Pharma M&A activity remains strong 
2019-10-10
MERGERS and acquisitions in the Chinese pharmaceutical sector remain active with domestic and overseas players eager to gain a piece of a booming market.
Deal values have increased remarkably in all sectors except outbound, indicating the hedging nature of the pharmaceutical market, PwC said.
The number of deals so far this year was 242, compared with the 258 in the first half of last year, with activities from domestic strategic buyers almost double that in the second half of 2018. The combined value of these acquisition deals jumped 45 percent to US$10.8 billion.
Driven by medical reform and pharma regulatory changes, domestic strategic acquisitions were up by 88 percent and 90 percent in volume and size, with 12 mega-deals worth more than US$100 million, compared with just six in the second half of last year. Foreign inbound strategic M&As also became more active with overseas players eager to gain a foothold in the domestic market.
The rebound after the slowdown in the second half of 2018 was partly boosted by the large number of deals in the biotechnology sector, which benefited from new preferential listing rules for the Hong Kong stock exchange and the STAR market, and which saw a record high of 40 deals.
The volume and size of outbound deals from the Chinese mainland continued to shrink in the first half of 2018.
