The private equity owner of the Neiman Marcus Group Inc, Warburg Pincus LLC, would be leading a consortium that would invest nearly US$325 million in Vingroup Joint Stock Co of Vietnam. Should this push through, this would be Warburg's latest foray into the Southeast Asia markets since 2010.
The consortium is expected to pay US$200 million for 20% shareholdings in Vincom Retail, Vingroup's property unit. Warburg for its part would be putting in US$100 million according to the largest shopping mall operator based in Hanoi, Vitenam.
Warburg Pincus is the latest private equity firm investing in Vietnam's emerging middle class and real estate market expansion. With its US$11.2 billion war chest raised in May, the firm is seeking to boost the planned shopping mall developments of Vingroup. It is also challenging the latest deal of fellow firm KKR, who had invested US$359 million for a unit of the Masan Group Corp.
According to Vingroup's CEO, Le Thi Thu Thuy, "There's very good chemistry between the two companies. We want to leverage Warburg-Pincus' experience and take Vingroup to the next level. We want to internationalize the company."
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