South Korea’s SK Group to Invest in Vietnam’s Largest Pharmacy Chain

SK Group, one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, has been reported to be planning an investment in Vietnam’s largest pharmacy retail chain, Pharmacity, with an expected value of up to USD 100 million. According to investment banking sources, SK Group is currently reviewing detailed terms of an investment in Pharmacity.
Pharmacity, which previously has raised about USD 30 million from an unidentified private equity firm, runs 500 drugstores across Vietnam and is expected to reach 1,000 stores by the end of 2021.
SK Group has invested approximately USD 2 billion in Vietnam’s leading companies since 2018, including the USD 410 million purchase of a 16.3% stake in Vincommerce, Vietnam’s largest retailer, in April 2021.
SK Southeast Asia Investment was set up as a joint venture of five SK Group units including SK Holdings Co., SK E&S Co., SK Hynix Inc., SK Telecom Co. and SK Innovation Co. Each of the five units has contributed USD 200 million to the joint venture.
The joint venture acquired a 9.5% stake in Masan Group, Vietnam’s top food and beverage company, for USD 470 million in 2018 and a 6.1% stake in Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, for USD 1 billion in 2019. In 2020, the investment venture increased its stake in Imexpharm Corp, a Vietnamese pharmaceutical manufacturing company, equivalent to 29.2%.
(Source: Kedglobal)