Founded in 1998, Unison is an independent private equity firm investing in the healthcare sector across Japan, Korea and Singapore, with an emphasis on the pharmaceutical sector.
Unison founding partner Tatsuya Hayashi said: “We are delighted to welcome Kyowa into our portfolio and support its next phase of growth, both in its existing business, as Kyowa continues to centre its strategy of strengthening its hybrid (brand/generics) pharma model in Japan, and in expanding its influence in the CNS space to beyond drugs.
“We look forward to actively working with Kyowa to leverage our unique set of resources in the healthcare market – including our own portfolio companies, and our network of experienced health care advisors and strategic partners – to enable Kyowa’s vision of growth.
“We also look forward to supporting Kyowa’s partnership with Lupin and exploring opportunities for Unison to collaborate further in the healthcare sector with Lupin and its unparalleled global network in the healthcare industry.”
According to the agreement, Lupin subsidiary Nanomi will divest its 99.82% stake in Kyowa to Plutus, an entity of Unison for a total enterprise value of JPY57.36bn ($526m).
Established in 1954, Kyowa is engaged in developing, manufacturing and selling branded and generic pharmaceutical products for patients in the Japanese market.
After acquiring Kyowa in 2007, Lupin has developed the company using incentives provided by the Japanese government for enhancing generic utilisation, R&D, manufacturing and commercial capabilities.
Lupin said that Kyowa provides a diverse product portfolio that covers cardiovascular, gastroenterology and a wide variety of other segments, and offers central nervous system/neurology products under the AMEL brand.
The completion of the transaction approved by the Lupin board of directors is subject to customary closing conditions including approval by the company’s shareholders.
Lupin CEO Vinita Gupta said: “We are very pleased to partner with Unison, a leading healthcare-focused private equity player. This transaction will build upon the strong foundation our team has established in Japan. We acquired Kyowa in 2007 and since then have made a material difference to the Japanese healthcare system with the affordable medicines we brought to market.
“This transaction is aligned with our vision to focus on our key markets and strategic priorities to achieve sustainable growth in the mid to long-term. The deal proceeds will be utilized to strengthen Lupin’s balance sheet as well as provide growth capital to support organic and inorganic initiatives for our focus markets.”