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Blackstone, Carlyle, Bain among suitors fine-tuning bids for Asian distributor of Fancl’s beauty products ahead of Friday deadline
- Blackstone, Carlyle, Bain Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Citic Capital are the last suitors standing in the auction after a dozen were whittled down to five
- Deal may peg the company’s value between US$600 million and US$900 million
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In crowded Hong Kong malls, shoppers can walk into local retailers and buy Fancl’s skincare and cosmetics products at knock-down prices, dramatically undercutting sales at branded Fancl stores throughout the city.
Unofficial wholesalers of beauty products have been selling into Asian markets for years, but volumes surged during the coronavirus pandemic last year as they offloaded surplus stock. As a result, CMC Holdings, the sole legal distributor of Fancl in the region outside Japan is selling out.
Sensing opportunity, private equity firms Blackstone, Carlyle, Bain Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Citic Capital are fine-tuning their bids for the distributor ahead of a deadline on Friday, people familiar with the matter said.
Their offers could peg the company’s value at somewhere between US$600 million and US$900 million.
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