Carlyle to sell Japanese drug capsule maker Qualicaps to MCHC for $660 million

US private equity firm Carlyle Group has agreed to sell Japanese drug capsule maker Qualicaps Co Ltd to Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp (MCHC), for 55.8 billion yen ($660 million).

Founded in 1965, Nara Prefecture-based Qualicaps, formerly known as Shionogi Qualicaps, was acquired by Washington-based Carlyle in 2005 from Shionogi & Co.

Qualicaps provides empty two-piece hard capsules and pharmaceutical processing equipment. The company manufactures and markets hard gelatin capsules and non-gelatin cellulose based capsules to key global pharmaceutical and nutritional markets.
 
With seven facilities in Europe, Japan and North America, and around 1,000 employees, Qualicaps is the largest provider of pharmaceutical capsules in Japan and is the second largest in the global high quality capsule markets, including North America and Europe. It recorded operating income in 2011 of 3 billion yen and sales of 17.6 billion yen.

Qualicaps has a market share of more than 20 per cent in the 100 billion yen pharma-grade capsules segment of the global pharma market, accounting for the majority of the total capsule market, according to MCHC.

''We are delighted to have partnered with Carlyle, which has supported Qualicaps' global rebrand and transformation into an independent, fast-growing and highly profitable business. We believe joining Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group will enable us to further expand our business, creating substantial synergies with Mitsubishi Chemical's healthcare business,'' said Bernd Brust, CEO of Qualicaps.

''Qualicaps is an excellent example of Carlyle's global value creation. Qualicaps has been recognised as a business partner by global pharmaceutical giants and has delivered outstanding growth,'' Takaomi Tomioka, managing director at Carlyle said.

Formed through the 2005 merger between Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation, Tokyo-based MCHC uses its chemistry-based technology platforms for the development of a wide range of technologies and products in the fields of performance products, healthcare, and industrial materials.

MCHC operates through its four core business units: Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc, and Mitsubishi Rayon, Co, Ltd.

MCHC posted net sales of about ¥3,200 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2012.