Overview

A class action lawsuit has been filed against VinFast Auto Ltd. (“VinFast” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VFS) and certain of the Company’s current and former senior executive officers alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  The VinFast lawsuit is brought on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired VinFast securities: (a) pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents issued in connection with the merger consummated on August 14, 2023 by and among the Company, Black Spade, and Nuevo Tech Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company; and/or (b) between August 15, 2023 and January 17 2024, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), and investors have until June 11, 2024 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the VinFast class action lawsuit.

VinFast describes itself as an innovative, full-scale mobility platform focused primarily on designing and manufacturing premium electric vehicles (“EVs”), e-scooters, and e-buses.  Founded and headquartered in Vietnam, the Company has since expanded its sales and operations into other markets, including Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.  Prior to the Merger, the Company operated as a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or a development stage company that has no specific business plan or purpose or has indicated that its business plan is to engage in a merger or acquisition with an unidentified company or companies, other entity, or person.

On May 12, 2023, VinFast announced that it had entered into a business combination with Black Spade, which purportedly runs a global portfolio consisting of a wide spectrum of cross-border investments, and consistently seeks to add new investment projects and opportunities to its portfolio.  On June 15, 2023, VinFast filed a registration statement (“Registration Statement”) on Form F-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with the Merger, which, after several amendments, was declared effective by the SEC on July 28, 2023.  Also on July 28, 2023, the Company filed a joint prospectus and proxy statement (the “Prospectus” and, together with the Registration Statement, the “Offering Documents”) on Form 424B3 with the SEC in connection with the Merger, which incorporated and formed part of the Registration Statement.

On August 14, 2023, the Company consummated the Merger whereby, among other things, sub merged with and into Black Spade, with Black Spade surviving the transaction as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.  On August 15, 2023, the Company’s ordinary shares and warrants began publicly trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the ticker symbols “VFS” and “VFSWW,” respectively.  Leading up to and following the Merger, VinFast repeatedly represented that the Company was focused on achieving operational efficiency and technological integration and continuously improving its processes to deliver world-class products.  Indeed, the Company touted that it possessed such strengths as a “Comprehensive Mobility Ecosystem with Strategic Focus on High Growth Segments” and a “Demonstrated Speed to Market and Ability to Execute.”

In particular, the Company indicated that it aimed to accomplish its long-term growth strategies by, in part, “continuing growing its global footprint into areas where it expected high electric vehicle (‘EV’) demand growth” and stated that it expected “deliveries of vehicles to be between 40,000 and 50,000 vehicles in FY2023.”  The Offering Documents were negligently prepared and, as a result, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and were not prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations governing their preparation.

Additionally, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects.  Specifically, the Offering Documents and Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) VinFast lacked sufficient capital to execute its purported growth strategy; (2) VinFast would be unable to meet its 2023 delivery targets; (3) accordingly, VinFast had overstated the strength of its business model and operational capabilities, as well as its post-Merger business and/or financial prospects; and (4) as a result, the Offering Documents and Defendants’ public statements throughout the Class Period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.

On October 15, 2023, Bloomberg published an article entitled “VinFast to Expand into Southeast Asia, Raise More Capital.”  The article discussed the Company’s plans to aggressively move into Southeast Asian markets, starting with Indonesia, and revealed that, according to VinFast’s Chief Executive Officer, Le Thi Thu Thuy, the Company would need to raise “a lot of capital” in order to fuel its global expansion plans and would “rely on financial support from parent company Vingroup JSC and its founder Pham Nhat Vuong in the next 18 months.”  On this news, VinFast’s ordinary share price fell $1.45 per share, or 18.17%, to close at $6.53 per share on October 16, 2023.

Then, on January 18, 2024, VinFast issued a press release announcing its fourth fiscal quarter 2023 deliveries.  The press release revealed that the Company delivered a total of 34,855 EVs in 2023, falling well short of its annual deliveries target of 40,000-50,000 units.  In response, several market analysts commented on the Company’s disappointing announcement.  For example, Barrons published an article entitled “Vietnamese Carmaker Vinfast Misses 2023 EVs Sales Target” which noted that VinFast was “hoping to compete with EV giants such as Tesla” and was “listed on the Nasdaq in August, hitting headlines around the world as its valuation skyrocketed and then crashed.”  On this news, VinFast’s ordinary share price fell $0.13 per share, or 2.25%, to close at $5.64 per share on January 18, 2024, representing a total decline of 84.78% from the Company’s first post-Merger closing stock price of $37.06 per share on August 15, 2023 (the “Initial Closing Price”).

As of the time this lawsuit was filed, VinFast’s ordinary shares were trading significantly below their Initial Closing Price and continue to trade below their initial value from the Merger, damaging investors.

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If you purchased or otherwise acquired VinFast securities: (a) pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents issued in connection with the merger consummated on August 14, 2023 by and among the Company, Black Spade, and Nuevo Tech Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company; and/or (b) between August 15, 2023 and January 17 2024, both dates inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this lawsuit, we encourage you to submit your information to DiCello Levitt LLP via the form on this page. 

You can also contact DiCello Levitt partner Brian O’Mara by calling (888) 287-9005 or at investors@dicellolevitt.com. 

The deadline to apply to the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff in the VinFast lawsuit is June 11, 2024.