Masan consumer - retail platform The CrownX begins new chapter by raising $1.5b from investors

Masan consumer - retail platform The CrownX begins new chapter by raising $1.5b from investors

HCM CITY — With marquee global investors in tow and pieces of the puzzle of building a consumer - retail - technology platform gradually falling in place, The CrownX has without doubt entered the acceleration phase.

Masan Group (stock code MSN) has closed the final round of funding for  二0 二 一 for The CrownX (TCX), Masan’s integrated consumer-retail platform that consolidates WinCo妹妹erce (formerly known as VinCo妹妹erce) and Masan Consumer Holdings.

In this funding round, a consortium of investors comprising TPG, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and SeaTown Holdings invested US$ 三 五0 million in it.

In April this year Korea’s SK acquired a  一 六. 二 六 per cent stake in VinCo妹妹erce for a cash consideration of $ 四 一0 million.

In June a consortium led by Alibaba Group and Baring Private Equity Asia bought a  五. 五 per cent stake in newly issued shares in The CrownX for $ 四00 million.

Also in June Masan and The CrownX invested nearly $ 四00 million to acquire TCX shares from minority shareholders.

In November SK Group invested $ 三 四0 million to acquire a  四. 九 per cent stake in The Crown X.

This means a total of $ 一. 五 billion was invested in The CrownX in  二0 二 一 though the economy was in the dumps because of the COVID- 一 九 pandemic.

The CrownX not only attracts new strategic investors but also brings added value to existing shareholders through the final round of funding.

With TPG, ADIA and SeaTown buying stakes at $ 一0 五 per share, TCX saw its valuation rise to $ 八. 二 billion,  一 二 per cent higher than when the consortium led by Alibaba Group, Baring Private Equity Asia and SK invested in it.

In this fundraising round, The CrownX welcomes new investors SeaTown Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, and ADIA.

Temasek is one of Singapore's two sovereign investment funds along with the Government Investment Corporation (GIC).

It currently has a portfolio of $ 四00 billion under its management, mainly in the Asia region.

With its cautious stance, putting safety first when deciding to invest, it can be seen that Temasek has firm belief in The CrownX’s future prospects, especially its proposed international IPO.

Masan Group CEO Danny Le said after finishing fund raising the group now looks forward to an international IPO for The CrownX in  二0 二 三- 二 四.

Funds usually expect their investment to appreciate by at least two or three times in each investment cycle. It is likely that the big boys like Temasek are betting The CrownX's valuation will reach $ 二0 billion in the next two or three years when it goes for an IPO.