Gakken eyes Southeast Asia expansion as Vietnam publisher’s largest shareholder

Japanese education firm Gakken Holdings has become Vietnamese textbook publisher Dai Truong Phat’s biggest shareholder with a 35% stake in Gakken’s new step to further expand in Southeast Asia.

Both sides did not disclose the transaction value. However, Nikkei Asia said on Tuesday the Gakken investment might be worth several billion yen (one billion yen equals $7.57 million).

The Japanese newspaper added Gakken had acquired shares from existing shareholders and through third-party allotment, and also has its representatives in the Vietnamese company’s board.

Dai Truong Phat is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s economic powerhouse. It is not a listed company, therefore the private firm is not obliged to publicize the transaction.

Vietnam allowed private-sector enterprises to enter textbook publishing in 2018. Dai Truong Phat claims it holds around 30% of the English textbook market in Vietnam, whose current population is 100 million people.

As its largest shareholder, Gakken is set to support Dai Truong Phat in producing textbooks and workbooks for subjects other than English, such as mathematics and science, according to Nikkei Asia.

With this new partnership, Gakken also plans to launch an expansion of its textbook and workbook business in Southeast Asia as the Japanese student population is shrinking, the newspaper added.