Masan Group, one of Vietnam’s largest private sector companies, announced Monday that it has purchased 52 per cent in Vietnam French Cattle Feed JSC (Proconco) and 70 per cent in Agro Nutrition Company (Anco), by acquiring Sam Kim Co Ltd and renaming it Masan Nutri-Science Co Ltd.
In 2012, Masan Agri, a subsidiary of the group, acquired a 40 per cent stake in Proconco. However, Masan Group fully divested from Masan Agri last year, hence holding no equity in the animal feed firm. The sale of Masan Agri was previously confirmed by the group as a move to raise capital for its consumer arm, Masan Consumer Holdings.
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Now as it has taken over 99.99 per cent in Sam Kim, Masan Group returns to be a major investor with a dominating ownership in Proconco. In addition, combining the equity interest in Anco, Masan Group has gained the second place in Vietnam’s animal feed market.
“The acquisition is a key step to increasing the productivity of Vietnam’s protein sector. Vietnam’s GDP per capita is 1/10th of the US, but Vietnam’s protein price per kilogram is 1.5-2 times more expensive,” the company stated.
The acquisition and establishment of Masan Nutri-Science instantly provides Masan Group a leading platform to serve the growing $6 billion animal feed sector. “Proconco and Anco, as a combined business, is the number one external pig feed and second overall animal feed player in Vietnam, supplying farmers with over 1.7 million metric tons of animal feed products in 2014 and is well on track to deliver revenue of $1 billion in 2015,” the company added.
It targets to transform Masan Nutri-Science by bringing the best practices of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry to further strengthen the new subsidiary’s operating platform.
In particular, Masan Group’s aim is to build “power brands”, develop the leading distribution network in terms of coverage and effectiveness and produce innovative products that conform to international standards.
Pham Trung Lam, leader of Masan Nutri-Science’s operational platform, will spearhead this operational transformation. He previously served as chief customer officer of Masan Consumer, where he played a critical role in building Masan Consumer into Vietnam’s leading diversified food and beverage company.
The combined animal feed and FMCG platform will create significant synergies and will be critical in achieving Masan Nutri-Science’s 2020 objective of a 50 per cent market share in the local animal feed market. Danny Le, CEO of Masan Nutri-Science, said: “We saw a big unmet need years ago in the food and beverage space, and today we see a similar big need being unmet need in the Vietnam’s animal protein sector.”
Masan Group is looking to tap this huge demand from the sector, leveraging on the already built network of Proconco, the oldest and most premium feed producer, and Anco, a 12 year joint venture between Vietnam and Malaysia.
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