By Kane Wu and Yantoultra Ngui
HONG KONG, Sept 11 (Reuters) – CVC Capital Partners has entered final talks to buy the EQT-owned mainland China business of contact lens maker Ginko International, four people with knowledge of the matter said.
• A deal could value the business at $700 million to $800 million including debt, said one of the sources.
• EQT was targeting at least $1 billion, Reuters has reported.
• Financial terms have not been finalised and could change, and the talks may not result in a deal, said the people, who declined to be named as the information was confidential.
• EQT and JPMorgan, one of the advisers on the sale process, declined to comment. CVC and Goldman, another adviser on the sale process, did not respond to requests for comment.
• EQT agreed last year to sell the business to U.S. buyout firm Advent International, but that deal fell through.
• Ginko, founded in Taiwan, makes conventional and disposable contact lenses as well as lens-care products. Mainland China is its largest sales market, according to its website.
• The Ginko investment was made in 2022 by Baring Private Equity Asia, which later merged with EQT.
(Reporting by Kane Wu and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Alexander Smith)
