SCB X Plc set to acquire Home Credit’s Vietnamese operations

Thailand’s largest bank by market value, SCB X Plc, is reportedly on the brink of securing a deal to acquire the Vietnamese operations of consumer lender, Home Credit. The transaction, which could be worth up to US$900 million, is expected to be announced within the week, say sources familiar with the proceedings who wish to remain anonymous due to the confidential nature of the negotiation.

SCB X Plc, a SET-listed holding company of Siam Commercial Bank, has reportedly outbid competitors to emerge as the leading contender for the purchase. The deal, as per the sources, estimates the value of Home Credit Vietnam between US$800 million and US$900 million. However, the discussions are ongoing and there is no guarantee that the transaction will proceed.

Representatives from PPF Group NV, the owner of Home Credit, and SCB X have so far not responded to requests for comments.

Home Credit initiated the sale process last year. The sale also piqued the interest of Thailand’s Kasikornbank and KB Kookmin Bank, a division of South Korea’s KB Financial Group, as reported by Bloomberg News at that time.

Home Credit is in the process of streamlining its operations as PPF, under the control of the family of the late Czech billionaire Petr Kellner, is shifting its investment focus back to Europe. The firm has been reviewing its Asian businesses following the cancellation of a US$1.5 billion Hong Kong initial public offering in 2019.

Previously, the lender has sold its units in Indonesia and the Philippines to the Thailand-based Bank of Ayudhya.

Established in 1997, Home Credit operates in multiple countries across Asia, central and eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union. PPF is a holding company with interests in finance, telecommunications, manufacturing, media and biotechnology. Kellner was 56 years old when he passed away in a helicopter crash in 2021, reported Bangkok Post.