Masan Consumer Corporation has announced that Masan HPC, its established home and personal care subsidiary, has completed the acquisition of 52% stake of local Net Detergent (Netco), local media reported.

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At a price of VND 48,000 (US$2.07) per share, Masan valued the company at US$46 million and price to earnings (P/E) multiple of 13x.

Netco, established in 1968, is a local home care business. In 2018, the company delivered net revenue of VND1.15 trillion (US$49.54 million), up 3.6% year-on-year and a net profit of VND81 billion (US$3.48 million), up 42.3%, primarily driven by its two popular laundry detergent brands: NET and NETSOFT.

After the deal, Masan HPC becomes Netco’s largest shareholder, and Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) the second with a 36% stake.

Netco’s current market share in the laundry segment is 1.5%, currently trailing Unilever (54.9%), Procter and Gamble (16.0%), Dai Viet Huong (11.6%), LIX (2.7%) and Vico (2.4%), according to Euromonitor’s “Laundry care market in Vietnam” report.

Following the transaction, Masan Consumer is expected to integrate Netco’s products into its distribution network across the country.

In a previous statement, Truong Cong Thang, chairman and CEO of Masan Consumer Corporation, the consumer business of conglomerate Masan, said the home and personal care (HPC) sector in Vietnam is still at the early stages of growth when compared to other developed markets.

The HPC market is one of the largest and most attractive consumer sectors in Vietnam with a total market size of US$3.1 billion, while Netco is a strategic entry point for Masan to build a diversified HPC platform.

In just over a month, Masan Consumer Corporation has initiated two deals to take its businesses beyond the food and beverage sector. On December 6, Masan and Vingroup agreed to merge the latter’s retail arm VinCommerce and its subsididary VinEco into Masan Consumer.

After completing the takeover, Masan would form “the country’s largest retail group”, while Vingroup would swap its stake in VinCommerce for that of the new company and become a stakeholder.