Creat bids for German plasma maker

Chinese investor Creat Group Corp has offered to buy German blood plasma products maker Biotest for about 1.2 billion euros ($ 1.3 billion) including debt following its purchase last year of British peer Bio Products Laboratory.

“The board of management and supervisory board welcome the discussions,” Biotest said, adding the suitor would back an ongoing investment drive to more than double output capacity by 2022.

Biotest said Creat proposed a purchase price of 28.50 euros per ordinary share, a 43 percent premium over Wednesday’s closing price. However, owners of preference shares without voting rights would be offered only 19 euros apiece, a slight discount to Wednesday’s 19.02 euro close.

Biotest, whose products are used to treat blood coagulation disorders and immune- related illnesses, said the potential deal is subject to final negotiations and an agreement with Biotest AG’s majority shareholder, OGEL GmbH.

Germany and China have been involved in an increasingly public dispute about access to each other’s markets, with China complaining about unfair scrutiny of its acquisition targets in Germany and Germany wanting a more

level playing field in the world’s secondlargest economy. Due to the talks, Biotest said it postponed its annual shareholder meeting, initially planned for May 10, to date that has yet to be announced. OGEL, the investment vehicle of late company founder Hans Schleussner’s family, holds more than half of Biotest’s ordinary shares with voting rights. Biotest’s share capital is split evenly Between ordinary and preference shares, with latter share class being completely in free- float ownership. Great agreed in May 2016 to acquire British biotechnology company Bio Products Laboratories from Bain Capital for 820 million pounds ($ 1.02 billion).