TPG, ADIA, Temasek join funding round for Vietnam's The CrownX
The CrownX, a Vietnam-based consumer brands and retail business, has raised $350 million in funding from investors including TPG, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Temasek Holdings.
It comes seven months after Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) and Alibaba Group committed $400 million for a 5.5% interest at a pre-money equity valuation of $6.9 billion. At the time, parent company Masan Group indicated that it wanted to secure $300-400 million in additional funding before the end of the year.
The new investment values The CrownX at $8.2 billion. Masan Group remains the majority shareholder with an 81.4% stake. There are plans for an IPO in 2023-2024.
The CrownX was formed in 2020 through the consolidation of Masan Consumer Holdings and VinCommerce. Masan Consumer Holdings brought branded food and beverage assets, and VND23.9 trillion ($1 billion) in revenue to the partnership. VinCommerce contributed VND30.9 trillion, primarily from a network of 123 supermarkets and 2,231 minimarts.
The goal is to develop the reconstituted consumer business into an ecosystem comprising 10,000 self-owned stores and 20,000 smaller franchise partners, an efficient supply chain, a portfolio of private label brands, and an online-to-offline (O2O) grocery model. Masan Group, which owns Techmcombank, also wants to layer an O2O financial services offering on top of the grocery platform.
Target revenue for the business is $7-10 billion within four years, which would be double what Masan Group generated in 2020.
The CrownX is intended to tap into Vietnam’s transition to modern retail, with the modern share of overall retail sales set to rise from below 10% to 50% over the next decade, as standardized store formats and sophisticated supply chains become the norm. At the same time, grocery accounts for 50% of Vietnam’s retail market, but e-commerce penetration is less than 1% of grocery spend.
“Powered by its rising middle class and rapid urbanization, Vietnam is well-positioned to be a significant driver of the next chapter of Asia’s consumption story,” said David Tan, a managing director at TPG, in a statement.
“Having witnessed Masan’s turnaround of WinCommerce, we believe that The CrownX is the platform to capture this opportunity. They will develop the ecosystem further to expand their services to create value for all Vietnamese consumers.”
Credit Suisse served as the exclusive financial advisor to Masan Group on the latest transaction.
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