C-Bridge closes second China healthcare fund at $400m

Sean Cao, a managing director with C-Bridge, told the AVCJ USA Forum that the fundraising process was completed in May. He added that I-Bridge Capital, an affiliate that helps to build companies from an earlier stage, is currently deploying a $100 million fund.

C-Bridge was founded in 2014 by Wei Fu, who was previously head of principal investment at Hong Kong-listed financial services company Far East Horizon and before that worked for Goldman Sachs and Temasek Holdings. The GP raised $200 million for its debut fund the same year and within about 12 months, it was 90% deployed across eight companies. LPs committed a further $100 million in co-investment.

C-Bridge claims its LP base includes Chinese pharmaceutical companies, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, endowments, fund-of-funds, as well as other investment institutions from a range of geographies.

The PE firm seeks to invest about 50% of its capital in pharmaceuticals and the rest in medical devices and healthcare services. C-Bridge frequently works with overseas-trained healthcare professionals who return home and set up companies that leverage rising consumer spending on healthcare in China. There is also a tendency to back businesses with a clear path to commercialization and monetization.

For example, Anrei Medical Device – in which C-Bridge acquired a controlling stake in January for $25 million – has a portfolio of 20 products that have been approved by the China Food & Drug Administration (CFDA) and the European Commission. Similarly, Ascletis first received backing in 2014 when C-Bridge was confident that its hepatitis C treatment would win approval from the CFDA. That approval came towards the end of 2016.

Ascletis also offers insights into the private equity firm’s approach to co-investment. The Series A round in 2014 saw C-Bridge contribute $35 million alongside two of its LPs, while Goldman Sachs put in $20 million. Goldman re-upped in the Series B, which closed at $100 million in early January, but most of the capital came from C-Bridge – via its second fund – and an extended roster of LPs.

Another Fund II investment came in March, when C-Bridge-led consortium invested $150 million in a newly-created entity formed through the merger of two local pharmaceutical companies: Shanghai-based Third Venture Biopharma (known as Tianjing Biopharma in Chinese) and Tianjin-based Tianshizhen Biotechnology. Both were incubated by C-Bridge.

The private equity firm is also listed as one of the participants in the $401.8 million privatization of US-listed Chinese biopharmaceutical player Sinovac, which was agreed last month. This followed two onshore listings through reverse mergers earlier this year – for Berry Genomics, a genetic test developer, and for Chongqing Pharma, the largest pharma distribution company in southwest China.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Growth
• Buyout
• Healthcare
• GPs
• Fundraising
• China
• C-Bridge Capital