Supersonic is working with Lazard Ltd. to explore options including a
sale after receiving takeover interest, according to the people, who
asked not to be identified because the information is private. The
company could also attract other medical-imaging companies as well as
private-equity firms, the people said.
Shares of Supersonic rose 10 percent Tuesday, the biggest intraday gain
in more than five months, giving the company a $52.8 million market
value.
Chinese health-care companies have continued to pursue foreign
acquisitions even as the government reins in offshore investments in
other industries like entertainment and real estate. They have announced
$4 billion of overseas purchases this year, on track to surpass the
record $5.5 billion set in 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
An investor group including Chinese buyout firm CDH Investments Fund
Management Co. agreed this year to buy Australia’s Sirtex Medical Ltd.
in a deal valuing the target at about A$1.9 billion ($1.4 billion).
AstraZeneca Plc this year agreed to sell some international sales and
licensing rights to China’s Luye Pharma Group Ltd. for $538 million.
Shanghai United Imaging didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking
comment, and a person who answered the phone at the company’s office
declined to transfer calls. Representatives for Lazard and
Aix-en-Provence, France-based Supersonic declined to comment.
Supersonic, whose shareholders include state-backed Bpifrance, makes
ultrasound imaging systems that help physicians visualize and analyze
the stiffness of tissue in a real-time and non-invasive way, according
to its website. Deliberations on a potential deal for Supersonic are at
an early stage, and there’s no certainty they will lead to a
transaction, the people said.
