KKR Leads $650 Million Vinhomes Stake Purchase in Vietnam

(Bloomberg) -- KKR & Co. led a $650 million investment in Vinhomes JSC, the largest real estate developer in Vietnam, as the U.S. buyout firm seeks to bolster the variety of its investment portfolio in Asia.

The consortium, which includes Temasek Holdings Pte., bought a 6% stake in the developer, according to a joint statement on Tuesday. KKR said it made the investment primarily from its third Asia fund.

Like some of its private-equity rivals, KKR has been expanding beyond leveraged buyouts and stepped up real estate deal-making since 2018, including buying offices, shops and hotel rooms in Korea and hiring its most senior executive for the business in Asia-Pacific. The U.S. firm announced $3.5 billion of property transactions over the past two years, including a $1.9 billion acquisition in South Korea’s Gangnam business district, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

“We are truly honored to have the opportunity to invest in a successful, leading business like Vinhomes which is an integral part of the consumer services ecosystem within the Vingroup family,” Ashish Shastry, co-head of private equity for KKR Asia Pacific & head of Southeast Asia, said in the statement.

Vinhomes develops and trades integrated residential, commercial and industrial real estate, and is a subsidiary of Vingroup listed on Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange. Shares of Vinhomes gained 5.7% on Tuesday as of 12:07 p.m., while Vingroup added 3.5%.

Credit Suisse is the sole financial adviser to Vingroup.

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