SK Group Resets Partnership with Masan Group

Ho Chi Minh city, September 4th 2024 - SK Group ("SK Group" or "the Company") today announced SK Group and Masan Group agreed to an extension of SK Group’s put option exercise date with MSN for up to five years.

Furthermore, SK Group also announced the sale of a 7.1% stake in WinCommerce (“WCM”) to Masan Group (“MSN”) for US$200 million. WCM is Vietnam’s largest grocery modern trade retail platform with over 130 WinMart supermarkets and over 3,600 WinMart+ minimarts.

MSN acquired the additional stake in WCM to strengthen its control and to drive long-term growth in its core business. As part of MSN’s further investment, Masan shall receive the right to acquire SK Group’s remaining shares in WCM in the future at cost. At the same time, SK Group has achieved successful return on investment by selling a portion of its WCM stake, while continuing its long-term investment in MSN through the extension of the put option.

In 2018, SK Group became a major shareholder of MSN and acquired a put option to sell the shares back to MSN in 2024. As part of its investment strategy, SK Group also invested in WCM for a 16.3% stake and in The CrownX, Masan’s integrated consumer-retail platform that consolidates WCM and Masan Consumer Holdings, for a 4.9% stake.

For the months of June and July 2024, WCM achieved positive net profit after tax, driven by accelerated revenue growth and successful scaling of new store formats to serve both urban and rural consumers. This marked a critical milestone in WCM’s retail strategy as the innovation and operational execution have led to a path of sustainable profitability.

“WinCommerce is entering a stage of profitability, and we expect this to accelerate as we deliver like-for-like growth, successful new store openings and drive the acceleration of Vietnam’s modern trade market in the medium term. We value SK Group’s partnership approach to maximize shareholder value for all stakeholders” said Mr. Danny Le, CEO of MSN.

The WCM sale is designed to rebalance SK Group’s portfolio. SK Group continues to have strong conviction in MSN's growth and profit trajectory and in Vietnam’s long-term consumption growth. SK Group and MSN will work in a spirit of partnership to realize this opportunity.

SK GROUP

SK Group is a leading energy and telecommunications conglomerate and a driving force of innovation in the global market, representing Korea’s outstanding technology and excelling in semiconductor and electric vehicle battery manufacturing. Ranked second among Korean enterprises in total assets, SK has strategically laid the foundation for future growth by focusing on four core businesses: advanced materials, green, digital, and bio, and is ensuring continuous innovations through unwavering dedication to these industries. SK companies combined have $136.3 billion revenue in 2023 and employ more than 100,000 people worldwide. SK Group is one of TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies of 2023.

MASAN GROUP CORPORATION

Masan Group Corporation (“Masan” or the “Company”) believes in doing well by doing good. The Company’s mission is to provide better products and services to the 100 million people of Vietnam and global consumers, so that they can pay less for their daily essentials. Masan aims to achieve this by driving productivity with technological innovations, trusted brands, and focusing on fewer but bigger opportunities that impact the most lives.

Masan Group’s member companies and associates are industry leaders in branded fast moving consumer goods, branded meat, modern retail, F&B retail, financial services, telecommunications, and value-add chemical processing, altogether representing segments of Vietnam’s economy that are experiencing the most transformational growth.

CONTACTS: 

Investors/Analysts
Phu Duong
T: +84 28 6256 3862
E: [email protected]

Media
Van Pham
T: +84 28 6256 3862
E: [email protected]

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Masan’s expectations, intentions or strategies that may involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements, including Masan’s expectations, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond Masan’s control, which may cause Masan’s actual results of operations, financial condition, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions, future events or promises of future performance.