Only three years after Grifols acquired 26% of the Chinese Shanghai Raas, yesterday the blood derivatives multinational completed the partial divestment. The Catalan firm has sold 20% to Haier for 1.8 billion dollars (1.6 billion euros), which generated an extraordinary profit (capital gain) of 250 million. The sale is executed to have resources to reduce the company's debt.
The Catalan multinational will retain a 6.6% stake, according to a statement issued yesterday. In this way, the current commercial strategic collaboration agreements between Grifols and Shanghai Raas remain in force. In fact, Grifols will keep a member of the board of directors in the Chinese group. So far I had three.
With this operation, the Catalan firm founded by the Grifols family maintains its presence in China and continues with the commercial agreements with this company, and at the same time fulfills the commitment to deleveraging.
In addition, Grifols and Shanghai Raas will modify the exclusive distribution agreement to supply more quantities of albumin – plasma protein – to the Chinese market to extend the current duration for an initial period of ten years, until 2034.
Grifols already announced on June 14 that a sale of the Chinese subsidiary was being considered to reduce the voluminous debt. Then he assured that a sale was considered to receive about 1.5 billion dollars, so the amount finally achieved (about 1.8 billion dollars) is higher than expected.
The multinational also specified that now Haier "may appoint any of the subsidiaries to carry out the transaction" and that the closing of the operation "is subject to ordinary regulatory approvals and the buyer's confirmatory 'preventive audit'".
The sale price per share represents a premium of 14.96% over the average quotation of the last 20 days.
The sale agreement also implies that both Grifols and Haier "undertake not to transfer any part of the shares to Shanghai Raas for a period of three years after the closing of the transaction".
The corporate general manager of the multinational, Raimon Grifols, emphasized that China - the third most important market for Grifols - "continues to be essential" in the company's growth strategy and celebrated the alliance with.
