Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company and Asia healthcare-focused asset management firm CBC Group will acquire a 100% stake in UCB Pharma’s neurology and allergy business in China for $680 million.
Belgium-headquartered UCB will sell its neurology portfolio of drugs including Keppra, Vimpat, Neupro, and its allergy portfolio of drugs covering Zyrtec, and Xyzal in mainland China, as well as its Zhuhai manufacturing site, according to a company release on Monday.
The investment comes at a time when the UCB’s maturing business in China eyes to scale up its business, according to Mohamed Albadr, head of China at Mubadala. The combined net sales for the neurology and allergy portfolio of drugs hit 131 million euros ($146.4 million) in 2023, per the release.
Previously, CBC Group teamed up with Mubadala to co-lead a $315 million investment in China’s Hasten Biopharma in April 2023.
The latest acquisition comes at a time when Mubadala Investment Company targets to ramp up its allocation towards the Asia market, as it targets to double its overall assets under management by 2030, the firm’s head of Asia for direct investments Luca Molinari told DealStreetAsia in a previous interview.
The transaction, which remains subject to certain closing conditions, including required anti-trust clearance and other customary conditions, is expected to close in Q4 2024.
The ongoing Sino-US geopolitical tensions have complicated Middle East-based sovereign funds’ deployment in China. But despite the macro uncertainties and geopolitical tension, some industry players believe that Gulf sovereign wealth funds’ investment appetite in China remains “huge”, with opportunities in large private equity (PE) transactions like buyout deals.
