Carlyle Buys Stake in Chinese Health-Care Firm for $260 Million

(Bloomberg) -- Carlyle Group agreed to invest 1.78 billion yuan ($260 million) to buy a minority stake in Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceutical Co., bringing its announced investment in health-care companies in Asia this year to almost $1 billion.

The U.S. fund will acquire a 5% stake in the biopharmaceutical company that sells finished drugs and medical devices, according to a Shenzhen stock exchange statement.

The deal comes on top of an earlier $490 million purchase of a stake in Piramal Pharma Ltd. and the acquisition of a majority holding in India’s SeQuent Scientific Ltd.

China’s pharmaceutical market is expanding, fueled by an aging population, increased access and innovations in biotechnology. Companies are proactively building drug pipelines, including high-quality generics and innovative drugs, and are starting to gain market share amid greater consolidation in the generic drug market, Carlyle said in a press release.

The U.S. investment firm has stepped up health-care investments in China, buying stakes in third party independent clinical laboratory Adicon and global peptide API’s manufacturer Ambio in 2018. Globally, Carlyle has invested more than $13.4 billion of equity in more than 80 deals in the global health care sector as of June this year.

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