KKR buys Japan's Bushu Pharmaceuticals from BPEA EQT

Bloomberg reported in August that BPEA EQT was looking to exit Bushu at a valuation of more than JPY 100bn (USD 680m). A formal process was launched a couple of months later. According to Mergermarket, AVCJ’s sister title, this represented BPEA EQT’s second attempt to sell the business. A 2018 auction stalled in the second round due to a price gap between the vendor and potential acquirers.

BPEA EQT bought Bushu in 2014 from T Capital Partners, then known as Tokio Marine Capital, for an enterprise value of JPY 77.3bn. T Capital, which assumed control of the company four years earlier through a carve-out, generated a 6x return on its investment. The GP claimed to have turned Bushu into a local leader in the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) space.

Founded in 1998, Bushu is the largest pure-play CDMO in Japan, which is the third-largest pharmaceutical market globally, according to a KKR statement. It produces a range of drugs – in the form of oral solid dosages and injectables – as well as clinical trial materials. The company supplies a global customer base, largely focusing on Japan and other Asian markets like China.

KKR said it would work with Bushu’s management to expand into new and growing segments, such as injectables, invest in capacity expansion and quality control, and explore organic and inorganic opportunities to deliver more healthcare solutions. The PE firm didn’t specify which fund would invest Bushu, merely that the capital would come from “one of [its] Asia-focused investment funds.”

“We see significant demand for strategic and reliable solutions to address a range of challenges facing the global healthcare industry,” said Hiro Hirano, co-head of Asia Pacific private equity and Japan CEO of KKR.

“By leveraging KKR’s deep experience in healthcare, tech, and supply chain solutions, we aim to help Bushu Pharma to further scale its best-in-class business and to drive growth and technical innovation that will ultimately benefit patients in Japan and around the world.”

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Buyouts
• Trade sale
• Healthcare
• Japan
• KKR
• Baring Private Equity Asia
• Pharmaceuticals