CBC consortium buys S.Korean botox maker Hugel stake for $1.5 bln

GS Holdings

25/08/2021 05:32

SEOUL, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A consortium led by
healthcare-dedicated investment firm CBC Group agreed to acquire
a 47% stake in South Korea's top botox maker Hugel Inc
 145020.KQ  from Bain Capital for 1.7 trillion won ($1.5
billion), GS Holdings and Hugel said on Wednesday. 
    The consortium also includes Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund
Mubadala Investment Co, South Korea's GS Holdings Corp
 078930.KS  and private equity firm IMM Investment Corp, it said
in a joint statement. 
    The deal includes agreed-for payments for shares and
convertible bonds, GS Holdings and Hugel said in regulatory
filings. 
    "By leveraging our foothold in international markets, we are
confident that Hugel as a Korea-based company will become a
leading global aesthetics business by expanding significantly
into the United States, Europe, China and the rest of the
world," said Michael Keyoung, CBC's managing director and head
of North America and Korea. 
    The market capitalisation of Hugel, listed on South Korea's
junior board KOSDAQ  .KQ11 , was about 2.6 trillion won ($2.23
billion) on Wednesday trade. 
    For more than a decade, Hugel has seen growth in the
domestic market through aesthetic products such as botolinum
toxin and hyaluronic acid fillers. 
    Hugel reported an operating profit of 56 billion won in the
first half of this year against 29 billion won the previous
year. Its 2020 revenue rose 3% from the previous year to 211
billion won, according to company filings. 
    
    ($1 = 1,167.1300 won)

 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
 ((jungyoon.lee@tr.com; +82 2 6936 1467;))