MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS (M&A) ACTIVITY IN VIETNAM DURING 2013-2018 : Current challenges and future trends when doing deals in Vietnam

Given the outstanding vibrancy of M&A activities in Vietnam, which has doubled in transaction value (from US$ 2.7 billion in 2013 to US$ 10.2 billion in 2017), it is essen-tial to learn both from successful stories and hard lessons throughout the sharp growth stage of M&A in Vietnam. This study aims to describe the dynamic Vietnamese M&A market in a 5-year period from 2013 -2018, challenges when doing deals in Vietnam and the M&A’s outlook in the near future. The theoretical part describes the typical M&A buy-side process starting from identify-ing potential targets, doing valuation and due diligence, closing a deal and post-merger integration. In the empirical part, Vietnam’s macro-economy and an overview of the M&A market in Vietnam are presented first. Then, by combining insights from in-depth interviews with transaction advisory experts and an online survey sent to over 50 deal professionals, this study points out current challenges which dealmakers are facing when doing transaction in Vietnam. Based on the findings, recommendations on how to secure a potential transaction are built up for readers’ references. Also, future trends and oppor-tunities for investing in Vietnam will be discussed in the last part before the summary section. It is concluded that Vietnam is recognized as one of the most attractive M&A destinations in Southeast Asia. Hence, the level of activities in the Vietnamese M&A market has been more vibrant than ever before. However, the successful rate when doing deals in Vietnam is still limited due to complicated legal framework, high level of corruption, lack of experience and preparation from both the sell-side and the buy-side