China Biologic Bidder Seeks Over $1 Billion in Financing

(Bloomberg) -- A consortium seeking to take China Biologic Products Holdings Inc. private is in talks with banks for more than $1 billion of funding to back its bid, according to people familiar with the matter.

The group is speaking to international and Chinese banks for the financing as it works toward making a formal bid, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The consortium includes Beachhead Holding Ltd., which is controlled by Centurium Capital, a private equity firm founded by former Warburg Pincus LLC partner David Li.

The talks come after the consortium in September made a preliminary non-binding offer of $120 per share for China Biologic for all the stock it doesn’t already own. The offer valued the company at about $4.6 billion. China Biologic said at the time that no decisions have been made regarding a transaction.

That was at least the second attempt by the group to privatize China Biologic. Last year, it proposed to acquire the firm for $118 a share, a bid rejected by the biopharmaceutical company’s board. The consortium, which also includes CITIC Capital, owned about 58% of China Biologic, according to a Sept. 19 statement.

Representatives for Beachhead and China Biologic declined to comment.

China Biologic, which was listed in 2009, sells plasma products including albumin, immunoglobulin for intravenous injection and coagulation factor products, according to its website. Shares of the biopharmaceutical company have risen 51% in U.S. trading this year to $114.7 on Tuesday, giving the firm a market value of about $4.4 billion.

To contact the reporters on this story: Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net;Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at kchan14@bloomberg.net;Carol Zhong in Hong Kong at yzhong71@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen

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