Private-equity firm KKR has invested again in Masan Group in a bid to support the growth of the Vietnam-based food and beverage company’s meat business.
KKR, which held a stake in Masan Group between 2011 and 2016 after investing in its consumer division, said today (3 April) it had struck a deal to invest US$250m in the business and in its “branded meat platform” Masan Nutri-Science.
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The buy-out house is spending $100m buying shares in Masan Group from Danish private-equity firm PENM Partners and another $150m for a 7.5% stake in Masan Nutri-Science.
The Masan Nutri-Science division was launched to supply animal feed but also now sells processed pork products for a human audience. Last year, Masan bought a stake in Vietnam meat processor Vissan. KKR said Masan Nutri-Science wanted “to become the first integrated consumer meat platform in Vietnam”.
There is set to be a change in CEO at Masan Nutri-Science. Danny Le had held the role alongside his a second job as head of business development for Masan Group. Le will move to become Masan Nutri-Science’s vice chairman, with Pham Trung, an executive as the group’s Masan Consumer division, becoming the CEO of Masan Nutri-Science. KKR said Pham had been “instrumental in building Masan’s national distribution network to reach 250,000 point of sales, the highest for a food and beverage company in Vietnam”.
Masan Group chairman Nguyen Dang Quang said: “At Masan, we believe that value comes from serving the daily basic needs of 90m Vietnamese consumers, allowing our people to pay less for quality products and services. In a country where daily essentials such as packaged food and beverage, fresh food – meat – and financial services take up half of the average person’s wallet share, being able to deliver value for money is meaningful to our people and society.”
