Aeroport de Paris in $99m Vietnamese deal

Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), which manages 22 airports across the country, has approved a plan to sell 7.4 percent of itself to France’s Aéroports de Paris (ADP).

Involving some 166 million shares, the deal is much smaller than the 20 percent ADP was initially offered. The Paris-based group was reportedly the only bidder meeting ACV's requirements for becoming its “strategic partner”. 

The new plan will see ACV pocket at least VND2.2 trillion ($98.7 million; €87.7 million) as the shares will be sold at a minimum price of VND13,100 per share. 

The French company will be restricted in transferring its shares for at least 10 years. 

The Vietnamese company said it would use the proceeds to fund big projects including the expansion of Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat Airport and the VND336.6 trillion construction of Long Thanh International Airport. 

The company plans to mobilise VND114.5 trillion to complete the first phase of the latter terminal by 2025.

Japan, which has expressed interest in the Long Thanh project, is reportedly considering funding the terminal with government capital, alongside development finance. 

Nguyen Nguyen Hung, chairman of ACV, told local press sources that ACV is waiting for the transport ministry’s permission to hire consultants before moving forward with the deal.

It is understood that the remaining stake of 12.6 percent is still available for other investors. The state will retain a stake of 75 percent in ACV. Japan’s ANA Holdings might be the next potential strategic investor of ACV, according to local reports.  

Last December, ACV raised $51 million through its IPO, selling about 3.4 percent of its equity on the stock exchange.