Kokuyo - Thien Long deal: Will the "national" ballpoint pen company abandon its traditional model and accept major changes to expand its market?

This deal is not only one of the largest M&A deals in the Vietnamese manufacturing industry recently, but also a strategic turning point, reshaping the competitive position of both parties on the Asian stationery map.

According to information from Thien Long Group, Thien Long An Thinh Investment Joint Stock Company (TLAT) is currently the largest shareholder owning 46.82% of the company's charter capital.

TLAT is in the process of negotiating with KOKUYO Group - Japan's leading enterprise in the field of stationery and office furniture, to transfer all of TLAT's shares in Thien Long to KOKUYO Group.

KOKUYO Group plans to make a public offering to buy up to 18.19% of TLG shares as prescribed, increasing its ownership to 65.01% of charter capital at Thien Long.

Thien Long emphasized that at this stage, the above developments will not directly affect the company's production and business activities.

At the same time, for employees and partners, the company will not have any major changes in personnel or policies during the current period. "The company hopes that all parties will continue to feel secure while all operations continue as planned" - Thien Long informed.

Thien Long's move came on the same day that Kokuyo Group announced it would acquire Thien Long through two transactions including share purchase and public offering.

According to experts, for Kokuyo, this deal is a key brick in the strategic plan to make the group the leading stationery brand in Asia by 2030.

Because, Kokuyo is strong in high-end stationery products, office furniture and workspace solutions. Thien Long is strong in popular, mass products (pens, school supplies) and large-scale production systems. This combination creates a complete product portfolio, covering from low-end to high-end segments.

This deal promises to help Japanese businesses dominate ASEAN. Specifically, after Japan, China and India, Kokuyo identified ASEAN as its next core market. Thien Long, with its extensive distribution network across Southeast Asia, becomes an ideal production base and logistics center for Kokuyo to export and distribute new products.

For Thien Long, the acquisition raises major identity issues for a brand that has been associated with many generations of Vietnamese people.

Accordingly, if it becomes a subsidiary, Thien Long must adhere to a common strategy. This may reduce flexibility in making business decisions and developing products to suit the rapidly changing tastes of the Vietnamese and ASEAN markets.

In addition, there is the great challenge of integrating corporate culture. How to retain the management team and core personnel during the transition from a family business model to a multinational corporation model is the key to maintaining operational performance.

It can be seen that the TLG-Kokuyo deal is an inevitable step in the process of economic integration. It promises to bring Thien Long to a new level in technology and scale, but at the same time is also a test of the ability to preserve and promote identity values under the control of a foreign corporation.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/thuong-vu-kokuyo-thien-long-hang-but-bi-quoc-dan-tu-bo-mo-hinh-truyen-thong-chap-nhan-su-thay-doi-lon-de-mo-rong-thi-truong-10399334.html