Mubadala-partnered consortium acquires 46.9% of $2.5b Korean medical firm

Dubai - The consortium led by CBC Group signed definitive agreements to acquire a 46.9 per cent equity interest in Hugel, Inc. from Bain Capital.

A global consortium, including Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company, announced on Wednesday a deal to acquire a significant stake in South Korea’s largest medical aesthetics company with a market cap of $2.5 billion.

The consortium led by CBC Group signed definitive agreements to acquire a 46.9 per cent equity interest in Hugel, Inc. from Bain Capital.

Besides Mubadala, members of the consortium include CBC, Asia’s largest healthcare-dedicated investment firm headquartered in Singapore, GS Holdings Corp., the leading business group in South Korea, ranked 7th in total revenue and 8th in total assets and IMM Investment Corp., a leading investment firm based in Korea investing across alternative asset classes including growth equity, infrastructure, and venture capital.

Morgan Stanley is acting as the consortium’s sole M&A advisor.

Established in 2001, Hugel is the No.1 leader in the botulinum toxin and hyaluronic acid fillers space in Korea and also develops, manufactures and distributes cosmeceutical products.

Camilla Macapili Languille, head of Life Sciences at Mubadala, said the investment group is excited about embarking on Hugel’s growth journey in partnership with CBC, GS and IMM. “This opportunity cements Mubadala Life Sciences’ entry into Asia alongside our colleagues from the Mubadala’s China Investment Program team, who already have an established presence in China and a long-standing relationship with CBC. We will work closely with our consortium partners and leverage our network to support Hugel’s vision of becoming a leading global medical aesthetics company.”

“We are delighted to pursue this incredible opportunity in collaboration with our strategic partners from Mubadala, GS and IMM. This marks the beginning of CBC’s journey into the global medical aesthetics sector, in addition to our current pharma, medtech and services exposure,” said Michael Keyoung, managing director and head of North America and Korea at CBC.

“By leveraging our foothold in international markets, we are confident that Hugel as a Korea-based company will become a leading global aesthetics business by expanding significantly into the United States, Europe, China and the rest of the world. CBC will continue to further develop its global healthcare portfolio with strong support from our global investors,” said Keyoung.

Huh Tae-soo, chairman of GS, said the consortium would be taking Hugel to the next level of growth by combining its respective expertise with the company’s well-positioned product offering and competitiveness in the global market. “Embarking on this partnership underscores our intention to expand our business by diversifying our bio portfolio.”

Tim Chang, chief executive officer of IMM, said with IMM’s past success in the healthcare sector, it is confident to help Hugel to grow beyond Korea to become a true global player. — issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com