China's CDH in negotiations to acquire a $1.7B minority stake in Vietnamese grocery chain

According to sources, China's CDH Investments is in advanced talks to purchase a minority interest in Bach Hoa Xanh (BHX) from Vietnam retailer Mobile World.

The transaction could be worth up to $1.7 billion for the grocery chain.

According to the sources, CDH, a prominent alternative investment firm in China and a former investor in Mobile World, has surpassed competitors in bidding to secure the right to purchase a stake of up to 10%.

According to one of the individuals, CDH was seeking to purchase a 5%–10% share. They also stated that negotiations were still going on and that there was no guarantee that a deal would be finalized. According to the second source, if talks go well, an agreement might be reached as early as next month. Due to the privacy of the situation, both sources declined to be named.

In spite of the country's property sector problems brought on by a crackdown on corruption, a deal by Beijing-based CDH would highlight international investors' interest in Vietnam's rapidly expanding business sectors, including consumers.

Due to adverse market conditions, BHX's parent company, Mobile World, had previously declared that it would sell a minority stake in the grocery store in 2022. However, the plan was later postponed. Since the selling process was reopened last year, corporations from Thailand and the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC (GIC.UL) have expressed interest, according to reports at the time.

As one of China's first private equity firms, CDH was co-founded by Chairman Wu Shangzhi in 2002. The company is most known for its early dealmaking in conventional industries like manufacturing and consumption.