By Yantoultra Ngui and Phuong Nguyen
HANOI/SINGAPORE, July 3 (Reuters) - Blackstone, CVC Capital Partners and Japan's MUFG are among bidders for a stake in Vietnamese fintech firm MoMo as it presses ahead with a partial sale, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Binding bids are due in September, added the people, who declined to be named as the matter is private.
The stake size has not been finalised, one of the people said, adding that the process could lead to the sale of a significant
holding. A third person with knowledge of the matter said the stake on offer could be as much as 50%.
MoMo, CVC and MUFG did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Blackstone had no comment.
COMPANY COULD BE VALUED AT MORE THAN $2 BILLION
Founded in 2010, MoMo has grown from a mobile payments platform into a financial services app spanning payments, consumer lending, insurance, savings, investment and merchant tools in Vietnam's fast-growing economy.
Reuters reported in April that MoMo was exploring strategic options, including bringing in new investors, that could value the company at more than $2 billion.
The digital payments company, which has been profitable since 2024, engaged with advisors to run the process after receiving interest from strategic and financial investors.
The process remains ongoing and may not result in a deal, the people said.
MoMo said it currently serves more than 30 million users and has built a broad nationwide network for digital transactions.
The investor interest comes as Vietnam's digital financial services market expands, helped by the growth of cashless payments and wider use of online financial products and services.
MoMo completed its last major fundraising round in 2021, when it said it had raised $200 million from investors led by Mizuho Bank.
The company said last year it was expanding services for consumers and small businesses as part of a broader digital finance push.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen in Hanoi and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Editing by Jan Harvey)
