Japan’s Mitsui, Rohto said near deal for Eu Yan Sang: source

A GROUP including Japan’s Mitsui and Rohto Pharmaceutical is nearing a deal to acquire a majority stake in medicine and healthcare company Eu Yan Sang International, people familiar with the matter said.

The Mitsui and Rohto group has emerged as the likeliest buyer of the stake after outbidding others, the people said.

The Japanese companies are finalising details of a transaction that could be signed as early as next week, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

Talks are ongoing and it may take longer to reach a deal, the people said.

Mid-market private equity firm Tower Capital Asia, Temasek Holdings’ unit Blanca Investments and members of Eu Yan Sang’s founding family have been considering selling their majority holding in the traditional Chinese medicine company in a deal that could value it at about US$800 million, Bloomberg News reported last year. The remaining shareholders outside the consortium may also participate in a sale, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Representatives for Mitsui, Rohto and Temasek declined to comment. Tower Capital Asia didn’t respond to requests for comment.

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Eu Yan Sang has been in business for 145 years, starting out from a shop in Gopeng, north of Kuala Lumpur, according to its website. It is headquartered in Singapore and has roughly 900 products, including bottled bird’s nest for general health purposes, Bak Foong pills for women’s health, Bo Ying compound for infants and Hou Ning powder to relieve coughing.

The firm has retail outlets in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore.

In 2022, Mitsui agreed to participate in a Tower Capital Asia fund investing in Eu Yan Sang, according to a statement. Mitsui also backed US supplement maker Thorne HealthTech four years earlier, and the two firms have jointly established a Singapore entity, the statement shows. BLOOMBERG