TPG - an investment fund familiar with Masan Group, has just invested in the flower export giant Da Lat.
(Note: Translation of the original in Vietnamese by Google)
TPG, the world's leading private equity fund, has just invested in Hasfarm Holdings - a flower export giant in Da Lat, marking a new step in the investment trend in the agricultural and food technology sector in Vietnam.
Citing sources, DealStreetAsia reported that Texas Pacific Group (TPG), a US-based private equity firm, has completed its investment in Hasfarm Holdings, an exporter of Da Lat flowers. The deal could value Hasfarm Holdings at half a billion dollars.
Hasfarm Holdings was established in 1994 and is headquartered in Da Lat, Lam Dong. The company operates in the field of distributing seedlings, cut flowers and potted flowers in the domestic market as well as for export.
Outside a Hasfarm flower distribution store in Da Lat. (Photo: Hasfarm/Facebook).
The company's General Director and Legal Representative is Mr. Adrianus Anthonius Maria (69 years old), Dutch nationality. Hasfarm has a charter capital of over 143.6 billion VND - 100% foreign capital.
Hasfarm's affiliated companies include: Greenwings Japan, Greenwings New Zealand, Kunming Hasfarm (China), PT Tamora Stekindo (Indonesia).
Currently, Hasfarm has more than 4,000 employees, with nearly 320 hectares of greenhouse flowers at farms in Da Ron, Da Quy, and Lam Ha. According to the announcement, each year, Dalat Hasfarm grows up to 200 million flower branches and 250 million seedlings to supply markets around the world.
TPG is one of the leading private investment firms in the United States, founded in 1992. Currently, the company is managing assets worth 239 billion USD, with an investment team operating globally.
TPG invests in a variety of sectors, including private equity, credit, real estate, market solutions and social impact projects. TPG has been present in Vietnam for a long time. In October 2006 - two months before going public, FPT offered 10% of its shares to TPG Growth through two partners, TPG Growth Ventures and Intel Capital, for $36.5 million, according to Thanh Nien .
At that time, FPT had a charter capital of 608 billion VND, meaning TPG Growth bought FPT shares at a price of nearly 100,000 VND/share.
After the commitment period to hold shares ended (nearly 9 months from the transaction date), TPG sold all of these shares via order matching on HOSE. With the market price at that time of 250,000 - 300,000 VND/share, TPG Growth earned a profit of about three times the initial investment value.
In 2009, TPG Growth invested 35 million USD in Masan Group of billionaire Nguyen Dang Quang, this was the largest foreign investment in the private economic sector for a domestic company at that time.
In July 2013, Masan Group announced that TPG Growth had completed the acquisition of 49% of the shares of Hoa Muoi Gio Company Limited (later renamed Masan Agriculture) - at that time one of the major shareholders of Masan Consumer, with a total value of 50 million USD.
In a talk show last October, Mr. Michael Hung Nguyen, Deputy General Director of Masan Group, said that the group has received many investments from investors such as KKR, SK Group and TPG, aiming for long-term cooperation.
TPG’s investment in Hasfarm Holdings is considered a bright spot at the beginning of the new year. Previously, Vingroup’s VinVentures fund said that the value of investment in startups in Vietnam in 2024 decreased sharply by 30% compared to the previous year, to only 308 million USD.
The number of deals also remained stable, with 75 deals, down slightly from 77 deals in 2023. This shows that the market is witnessing a more cautious trend from investors, focusing on larger deals instead of spreading capital widely.
Despite the overall decline in investment value, 2024 will see a significant shift in investment sectors. In particular, Agritech and Foodtech will emerge as the leading sectors, accounting for 27.6% of total investment value, a jump from 1% in 2023.
The most notable is the $70 million deal of Techcoop – a startup that provides comprehensive technology solutions for farmers, including traceability, financial support and productivity improvement.
Sectors such as logistics, e-commerce, and ESG (environmental, social, corporate governance) also attract investor interest.