Unison secures Showa Yakuhin Kako SBO

The Japanese private equity firm, together with Japanese dental materials maker GC Corp, may have paid up to JPY50 billion ($650 million) for the company, according to market sources cited before the deal closed.

Tokio Marine is selling its 50% stake, while Polaris Capital and the private equity arm of PineBridge Investments are offloading their 23% stakes. They were hoping to sell Tokyo-based Showa at around 10x its EBITDA of JPY5 billion.

Unison invested via its third fund, which it recently cut in size by one quarter to JPY107 billion due to limited deal flow. It plans to assist in developing the alliance between Showa - which manufactures and distributes dental equipment and generic drugs - and GC in the field of dental medicine.

Showa was put on the block last September, with Citigroup hired to advise on the process. A US drugs manufacturer was said to have expressed an interest in the asset.

All three of the current backers, led by Tokio Marine, acquired the company and its debt from Japanese venture capital and buyout firm JAFCO for approximately $400 million in 2008. Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ provided JPY22 billion worth of financing.

Tokio Marine's other key healthcare asset is Bushu Pharmaceuticals, a provider of drug manufacturing services, which it purchased from listed company Shionogi Pharmaceuticals in March 2010.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• North Asia
• Healthcare
• Secondaries
• Japan
• Pharmaceuticals
• Unison Capital
• Tokio Marine Capital
• PineBridge Investments
• Polaris Principal Finance