South Korean firm seeks majority stake in Vietnam’s Mercedes-Benz dealer

By Dat Nguyen October 16, 2019 | 04:25 am PT

The logo of Mercedes-Benz seen on a vehicle. Photo by Shutterstock/FotograFFF.

A South Korean firm is seeking to acquire a 51 percent stake in Haxaco, a leading Mercedes-Benz car dealer in Vietnam.

In a Tuesday press release Haxaco said it has set up a team to negotiate the offer from The Class Hyosung, also a Mercedes-Benz dealer.

The Class Hyosung has offered to pay VND45,500 ($1.96) per share for the stake, while Haxaco wants VND50,000 ($2.16).

The announcement increased Haxaco’s HAX stock value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange by 6.7 percent from Monday to VND19,050 (82 cents) Tuesday.

Haxaco’s management board began looking at legal requirements to increase the foreign ownership cap in the company from 49 percent to 100 percent in August. The increase is set to be presented to shareholders for approval.

Haxaco posted revenues of VND2.3 trillion ($99.3 million) in the first half of 2019, with car sales accounting for 92 percent. Its pre-tax profit was around VND38 billion ($1.64 million), down 14 percent year-on-year.