Yeah1 will rebound thanks to partnership with Tan Hiep Phat leader

Tan Hiep Phat leader become Yeah1's strategic partner

According to a report sent to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX), Tran Uyen Phuong, deputy general director of local beverage manufacturer Tan Hiep Phat, purchased 6.05 million YEG stocks on February 17-19, raising her ownership rate from 2.26 to 21.61 per cent.

Phuong spent VND300 billion ($13 million) on the deal. After the deal, Yeah1 chairman Nguyen Anh Nhuong Tong’s ownership rate was reduced to 25.52 per cent and CEO Dao Phuc Tri’s to 5.1 per cent. Thus, Phuong is the second-largest shareholder of the firm.

Phuong’s stock purchase also raises prospects of co-operation between the leading local soft drink maker and the 11-year-old media company.

In 2015, a caterer discovered a fly in a Number One bottle produced by Tan Hiep Phat. The person then contacted the company, demanding VND500 million ($21,739) to keep silent. After much hard bargaining, the company agreed to pay, but the two sides were caught in the act by the police.

Many years after the scandal, the beverage firm said that it cost them about VND2 trillion ($87 million). “Trillion dongs are a tremendous loss for Tan Hiep Phat. It showed that the power of consumers is extremely strong,” said a media expert.

Meanwhile, in the middle of March, YouTube accused Yeah1’s multi-channel network SpringMe that some of its channels violated its policies. This led to the global video platform stopping work with all Yeah1 subsidiaries running YouTube AdSense like Yeah1 Pte., Ltd. and ScaleLab LLC.

YouTube’s cancellation cost Yeah1 Group more than VND1 trillion ($43.48 million) in market value within two days.

When Tran Uyen Phuong bought the shares (February 17), Yeah1 also approved a plan to develop frameworks for celebrities, which includes establishing Your Entertainment Platform JSC (YEP) and Super Star Yeah1 JSC (YSS) both worth VND14 billion ($608,700) each. Yeah1’s ownership rates in the two subsidiaries are 99.98 and 50.98 per cent, respectively.

The co-operation between Yeah1 and Tan Hiep Phat could prove beneficial to both sides. Specifically, the beverage firm's plentiful financial resources could cover up for the shortcomings in Yeah1's performance, while the media group could prop up the soft drink maker's image after the "fly" scandal.