DatVietVAC IPO opens a public-market chapter for Vietnam's Cultural Industries

All of these shares are expected to be listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) within 2026.

Given the characteristics of DatVietVAC’s value-generating assets, which are intangible assets such as intellectual property (IP) rights over scripts, music, recordings and exclusive artist contracts, the Group faces challenges in accessing long-term credit from the traditional banking system, which typically requires tangible collateral.

Accordingly, the IPO and subsequent listing are intended to increase DatVietVAC’s transparency, credibility and brand value, creating conditions for the company to improve its ability to access a more diverse range of funding sources in support of its growth strategy.

In addition, the additional capital will help DatVietVAC strengthen its financial capacity, with a full focus on financial restructuring and debt repayment in order to optimize net profit margins for its core subsidiaries. Specifically, VND 536.9 billion will be allocated as additional capital contribution to DatViet VAC Media, supporting its two subsidiaries Dat Viet Media and TKL, while VND 74 billion will be allocated as additional capital contribution to DatViet VAC Entertainment to strengthen the capacity of its two content production units, Vie Channel and Dong Tay Promotion.

Intellectual property (IP) assets, music copyrights and scripts remain relatively new and abstract concepts to Vietnam’s financial investment community. Bringing the company to the public market, subjecting it to strict disclosure requirements and independent audit, with a 15-year audit history by KPMG, represents the strongest commitment to the seriousness of its business model.

The issue price is based on an independent valuation certificate of VND 81,716 per share and a book value of VND 11,800 per share as of December 31, 2025. At the issue price of VND 54,800 per share, the valuation corresponds to a pre-issuance 2026 forward P/E of approximately 13x. This is considered a relatively attractive valuation compared with the average forward P/E of the entertainment sector in Southeast Asia and Asia, with an average of 18.1x and a median of 16.1x. Accordingly, DatVietVAC’s IPO valuation is being offered at a discount of approximately 28% to the regional average.

DatVietVAC: A Leading Entertainment Empire with a Closed Vertically Integrated Model and Impressive Figures

DatVietVAC Group Holdings was established in 2019 to operate under a holding company model, with the Group’s operating foundation inherited from member companies that have continuously developed for more than three decades since 1993. Starting from its position as Vietnam’s first outdoor advertising company, DatVietVAC has proactively shifted its strategy to become a major player dominating the content sector through a closed, vertically integrated ecosystem model.

This model operates through direct ownership of subsidiaries representing two main business segments: the Content segment, managed by DatViet VAC Entertainment, and the Media Services segment, managed by DatViet VAC Media.

In particular, the main driver of profit growth comes from the Content segment, or Content Hub, which has a very high gross profit margin, reaching 38.9% to 40.2% during the 2024-2025 period. In 2025, this segment contributed VND 1,469 billion in revenue, accounting for 42.5% of total revenue, but generated VND 589.9 billion in gross profit, accounting for 81.8% of the Group’s total gross profit.

Content Hub is led by two core units, Vie Channel and Dong Tay Promotion. This segment controls the entire value chain, from producing large-scale entertainment programs, or blockbusters, such as Anh Trai "Say Hi", Em Xinh "Say Hi", 2 Ngày 1 Đêm, Ca Sĩ Mặt Nạ and Rap Việt, to multi-platform digital distribution through VieNETWORK, digital music and commercial product monetization through VieIP, and especially exclusive talent management through NOMAD Management Vietnam, the largest artist management company in Vietnam with a roster of more than 100 stars.

This segment creates multi-layered revenue streams from both corporate clients (B2B) and direct consumers (D2C). These include program and concert sponsorships, ticket sales for live music events, recurring advertising monetization on digital platforms, digital music rights distribution (DSP), international program format licensing (IP licensing), merchandise sales and revenue sharing from the activities of exclusive artists, with commission rates ranging from 15% to 30%.

Meanwhile, the stable revenue base is supported by the Media Services segment, operated by Dat Viet Media and TKL under an advertising agency model. This segment generates revenue mainly from corporate clients (B2B). Revenue sources include strategic consulting fees, performance bonuses from advertisers, commercial margins from wholesale purchasing and retail resale of advertising inventory, and influencer marketing campaign services. In 2025, this segment generated VND 1,665 billion in revenue, accounting for 48.2% of total revenue, but contributed only VND 133 billion in gross profit, accounting for 18.5% of total gross profit.

The Group currently holds a 16% market share in media planning consulting and television advertising placement in Vietnam, according to Kantar. Its large purchasing scale helps DatVietVAC secure access to premium prime-time slots, while also creating significant cross-selling leverage for sponsorship and advertising services for the Content segment.

The actual operating effectiveness of this vertically integrated ecosystem is directly demonstrated through the Group’s 2025 pro-forma financial statements, reviewed by KPMG. The Group’s consolidated net revenue in 2025 reached VND 3,235 billion, down 6.8% due to the structural decline of the traditional television advertising market, while net profit after tax still increased by 8% to VND 379 billion. This was mainly driven by the strategy of restructuring the program portfolio, focusing on eliminating low-margin traditional television programs in order to allocate resources to self-owned super programs, or intellectual property assets, with multi-layered commercialization potential.

The decline was significantly offset by strong growth in segments that reflect the repositioning strategy: revenue from live entertainment event organization and ticket sales increased by 29.6%; revenue from artist management and commercial exploitation increased by 100.7%; and revenue from IP licensing and sales of products associated with intellectual property assets increased by 11%. As a result, revenue from the Content segment, which has a significantly higher gross profit margin, increased by 8.7% and raised its contribution to total consolidated net revenue from 36.0% to 42.5%.

According to Vietcap’s research report, DatVietVAC’s normalized profitability in 2025 recorded a record return on equity (ROE) of 40.8% and an EBIT margin of 13.9%, significantly outperforming the average of comparable companies in Asia, which stood at 8.4% for ROE and 2.5% for operating margin.

For 2026, DatVietVAC has set a revenue target of VND 3,382 billion and net profit after tax of VND 420 billion, representing growth of 11% compared with VND 379 billion in 2025. Projected ROE is 34.7%. As advertising spending, commercial sponsorship demand from consumer brands and audience demand for entertainment experiences typically surge during peak seasons such as festivals, Tết and the year-end shopping season, DatVietVAC’s business results and cash flows tend to be heavily concentrated in the second half of the year, especially in Q3 and Q4.

The expected dividend is VND 2,500 per share. With cash, cash equivalents and short-term savings deposits of more than VND 874.6 billion at year-end, accounting for 45.9% of total assets, increasing to VND 964 billion in Q1 2026, DatVietVAC has sufficient financial resources to execute its dividend payment plan.

DatVietVAC’s 2026-2030 strategy targets average annual growth of 15%, aiming to reach VND 5,000 billion in revenue and VND 780 billion in profit by 2030. The main driver of this target comes from the strategic pivot toward multi-layered intellectual property (IP) monetization and the development of the Fandom Economy.

In this IPO, interested investors may register to purchase a minimum of 100 shares and a maximum of no more than 5,570,900 shares, equivalent to no more than 5% of the expected charter capital after the offering. The registration and deposit payment period is expected to run from August 10 to September 7, 2026.