Vietnam’s leading mobile retailer tipped to be on verge of outsize local M&A deal

By Ngoc Tuyen August 7, 2017 | 12:41 am PT

A The Gioi Di Dong store of Mobile World JSC in Ho Chi Minh City. The company is expanding its business to take the lead in Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress

Mobile World is all set to acquire Tran Anh Digital World in a $110-million deal.

Vietnam's largest mobile retailer Mobile World JSC (MWG) has completed the necessary procedures to acquire household appliances firm Tran Anh Digital World JSC, a source from Tran Anh told VnExpress.

An official announcement has yet to be made, but the source said Tran Anh has already informed senior staff.

Hanoi-based Tran Anh, which specializes in the trade and maintenance of computers, electronics, household appliances and telecommunications equipment, will be asking for shareholders' approval of the deal soon, according to this source.

Tran Anh previously said it planned to send questionnaires to each of its shareholders to consult them about the future of the firm.

However, the announcement contained no information about a merger with MWG.

MWG, the owner of The Gioi Di Dong stores that sell mobile devices, and Dien May Xanh stores that sell household appliances, has refused to comment on the deal.

Last week, its CEO and chairman Nguyen Duc Tai told local media that MWG would ask shareholders for permission to raise merger and acquisition funds for this year to VND2.5 trillion ($110 million), five times higher than the previous plan.

He said the money would be used to buy a home appliance chain and a pharmaceutical chain.

At the time, a source told VnExpress that the home appliance chain that Tai mentioned was based in the north of the country, where Dien May Xanh has struggled to penetrate.

Tran Anh has 39 stores in the north and central regions, including 14 in Hanoi.

MWG is aiming to become one of the biggest mobile device retailers in Southeast Asia by 2020, but regional expansion will be restricted to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Tai told local media last year.

It is currently the biggest mobile device retailer in Vietnam with over 1,000 The Gioi Di Dong stores and 30 percent of the mobile retail market, while its Dien May Xanh outlets account for eight percent of the local market with more than 300 stores, according to the company's 2016 annual report.