HONG KONG - More than 10 entities, including buyout firms Blackstone and Carlyle, have lodged bids for skincare brand FANCL’s Asia business outside Japan valuing it at close to $1 billion, said people with direct knowledge of the matter.Bain Capital, MBK Partners, Sequoia Capital and CITIC Capital are also among bidders for CMC Holdings, the sole distributor of FANCL Corp’s products in Asia outside Japan, the people said, declining to be named as the information is confidential.
Some of the private equity firms are looking to team up with a strategic partner, the people said, adding China’s internet giants Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings have shown interest and could join a bidding group later in the process. The two companies declined to comment. Alibaba and JD.Com, respectively, generated gross merchandise volume of 498.2 billion yuan and 271.5 billion yuan in this year’s Singles’ Day sales event, with Japan among the top-selling countries.
The strong interest in FANCL’s business outside Japan indicate investors’ confidence in a consumption recovery in Asia, particularly in China which accounts for around 80% of FANCL Asia’s revenue.
95% only bad news(