Sojitz acquires a 27.64% stake in Vietnamese airport services firm Taseco Airs

Sojitz Corporation, a major Japanese trading house, has acquired a 27.64% stake in Vietnamese airport services company Taseco Air Services (Taseco Airs, Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE): AST). The acquisition took place on September 14, 2026, for a transaction value of approximately VND 1.05 trillion (about $40.5 million). Sojitz became the second-largest shareholder, behind parent company Taseco Group's 51% stake.

Taseco Airs operates commercial services inside airport terminals. Rather than a factory or an industrial park, a Japanese trading house has taken a stake of just under 30% in a business that runs inside airports.

What Sojitz acquired on September 14 was 14.927 million shares, for a transaction value of approximately VND 1.05 trillion.

Sojitz's filing covers the acquisition of 14.927 million shares of Taseco Airs. Both The Investor and DealStreetAsia put the transaction value at approximately VND 1.05 trillion (about $40.5 million). DealStreetAsia separately cites market data, writing that about 14.93 million AST shares changed hands in an off-exchange transaction on September 14, for just under VND 1.053 trillion. DealStreetAsia presents both the combined sale amount from the two funds and the market-aggregated figure side by side.

The per-share price is put at over VND 70,500 ($2.70) by The Investor and at approximately VND 70,500 by DealStreetAsia. Multiplying 14.927 million shares by VND 70,500 gives VND 1.0523 trillion; if the per-share price is "over VND 70,500," the product exceeds VND 1.0523 trillion, which falls within DealStreetAsia's market figure of "just under VND 1.053 trillion."

The dollar conversion rate used across the coverage is consistently around VND 26,000 per dollar. Net profit of VND 221 billion equaling $8.5 million and second-quarter revenue of VND 479 billion equaling $18.4 million both work out to about VND 26,000 per dollar. The transaction value of approximately VND 1.05 trillion divided by $40.5 million also comes to about VND 25,900 per dollar, the same level within rounding.

The sellers were PENM IV's 17.64% stake and STIC's 10% stake; shareholders waived Sojitz's tender offer obligation.

The 27.64% stake Sojitz acquired matches exactly the combined holdings released by two foreign funds: the entire 9.527 million shares (17.64%) held by PENM IV Germany GmbH & Co. KG, and the entire 5.4 million shares (10%) held by STIC Pan-Asia 4th Industry Growth Private Equity Fund. According to DealStreetAsia, PENM IV had been a shareholder of Taseco Airs since 2017, and STIC since 2019.

9.527 million shares plus 5.4 million shares equals 14.927 million shares, and 17.64% plus 10% equals 27.64%. Both the share count and the percentage match between what was acquired and what was sold. DealStreetAsia also breaks down the amount: approximately VND 672 billion for the PENM IV portion and approximately VND 381 billion for the STIC portion. Added together, that comes to VND 1.053 trillion, in line with the rounded transaction value of approximately VND 1.05 trillion.

According to DealStreetAsia, Taseco Airs' shareholders approved the transfer of the two funds' stakes to Sojitz in September, and at the same time waived Sojitz's obligation to conduct a tender offer (TOB). The basis for the waiver has not been reported.

Placing this alongside another 2026 deal in which a Japanese company bought shares in a HOSE-listed company shows a difference in procedure. Kokuyo is acquiring 65.01% of Thien Long Group (HOSE: TLG), Vietnam's largest stationery maker, for approximately $190 million, under a plan in which it will buy 46.82% from the largest shareholder and has announced plans to collect the remaining 18.19% from general shareholders through a tender offer between October and November. In Sojitz's case, the obligation to conduct a tender offer was waived when shareholders approved the transfer.

The IPO of electronics retailer Dien May Xanh shows a difference in whether the company itself receives funds. In Dien May Xanh's case, new share issuance brought VND 13.315 trillion into the company, and parent company MWG retained about 86% after listing. This time, the deal is a transfer of existing shares from the two funds to Sojitz, and no funds went into Taseco Airs. The only thing the two deals have in common is that a large external shareholder came in while the parent company retained majority control. Taseco Group's 51% plus Sojitz's 27.64% adds up to 78.64%.

Taseco Airs was founded in 2005 and listed on HOSE in 2018, and handles non-aviation airport businesses ranging from duty-free shops to in-flight catering

Taseco Airs was founded in 2005 and listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in 2018. Its business is non-aviation commercial services inside airports, and the coverage lists in-airport retail, duty-free shops, food and beverage, business lounges, advertising, aviation logistics, and in-flight catering.

For the airports where it operates, The Investor cites four examples: Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc, while DealStreetAsia cites six, adding Phu Bai and Cam Ranh. Both use phrasing such as "including," so neither is a complete list.

First-half consolidated revenue exceeded VND 1.04 trillion, up 33%, and VIP lounge revenue grew 67%

Taseco Airs' consolidated revenue for the first half of 2026 exceeded VND 1.04 trillion ($39.81 million), up 33% year on year, while net profit was VND 221 billion ($8.5 million), up 45%. Second-quarter revenue was VND 479 billion ($18.4 million), up 22%.

The biggest gap in growth is in lounges. VIP lounge revenue is reported to have grown 67%, while revenue from restaurants, fast food, and duty-free shops grew 15%. Subtracting the second quarter's VND 479 billion from the first half's VND 1.04 trillion leaves approximately VND 561 billion for the first quarter. Since the first half overall grew 33% and the second quarter grew 22%, the calculation puts the first-quarter growth rate above 33%. The peak of the growth was weighted toward the first part of the first half.

The two selling funds gave up their entire stakes at a stage when both revenue and profit were growing at double-digit rates. Neither of the two articles carries a comment from Sojitz.

Sojitz has been in Vietnam since 1986 and holds 50.2% of the Long Duc Industrial Park and 100% of food wholesaler New Viet Dairy

Sojitz's business in Vietnam began in 1986. The main stakes cited by The Investor are as follows.

• Involved since 2011 in the 270-hectare Long Duc Industrial Park in Dong Nai Province, holding 50.2% of the development and operating company Long Duc Investment
• 97.7% of Saigon Paper (invested in 2018) and 75% of Japan Vietnam Fertilizer (JVF). JVF's total investment is $39.75 million, and it has been operating in Vietnam for about 30 years
• Invested in Ministop Vietnam in 2015. In 2016, established processed-food company Japan Best Foods and also launched cold-chain logistics company New Land Vietnam Japan
• New Land Vietnam Japan Long An, established in 2022, operates a logistics center of nearly 34,000 square meters
• In 2023, acquired 100% of food wholesaler Dai Tan Viet (New Viet Dairy), supplying about 2,000 items to nearly 6,000 mid- to high-end hotels and restaurants nationwide
• In 2024, invested in Finviet, which runs a B2B ordering and payment platform for small retailers

For the industrial park, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Long Thanh Golf Investment and Trading (GLT) in 2023, and expansion into Long Duc 3 is also being prepared. In cold-chain logistics, Kamigumi announced in 2026 the construction of a new frozen and chilled warehouse and the acquisition of a 50% stake in CLK COLD STORAGE, making this an area where Japanese investment is converging.

Sources

• The Investor (VAFIE), "Sojitz acquires 27.6% stake in Vietnam airport services firm Taseco Airs" (September 18, 2026)
• DealStreetAsia, Japan’s Sojitz acquires 27.6% stake in Vietnam’s Taseco Airs (September 21, 2026)