China's Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (SH: 600196; HK: 02196) and its subsidiary Pramerica-Fosun Fund have announced the acquisition of a 95.6% stake in Alma Lasers Ltd. for $240 million. This is Fosun's first acquisition since its public offering.
Alma Lasers manufactures laser, light-based, radiofrequency and ultrasound products with integrated product portfolios for aesthetic and medical applications, and has leading edge R&D capabilities capabilities in the medical and aesthetic device manufacturing field.
Alma Lasers has a 15% share of the global market for high-end aesthetic devices with annual revenue of nearly $100 million.
Alma CEO Ziv Karni said, "Alma's team is glad to become one of the members of Fosun Pharma. Fosun Pharma has previous successful experience in mergers and acquisitions and the medical healthcare field as well as the medical aesthetic device fields. These strategic development foci will become Alman's excellent platform in Asia as well as in its world business development. We do look forward to cooperating with Fosun Pharma's management team and benefitting from their professional experiences."
Alma Lasers was founded in 1999 by former employees of ESC Medical Systems (subsequently Lumenis). The company is today headquartered in Illinois with its development center in Caesarea. A 73% controlling stake in Alma Lasers was acquired by the TA Associates private equity fund in 2006 for $90 million. Karni holds a 17% stake in the company.
Alma Lasers began doing business in China in 2003, and has already become the market leader in the exclusive field of medical cosmetic lasers. China is one of the biggest markets for Alma Lasers by far.
Fosun Pharma chairman Chen Qiyu said, "We are confident in the growth of the global aesthetics industry, especially in China, Brazil, Russia and India. This represents a huge development space in developing countries. We will continue to support the global business development of Alma Lasers."
Fosun Pharma said it will establish Alma Lasers as a management platform for the R&D, manufacturing and sales of high-end medical devices, providing an internationalized development path for the company.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 28, 2013
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