Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), a global private equity firm, based in New York, reported on April 13 that it had agreed to pay 159 million USD for a 10 percent stake in the Masan Consumer Corporation, a food company of Vietnam.
According to KKR, this is its first deal in Vietnam, whose fast-growing economy is estimated to have expanded about 6.5 percent last year, and its fourth in Southeast Asia.
The KKR added that Masan Consumer Corporation is Vietnam's biggest maker of fish sauce and a major manufacturer of products like chili sauce and instant noodles.
"The buyout firm does not plan to become involved in the daily operations of Masan Consumer Corporation, but it does have the right to nominate one director to the company’s board," a KKR representative was quoted by New York Times as saying.
The US major daily added that earlier this year, the American private equity firm Mount Kellett invested 100 million USD in Masan Resources, another unit of the Masan conglomerate of Vietnam./.