Deals and Financings

Shanghai Fosun Pharma (SHA: 600196; HK: 2196) has submitted a non-binding bid to acquire India’s Gland Pharma, a contract manufacturer of injectible drugs (see story). Gland, which put itself up for sale, is valued somewhere in the $1-$1.5 billion range, and several pharmas/investment firms are interested. Three years ago, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts invested $191 million for a minority stake in Gland at a $600-$650 million valuation. A prolific deal-maker, Fosun has not previously shown interest in Indian pharmas.  

Ping An Haoyisheng (Ping An My Doctor), a health and medical mobile app started by China’s Ping An Insurance Company, raised a record $500 million in a Series A funding, according to news reports (see story). The funding values Ping An Haoyisheng, which has been operating for less than two years, at $3 billion. With 77 million claimed registered users, the site has been wildly successful. The app provides online consultation services, patient management, pharmaceutical O2O (online-to-offline) services and digital health profiles. 

WI Harper Group, an early investor in China and other Asian countries, closed WIH Fund VIII LP, which was over-subscribed at $175 million (see story). WI Harper describes itself as an early stage venture capital firm focused on US-Asia cross-border opportunities. Although the company specializes in TMT investments, it also has supported life science companies. In the sector, the company will emphasize healthcare services including both clinical and digital health, innovative medical devices and diagnostics, as well as therapeutic discovery and development companies. 

Eu Yan Sang International (SGX: E02), a TCM company that is headquartered and listed in Singapore, received a $196 million privatization offer (see story). The offer was made by the founding Eu family, Tower Capital and Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. Eu Yan Sang operates over 300 retail outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. It also has two factories in Hong Kong and Malaysia as well as 27 TCM clinics in Malaysia and Singapore, plus two integrative medical centers in Hong Kong.