Mubadala joins consortium to take 47% stake in South Korean Botox maker

CBC Group led the investor group in buying the stake in Hugel, which has a market capitalisation of $2.5bn

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala is part of a group of investors that took a stake of about 47 per cent in South Korea's Hugel. Courtesy Mubadala

Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investment arm, and a group of other investors have bought a 46.9 per cent stake in South Korean Botox maker Hugel.

The consortium led by CBC Group, Asia’s largest healthcare investment company, signed a “definitive agreement” to acquire the stake in Hugel, which has a market capitalisation of $2.5 billion, Mubadala said on Wednesday. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

South Korea's GS Holdings and private equity company IMM Investment, which has more than $4.7bn of assets under management, are also part of the investor group that bought the stake from Bain Capital.

“This opportunity cements Mubadala Life Sciences’ entry into Asia, alongside our colleagues from Mubadala’s China Investment Programme team, who already have an established presence in China and a long-standing relationship with CBC,” said Camilla Macapili Languille, head of Life Sciences at Mubadala.

“We will work closely with our consortium partners and leverage our network to support Hugel’s vision of becoming a leading global medical aesthetics company.”

Mubadala, which has an asset base of Dh894 billion ($243.4bn), invests on behalf of Abu Dhabi's government. The sovereign fund, which is driving the emirate’s efforts to diversify its revenue base, is pivoting more towards investments in health care, life sciences, consumer-focused businesses, renewable energy and the mobility sectors.

In July, Mubadala announced an investment of $250 million in US biosimulation software company Certara as part of its international healthcare and investment portfolio.

In March, the fund agreed to plough £800m into Britain's life sciences industry over the next five years as part of £1bn deal between the UK and the UAE. The UK's Life Sciences Investment Programme that was unveiled last year will contribute £200m to the deal.

Mubadala's investment portfolio spans six continents and it has interests in aerospace, information and communications technology, semiconductors, metals and mining petrochemicals and oil and gas.

It is also consolidating its healthcare portfolio at home, with its healthcare unit, Mubadala Health, acquiring a majority stake in United Eastern Medical Services in June.

Established in 2001, Hugel is one of the global leaders in aesthetic products such as botulinum toxin, commonly known as Botox, and hyaluronic acid fillers. It also develops, manufactures and distributes "cosmeceutical" products, which are cosmetics with medicinal properties.

GS Holding, whose portfolio spans across the energy, retail, construction and service sectors, said it will work with CBC, Mubadala and IMM in “taking Hugel to the next level of growth by combining our respective expertise with the company’s well positioned product offering and competitiveness in the global market".

“Embarking on this partnership underscores our intention to expand our business by diversifying our bio portfolio,” said GS chairman Huh Tae-soo.

The deal also marks the healthcare-focused CBC’s entry into the medical aesthetics sector, as it continues to build its portfolio of pharmaceuticals and develop the biotechnology, medical technology and service sectors.

Morgan Stanley was the consortium’s sole adviser.