Cosmetics maker Shanghai Jahwa acquires Tommee Tippee owner

Chinese cosmetics maker Shanghai Jahwa (Group) Co Ltd has reached an agreement to acquire Mayborn Group, the parent company of the largest British nursing bottles producer Tommee Tippee.

Jahwa, wholly owned by Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, is acquiring the company from British private-equity firm 3i Group Plc, the group said. The proceeds to 3i from the transaction will be ￡135 million ($197 million)

The purchase is the first time that Jahwa made an overseas acquisition. It is also the company's first purchase of a non-cosmetics brand. Jahwa owns many well-known Chinese makeup brands, including Herborist and Maxam.

"Following China's new policy that encourages married couples to have two children as against one in the past, we are bullish on the long-term growth of the baby products sector in the China market," Jahwa said.

"Mayborn enjoys great reputation and regard among the peers, given its stable sales performances and strong R&D capabilities. The acquisition is a combination of strengths. The two sides will be able to create an international business platform of baby care products," it said.

Mayborn, a leading high-end maternal and baby products producer, was taken private by 3i in 2006. After the acquisition, Mayborn started to make further investments globally, said Alan Giddins, managing partner of 3i Group.

Tommee Tippee takes the top market share in terms of sales revenues in the United Kingdom, and the fifth-largest market share globally. After it entered the United States, Mayborn became the fastest-growing infant feeding bottles brand in the US market.

Jahwa's move is part of an ongoing trend by Chinese companies acquiring premium foreign consumer brands, expanding their businesses overseas and bringing high-quality foreign products to China.

Lu Jinyong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said: "A critical way for China to raise its competence and upgrade its industrial structure is through acquiring premiere overseas brands."

In April, Chinese leading textile company Yong Sheng, a Hangzhou-based privately owned enterprise, acquired French lace producer Desseilles Laces SAS, one of the oldest lace producers in the country, for 300,000 euros ($341,000).