China's CBC raises healthcare credit fund

The new vehicle - R-Bridge Healthcare Fund - is said to be the first of its kind in Greater China. James Cen Bonsor, director of investor relations at CBC, told AVCJ that the fund will run independently of the firm's core private equity offering as a complementary and non-competing business strategy.

Peng Fu, formerly a Toronto-based managing director at Chinese investment firm Fosun Group and healthcare royalty specialist DRI Capital, will lead deal sourcing for R-Bridge.

Healthcare royalty funds typically provide debt-based financing to pharmaceutical companies in returns for a portion of the royalties on drugs they are developing. The profits derived from the royalties aren’t taxed at the corporate level; they are distributed to shareholders in the form of a dividend, which is taxed as personal income. This avoids double taxation, thereby enabling higher returns. 

Last year, CBC - previously known as C-Bridge Capital - closed its third healthcare fund at $850 million, after increasing the hard cap. The fund, which covers Asia but is most active in China, is the largest dedicated healthcare vehicle raised for deployment in the region by an independent private equity firm.

CBC was established 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 firm also has an early-stage affiliate called I-Bridge Capital.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Fundraising
• Healthcare
• Credit/Special Situations
• China
• CBC Group
• Pharmaceuticals
• Structured finance