China Sovereign Fund, Bain Are Said to Vie for Nature's Care
China Sovereign Fund, Bain Are Said to Compete for Nature's Care
(Bloomberg) -- An arm of China’s sovereign fund is competing with buyout firms in the bidding for Nature’s Care Manufacture Pty, as the Australian supplement brand’s owner makes a second attempt at a sale, people with knowledge of the matter said.
China Jianyin Investment Ltd., a unit of state-run China Investment Corp. that’s known as JIC, is among suitors invited to make binding offers for Nature’s Care, according to the people. Bain Capital and Chinese private equity firm Citic Capital have also been weighing second-round bids for the Sydney-based company, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
A sale could value Nature’s Care, which is controlled by the Wu family, at about A$700 million ($559 million), said the people.
Demand for health supplements in Australia has been fueled by Chinese buyers seeking higher-quality ingredients and traceable supply chains from foreign brands after a series of safety scandals at home. The Chinese market for vitamins and dietary supplements is forecast to grow 33 percent to 180 billion yuan ($28 billion) in five years through 2022, according to Euromonitor International.
No final decisions have been reached, and other bidders could still emerge for Nature’s Care, the people said. Representatives for Bain Capital and Citic Capital declined to comment, while a representative for Nature’s Care didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. JIC didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Swisse Wellness Group Pty, an Australian rival to Nature’s Care, was bought by Guangzhou-based infant formula producer Health & Happiness H&H International Holdings Ltd. in a 2015 deal valuing the business at about A$1.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The next year, a consortium including Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. bought Vitaco Holdings Ltd., the maker of “Nutra-Life” brand vitamins and “Aussie Bodies” protein bars.
--With assistance from Crystal Tse and Zhang Dingmin
To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Browning in Hong Kong at jbrowning9@bloomberg.net, Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at kchan14@bloomberg.net, Brett Foley in Melbourne at bfoley8@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, Marcus Wright at mwright115@bloomberg.net, Colin Keatinge
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