VNG Corporation, Vietnam’s earliest unicorn, has officially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US through its listing vehicle VNG Limited.
The filing, which makes VNG the first Vietnamese tech company to seek a listing in the US, finally comes six years after the company reached a memorandum of understanding with Nasdaq to list on the bourse.
In its heavily redacted filing, the tech company specified offering some 21.7 million Class A ordinary shares, which account for 15.8% of the company’s outstanding shares. VNG has not set a proposed price range yet. DealStreetAsia reported last year that the company was looking to offer a 12.5% stake in its public market debut.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that VNG targeted to raise $150 million in its IPO, which might take place at end-September or October.
Class B shares, which are owned by co-founders Le Hong Minh and Vuong Quang Khai, will not be available in the proposed offering.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, UBS Securities LLC and BofA Securities, Inc. will act as underwriters of the IPO.
In its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, VNG said proceeds of the IPO will be used to pay original foreign investors, who are direct shareholders of the company, and repay its outstanding borrowings. It plans to fund its investment in fintech startup 01Fintech, among others.
Post-IPO, VNG Limited, the Listco, will have a 49% direct equity interest in the Vietnam-based operating company, along with a 21.3% indirect effective interest through BigV Technology, a Vietnamese holding company.
Upon completion of the IPO transaction, Tencent will be the largest shareholder in VNG, holding 47.4% of the Class A shares, while Singapore sovereign fund GIC holds 11.1%, Temasek 6.9%, and Ant Group 5.7%, as seen in the filing. In terms of voting power, Tencent will have a 23.2% right.
Shareholding at VNG Limited
