EQT restarts sale of contact lens maker Ginko in at least $1 billion deal, sources say

By Kane Wu

HONG KONG, April 16 (Reuters) – Private equity firm EQT is restarting the sale process for the mainland Chinese business of contact lens maker Ginko International, targeting a valuation of at least $1 billion, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

EQT agreed to sell the business last year to U.S.-based buyout firm Advent International, but the buyer eventually decided to pay a breakup fee and drop the deal for undisclosed reasons, said two of the people and two other sources with knowledge of the matter.

At the time, Bloomberg reported that Ginko would have been valued at more than $1.1 billion in the sale to Advent.

EQT’s advisers, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, are sounding out potential buyers for the business, which include peer companies and financial sponsors, one of the sources said. All sources declined to be named as the information was confidential.

The deadline for first-round bids wasn’t immediately clear, two of the people said.

Stockholm-based EQT and the two banks declined to comment. Advent and Ginko did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Founded originally in Taiwan, Ginko’s main products include conventional contact lenses, disposable contact lenses and lens care products; mainland China is its main market for sales, according to its website.

The company’s operational headquarters is in the southeastern Chinese city of Danyang and its sales headquarters is in Shanghai.

It has factories in both Danyang and Taiwan, the website shows.

The Ginko investment was made in 2022 by Baring Private Equity Asia, which merged with EQT later that year.

(Reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)