SINGAPORE/JAKARTA -- Quadria Capital is in late-stage talks with a global private equity firm to sell its stake in Indonesian pharmaceutical company Soho Global Health, sources familiar with the development told DealStreetAsia.
The health care-focused equity firm, which operates out of Singapore and New Delhi, has been approached by a slew of investors, including CVC Capital Partners, General Atlantic and the Carlyle Group.
At this stage, it is believed that Carlyle is the sole bidder for the stake, sources said.
A Carlyle spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by DealStreetAsia, while Quadria Capital, CVC, General Atlantic and Soho Global Health did not respond to inquiries.
Quadria Capital acquired a 30% stake in Soho in 2015 from the family of local entrepreneur and founder Tan Eng Liang, who still own the remaining stake.
While Quadria's original investment amount is unknown, the firm is understood to be "asking around 16x of Soho's annual EBITDA," said one of the sources.
In September 2019, Tan Eng Liang told DealStreetAsia that Soho had been approached by a number of global private equity firms and pharmaceutical companies looking to buy a stake in the company. But Tan indicated that the company preferred to deal with a PE firm as he and his family want to run the business.
Prior to that in the same year, Soho made headlines for appointing Citigroup, Mandiri Sekuritas and CLSA to ready a listing that would put it on par with listed Indonesian peers like Kalbe Farma, Kimia Farma and Tempo Scan Pacific.
Sources say Soho's IPO is currently on hold. It is believed preparations will restart once Quadria closes the deal.
Founded in 1946, Soho has about 2,500 employees, with coverage extending to over 41,000 locations. The company booked 2.4 trillion rupiah ($175 million) in net sales in the first half of 2019, with net EBITDA of 176 billion rupiah.
Soho produces generics, natural medicines, medical devices and consumer products. As regards over-the-counter drugs, Soho is Indonesia's fourth-largest and Southeast Asia's 13th largest company.
Quadria Capital recently raised about $48 million for a parallel fund that will invest alongside Quadria Capital Fund II, according to the firm's latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
This brings the total fundraiser for the parallel fund and the main fund at close to $500 million.
DealStreetAsia is a financial news site based in Singapore focused on corporate investment activity in Southeast Asia and India. Nikkei recently acquired a majority stake in the company.
