Unison agrees $526m Japan pharma carve-out

Kyowa was founded in 1954 and produces branded and generic pharmaceutical products for patients in Japan. It is the fifth-largest player in the domestic generics space, with a portfolio that includes treatments for cardiovascular and gastroenterological conditions. The company’s key treatments focus on the central nervous systems and marketed under the AMEL brand.

Revenue came to JPY28.3 billion in the 2019 financial year and JPY14.2 billion in the first six months of the 2020 financial year. Lupin expects to generate a cash inflow of approximately JPY32.6 billion from the deal.

Lupin is the eighth largest generics producer globally and ranks third in India’s broader pharmaceutical market by revenue with sales of INR163.7 billion ($2.34 billion) in the 2019 financial year. It acquired Kyowa in 2007. Nilesh Gupta, a managing director with the company, said Kyowa’s products are a good match for Unison’s existing healthcare investments. The sale is driven by a corporate decision to focus on key markets and strategic priorities.

"We look forward to actively working with Kyowa to leverage our unique set of resources in the healthcare market – including our own portfolio companies, and our network of experienced healthcare advisors and strategic partners – to enable Kyowa’s vision of growth,” said Tatsuya Hayashi, a founding partner at Unison, in a statement.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• North Asia
• Healthcare
• Buyouts
• Unison Capital
• Japan
• India