HCM CITY – Mekong Capital’s Vietnam Azela Fund on Wednesday announced the sale of 75 per cent of its investment in Lộc Trời Group for US$9.2 million, equivalent to VNĐ68,000 ($3) a share.

This is a good profitable investment for Mekong Capital as this partial divestment resulted in a gross return multiple of 3.50x and a gross internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 18.6 per cent in United States (US) dollar after over eight years of investment.

Vietnam Azela Fund invested $4.4 million in Lộc Trời Group in December 2008.

“After eight and a half years of partnering together, we thank the chairman Huỳnh Văn Thòn for honouring his commitment to list the company’s shares and helping us to facilitate our exit,” Chris Freund, Partner at Mekong Capital said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I also expect that the listing will bring other benefits to the company and its shareholders,” Freund said.

Founded in 1993, Lộc Trời Group, formerly known as An Giang Plant Protection JSC, has developed from a distributor of crop protection chemicals into a vertically integrated agriculture company with current charter capital of VNĐ671.6 billion.

The company traded shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on July 24 this year. At the current price of about VNĐ59,000 a share, the agriculture firm is valued at $175 million.

The fund has also entered into an agreement to sell its remaining shares in Lộc Trời at VNĐ68,000 per share, which will be completed by the end of the third quarter of this year. After the completion of this exit, the only remaining investment in Vietnam Azela Fund is the pharmaceutical firm Traphaco. – VNS