China’s Humanwell Unveils Australian Condom Purchase

(Beijing) – Australia’s Ansell Ltd., a maker of protective medical gloves and surgical masks, said on Thursday it has agreed to sell its sexual products business for $600 million to a Chinese group led by drug maker Humanwell.

The deal will see Humanwell Healthcare (Group) Co. Ltd. team up with Citic Group, one of China’s leading financial conglomerates, to obtain Ansell’s unit that makes condoms and lubricants, Ansell said in a statement.

Humanwell’s Shanghai-listed shares were suspended on Thursday pending an announcement.

The sale follows a review of Ansell’s portfolio announced last August, the Australian company said, and will result in net after-tax proceeds of $529 million. The deal is expected to close by September, it added.

“We feel that Humanwell and Citic will be great owners of this business and they're committed to the space and are intending, as far as we know, to invest aggressively in the business, which I think is going to be good for our people and our colleagues who are going to be supporting the business going forward,” Ansell CEO Magnus Nicolin said on a call to discuss the sale. “It is also good to be doing a deal with strong buyers and we deem both Humanwell and Citic as being very strong financially speaking, and that, of course, bodes well for the future of the business.”

Founded in 1993, Humanwell describes itself as a fully integrated provider of healthcare products, including drugs and medical equipment, according to its website. It says it has an active presence in over 10 countries, and is one of the largest providers of anesthetics and fertility regulation products in Asia. The company paired together with U.S.-based PuraCap Pharmaceutical last year to pay $550 million for Epic Pharma, a New York-based maker of generic drugs.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)