Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. is taking a big price cut on Obagi Medical Products, selling the antiaging skin-care company to an Asian fund for $190 million.
The buyer, Haitong International Zhonghua Finance Acquisition Fund I LP, has ties to industry veterans in China, a beauty market of growing importance. Among its investors is LP Regenerative Medicine International Ltd., which specializes in bringing biomedical and health-care products to China.
Obagi Medical Products is expected to have about $85 million in revenue and $30 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for 2017. The business makes antiaging skin-care products, including Obagi-C Rx System and the Obagi Nu-Derm System, that are distributed through dermatologists, plastic surgeons, medical spas and other skin professionals.
Valeant will use proceeds from the sale to repay term loan debt, the company said.
Valeant bought the Obagi for about $344 in 2013, during its acquisitive phase, as a means to build its dermatology business. Valeant is now working to streamline operations. In March, it closed the sale of CeraVe, AcneFree and Ambi skin care, which had about $200 million in revenue, to L’Oréal for $1.3 billion.
“The sale of Obagi marks additional progress in our efforts to streamline our operations and reduce debt,” Joseph C. Papa, chairman and chief executive officer of Valeant. “As we continue to transform Valeant, we will remain focused on the core businesses that will drive high value for our shareholders.”
The beauty M&A market remains robust, with established companies like the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. and L’Oréal making acquisitions at the same time as private equity investors flood the space. Recent deals include Lauder’s investment in Deciem; Ares Management’s acquisition of DevaCurl, estimated at $260 million by industry sources; BWX’s purchase of Mineral Fusion, and CVC’s $1.4 billion deal for PDC.
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