Japan’s Taisho to increase stakes ownership in Vietnam-listed DHG Pharma to 32 percent

6/7/2018 – Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings has proposed to buy an additional 7.06% stake in Vietnam’s DHG Pharmaceutical, the country’s top drug distributor that manages a wide range off prescription therapies, over-the-counter treatments and personal care products.

According to the disclosure by the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the Japanese pharma firm plans to make a public offer of 9,232,647 shares with voting rights, that is equivalent to 7.06% of DHG Pharma stakes.

At the proceed, Taisho Pharma was said to spend about VND 1.1 trillion (about US$47.7 million) to buy the shares which were priced at VND 120,000 (about US$5.26 apiece),

Following the purchase, this will increase the Japanese pharmaceutical ownership in DHG Pharmaceutical to 32 percent with over 41.8 million shares.

This comes as an effort for Taisho to cement its position as DHG Pharma’s second largest investor after the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) with a 43.3 percent interest.

Other shareholders of DHG Pharma includes Vietnam-focused asset management firms, VinaCapital and Dragon Capital, Templeton Frontier Markets Fund, and Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund.

At present, Taisho is a major shareholder of DHG with over 32.6 million shares, equivalent to 24.94 percent of the company’s charter capital.

Previously, Taisho Pharma has also registered to buy an additional 650,000 shares or 0.5 percent stake in Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company. This was to raise its holdings in DHG to around 25 percent.

In Vietnam, DHG Pharma, Traphaco and Domesco Medical have been favorable portfolio companies of financial firms like Dragon Capital, Mekong Capital, Deutsche Bank, Franklin Templeton, and JP Morgan.