GIC backs Esco Lifesciences in oversubscribed US$200m Series A round

SINGAPORE-BASED Esco Lifesciences, which supplies life sciences tools for the healthcare industry, has raised US$200 million in an oversubscribed Series A round, as it seeks to expedite expansion in China, and hunt down acquisitions worldwide.

The company is preparing to go public in Hong Kong in the coming months, according to a person familiar with the matter, after its latest round valued it at over US$800 million following the fundraising.

The fundraising, also billed as its crossover round, was led by US-based healthcare investment firm Vivo Capital and Denmark-based life science investor Novo Holdings, the venture arm of Novo Nordisk Foundation.