SK Group Resets Partnership with Masan Group

Ho Chi Minh City, September 4^th, 2024 - Masan Group Corporation (HOSE: MSN, “Masan Group”) today announced SK Group ("SK Group" or "the Company") and Masan Group agreed to an extension of SK Group’s put option exercise date with MSN for up to five years.

Furthermore, SK Group also announced the sale of a 7.1% stake in WinCommerce (“WCM”) to Masan Group (“MSN”) for US$200 million. WCM is Vietnam’s largest grocery modern trade retail platform with over 130 WinMart supermarkets and over 3,600 WinMart+ minimarts.

MSN acquired the additional stake in WCM to strengthen its control and to drive long-term growth in its core business. As part of MSN’s further investment, Masan shall receive the right to acquire SK Group’s remaining shares in WCM in the future at cost. At the same time, SK Group has achieved successful return on investment by selling a portion of its WCM stake, while continuing its long-term investment in MSN through the extension of the put option. 

In 2018, SK Group became a major shareholder of MSN and acquired a put option to sell the shares back to MSN in 2024. As part of its investment strategy, SK Group also invested in WCM for a 16.3% stake and in The CrownX, Masan’s integrated consumer-retail platform that consolidates WCM and Masan Consumer Holdings, for a 4.9% stake. 

For the months of June and July 2024, WCM achieved positive net profit after tax, driven by accelerated revenue growth and successful scaling of new store formats to serve both urban and rural consumers. This marked a critical milestone in WCM’s retail strategy as the innovation and operational execution have led to a path of sustainable profitability.

“WinCommerce is entering a stage of profitability, and we expect this to accelerate as we deliver like-for-like growth, successful new store openings and drive the acceleration of Vietnam’s modern trade market in the medium term. We value SK Group’s partnership approach to maximize shareholder value for all stakeholders” said Mr. Danny Le, CEO of MSN.

The WCM sale is designed to rebalance SK Group’s portfolio. SK Group continues to have strong conviction in MSN's growth and profit trajectory and in Vietnam’s long-term consumption growth. SK Group and MSN will work in a spirit of partnership to realize this opportunity.