CHINA National Pharmaceutical Group’s latest attempt to take China Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Holdings private has fallen through as it was unable to secure necessary regulatory approval from Chinese regulators.
The state-backed company, known as Sinopharm, did not receive the necessary approvals from Chinese regulators for outbound direct investment – one of the deal’s pre-conditions – by Friday (Oct 18) and the proposed privatisation deal for China TCM had lapsed, according to a joint statement to the Hong Kong exchange.
Under the terms of the proposal, Sinopharm would need ODI approvals from Chinese regulators including the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The joint statement did not identify which regulator didn’t approve the deal.
In February, Sinopharm offered HK$4.6 per share in cash, or HK$15.6 billion (S$2.6 billion) in total, to take the Hong Kong-listed drugmaker unit private.
The lapse of the Sinopharm’s privatisation bid for China TCM marks another setback for the company after it abandoned a previous attempt to do so in 2022. Bloomberg News reported in 2022 that state-backed Sinopharm was discussing an offer of about HK$6 a share.
Sinopharm may not make another privatisation attempt within the next 12 months under the existing takeovers code in Hong Kong. BLOOMBERG
