Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Sale

By Kane Wu

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Global private equity firms Blackstone (NYSE:BX) and Bain Capital are among the final bidders for Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, a unit of Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical Group, in a deal that could value it between $3 billion and $3.5 billion, three sources said.

Mitsubishi Chemical has hired Goldman Sachs to manage the sale process, with binding bids due on December 24, the sources added.

Local private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) is also making a bid for the company, said the anonymous sources due to the confidentiality of the information.

Blackstone, Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs, and Mitsubishi Chemical have declined to comment. Tanabe referred request for comment to its parent company.

Representatives for JIP could not be reached, and the firm did not respond to a written request for comment via its website.

Mitsubishi Chemical stated in September that the group is continuously reviewing the optimal business portfolio for all businesses, including pharma, and is exploring options, including divestiture, in response to media reports about the Tanabe sale.

Established over 90 years ago, Osaka-based Tanabe’s pipeline includes a range of drugs for the central nervous system, immuno-inflammation, and oncology. It operates in more than a dozen locations across three continents outside Japan, according to its website.

In the first half of the fiscal year ending March 2025, Mitsubishi Chemical's pharma segment reported a 6% increase in sales revenue to 232.5 billion yen and a 28% rise in core operating income to 41.4 billion yen, per group disclosures.