Hong Kong-based buyout firm Baring Private Equity Asia announced on Monday the closing of its investment in Ginko International, one of the biggest contact lens producers in China, in a take-private deal that valued the firm at $1 billion.
Baring, which has $21 billion in fee-paying assets under management (FPAUM), said in a statement that it closed the transaction with unanimous approvals from Ginko’s board of directors. As the largest take-private transaction in Taiwan’s consumer sector, the deal saw Ginko end its 10-year journey as a public listed company on the Taipei Exchange.
The completion of the deal came about six months after Ginko’s board of directors had approved a takeover bid of NT$27.2 billion ($938.9 million) by Baring-owned Glamor Vision and Glamor International. The bid offered to buy all 97.07 million shares in Ginko for NT$280 ($9.7) each, representing a premium of about 38.6% as compared with the firm’s closing price on the date of the announcement.
“Ginko sits at the intersection of two of Baring’s core sectors of expertise, namely healthcare and consumer,” said Baring in the statement. “The company is strategically positioned to capture the growing demand in its core markets, underpinned by long-term sector tailwinds, including the underpenetrated contact lens market in China, and the growing demand for coloured contact lenses for aesthetic purposes.”
Baring will support Ginko’s management team to develop and pursue a strategy that focuses on long-term value creation, growing the business and expanding its global reach, it said.
Headquartered in Taichung City in central Taiwan, Ginko was founded in 1985 to focus on the development, manufacturing, and distribution of clear and coloured contact lenses. It offers a multi-brand product portfolio across a range of price points, including Hydron and Horien, two of the major contact lens brands in Taiwan and mainland China.
Leveraging its distribution network with particular strength in e-commerce, Ginko booked a 24.8% increase in net profits to NT$787.8 million ($27.2 million) in the first three quarters of 2021 from NT$631.2 million in the same period the year earlier. Its revenues between Q1-Q3 2021 surged about 30% year-on-year to NT$6.4 billion ($221 million).