With the stock market remaining depressed and liquidity drying up, many companies are finding it hard to raise money through issues, but some do buck the trend, managing not only to sell equity but also at attractive prices.
Shareholders of Cotec Construction Joint Stock Company (HOSE: CTD) have approved to make a private placement of 10.42 million of new shares at a price not lower than VND50,000 against its book value of VND42,74. The shares will have a lock-up period of two years.
CTD Chairman Tran Ba Duong said the issue attracted interest among buyers without revealing identities. There have been unconfirmed reports that foreign investment funds, property developers, and contractors are interested in picking up stakes.
A few months ago Tan Viet Investment and Development Company bought more than 2.1 million CTD shares at VND55,000 from fund manager Dragon Capital to increase its stake to 10.45 per cent from 3.5 per cent.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a leading US-based global investment firm, last month paid US$159 million for a 10 per cent stake in food company Masan Consumer.
The deal, at 50 per cent above the then market price, valued Masan Consumer at $1.6 billion.
Masan is the market leader in fish, soy, and chilli sauces and second largest producer of branded instant noodles. It had a net profit of $60 million last year, up from $19 million in 2008.
Diageo, a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, agreed to pay $10.95 for shares of the unlisted Ha Noi Liquor Joint Stock Company, almost triple the market price.