NovaGroup registers to buy 8 million Novaland shares

NovaGroup registered Tuesday to buy 8 million shares of Novaland (NVL), a leading property developer in Vietnam, to expand its ownership to over 37%.

NovaGroup is currently the largest shareholder of Novaland. If the transaction is successful, NovaGroup's ownership in Novaland will be more than 37.4% of the firm's chartered capital, equivalent to 729.83 million shares.

The timeline for the acquisitions via the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) is from October 14 to November 13, 2022.

On the same day, Bui Cao Nhat Quan, son of NovaGroup chairman Bui Thanh Nhon, also registered to buy an additional two million NVL shares. If the transaction is successful, Quan's NVL shares will mount to 83,242,008 or a nearly 4.27% stake.

He currently owns over 81.24 million NVL shares worth approximately VND8,000 billion ($334 million).

Quan graduated from the U.S.'s Western Washington University. He was deputy general director of Novaland from 2007 and the corporation's vice chairman from 2015, but quit all tthe positions in mid 2017. He now acts as a party that ensures bond issuance obligations and holds the control of some companies associated with Novaland.

Previously, NovaGroup had increased its ownership at Novaland to 37.02% when Bui Thanh Nhon and Cao Thi Ngoc Suong, Nhon's wife, enlarged their stakes at NovaGroup by contributing NVL shares to the group.

The two transaction registrations were announced in the context of NVL shares plunging in four consecutive sessions, and NovaGroup chairman Nhon and his wife transferring all their stakes at Novaland to NovaGroup, no longer being major shareholders at the real estate developer.

In the first six months of 2022, Novaland's net revenue was VND4,614 billion ($197 million), down 34.5% year-on-year, while profit after tax decreased 9.7% to VND1,818 billion ($76.16 million).

NVL shares closed Tuesday at VND75,000 ($3.13) per unit, down 1.8% against the reference level.

Novaland's market capitalization was VND146,000 billion ($6.1 billion) on Tuesday, ranking sixth on the HoSE.

One of the most prominent projects of Novaland is NovaWorld Ho Tram. As one of the subdivisions launched at NovaWorld Ho Tram, Habana Island has become a blockbuster thanks to its prime location where the Ray River flows into the sea. Habana Island’s products have both river and ocean views. Overall, the project bears Caribbean cultural characteristics, creating a colorful picture in terms of architecture.