raised their foreign ownership limits to 49 per cent, enabling foreign companies to raise ownership, the way Taisho Pharmaceutical boosted its interest in DHG Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG) to 51 per cent, Abbot in Domesco Medical Import-Export JSC (DMC) to 51.7 per cent, or Stada in Pymepharco (PME) to 62 per cent.

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