Mobile World caps grocery chain stake sale at 10%

“Positive business results and cashflow in 2023 shows that Bach Hoa Xanh no longer needs to sell a 20% stake as in its original plan,” according to an announcement from Mobile World.

The share sale is set to be scheduled for a date to be announced in the first half of this year.

A Mobile World representative has denied a rumor that Bach Hoa Xanh is selling a 10% stake to venture fund CDH Electric Bee, which used to be a shareholder in Mobile World.

Mobile World has yet to reveal the share price for Bach Hoa Xanh. Reuters in September reported that the grocery chain was valued at $1.5-1.7 billion, but Mobile World denied the report.

Bach Hoa Xanh was established in 2015 to help Mobile World reach deeper into the essential goods market. The company, however, has posted accumulated losses of VND8.3 trillion to date.

Since the second quarter of 2022, Mobile World has been restructuring the chain, first by closing 400 stores within months. Now the chain has 1,697 outlets.

Its performance has improved in recent months, and Mobile World expected the chain to have reached a break even point by the end of last year. Whether this was achieved will be revealed in the firm’s upcoming annual report.