Three years after its French partner sold its shares, Vietnam's Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank plans to sell a minority stake to overseas investors.
The CEO of SeABank said in an email that the bank could offer about 15% of its registered capital in a sale. It hasn't determined a specific time frame for the transaction.
The lender is working with a financial adviser to find buyers for the shares, which could include private equity and other financial firms, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified because the matter is private, but they said SeABank could sell as much as 15%. Based on the current share price, a stake of that size would be worth about $375 million.
SeABank's shares have dropped 18% this year and are worth around $2.5 billion. SeABank plans to use the proceeds from any deal to expand its financial services across the country, the people said.
The website shows that SeABank offers retail and commercial banking. The lender had $10 billion of assets at the end of the first quarter. The company's profit before tax for the first three months of the year was up 87%.
French lender Societe Generale held a stake in the Vietnamese bank for about a decade. The investment exited in 2019.
With assistance from Kieu Giang.
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