China's By-Health Buys Probiotic Manufacturer Life-Space Group in $700 Million Deal
Chinese health supplements giant By-Health will be buying Melbourne-based probiotic manufacturer Life-Space Group for almost $700 million.
Family-owned Life-Space, which sells probiotic health supplements through its Evolution Health business into China, finalised the deal with Shenzhen-listed By-Health at the end of January. Whilst Life-Space is already selling its products via e-commerce platforms and through the daigou channel, the acquisition by By-Health presents many market advantages: "They understand the China market in a way that other companies who were interested in us didn't. When we spoke to other businesses they just couldn't understand the China model and system," Managing Director Ben McHarg told The Australian Financial Review.
This deal marks the latest case of many acquisitions made by China of an Australian healthcare companies as Chinese consumer demand in the health supplement market continues to increase. Demand in China for vitamins, infant formula and supplements sourced in Australia have surged increasingly over the past five years, with Chinese investment in Australia’s healthcare sector jumping from zero to $5.5billion in the past three years alone (KPMG).
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