SAIF backs chairman's $345m bid for US-listed Sinovac

Weidong Yin and SAIF are willing to pay $6.18 per share for all outstanding shares in Sinovac, according to a regulatory filing. This represents a 23.11% premium to the January 29 closing price. The transaction will be financed through a combination of debt and equity capital.

SAIF currently holds an 18.9% stake in the company through its fourth fund - which closed at $1.3 billion in 2010 - while Yin has 10.8%. Other institutional shareholders include Wellington Management, 1 Globe Capital, and Orbimed Advisors.

Sinovac was founded as Tangshan Yian in 1993 and listed in the US through a reverse merger in 2003. Seven years later it moved to NASDAQ, raising $61.8 million. The company produces a range of vaccines used to treat infectious diseases such as hepatitis, influenza and mumps. Most of its sales come from three drugs, two of which target hepatitis and the third influenza.

In 2009, Sinovac was the first company globally to receive approval for a swine flu vaccine, which it supplies to the Chinese government's vaccination campaign and stockpiling program. It is also the only supplier of an avian flu vaccine to the government stockpiling program.

Revenue came to $63.1 million in 2014, down from $72.5 million the previous year. Sinovac has posted net losses in four out of the past five years, including 2014.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Healthcare
• Buyouts
• China
• healthcare
• buyout
• SAIF Partners