AFR today- interesting

Clearly this is a huge growth prospect backing into the massive network the 2 companies have. One of them was underbidder on Swisse in 2015.

AFR today

"Chinese private equity giant Primavera Capital closely scrutinised the Australian market for two years before making its move in a joint swoop on vitamins and supplements firm Vitaco.
It is the first investment in Australia for a firm which was an early-stage investor in Chinese internet giant Alibaba, which undertook the world's largest IPO in 2014. The fund still holds stakes in that company as well as Ant Financial, and Cainiao, the Alibaba-backed logistics arm.
Primavera, set up in 2010 by a group of Goldman Sachs investment bankers and executives, is understood to have several billion under investment across its portfolio.
Its executives could see the rising appetite from Chinese consumers for clean and green vitamins but was increasingly convinced it needed a second leg of assured distribution grunt in the retail and online space in China to fully harness the opportunity.
The fund closely examined the Australian market for 24 months – and the soaring profits from China for big firms Blackmores and Swisse loomed large.
Primavera, which will hold a 40 per cent stake in Vitaco, with pharmaceutical giant Shanghai Pharma holding 60 per cent in the proposed $314 million joint buyout, satisfied itself that the lower-key vitamins brands plus the 1800 retail outlets in China operated by Shanghai Pharma, were the right combination. It wanted both clicks and bricks.
E-commerce nous
Primavera also has extensive knowledge of what works in e-commerce in China, given its Alibaba investment. Alibaba's Tmall and Taobao e-commerce platforms are crucial routes to market and are used heavily by Chinese consumers to buy vitamins and health products.
Kenneth Wong, one of the partners in Primavera, told The Australian Financial Review on Thursday that patience was an important element to Primavera's approach.
"We have obviously spent a lot of time getting to know the Australian market, particularly the supplements and health food market," he said.
Cementing a strong distribution network through the link-up with Shanghai Pharma is crucial to the long-term success of building the brands.
"We do think that a strong Australian brand with a long history and the right execution is the right combination because execution is equally important".
Mr Wong, who was previously a managing director of investment banking with Goldman Sachs Asia, said Vitaco was also appealing because it had a number of different brands and had products in health foods and sports nutrition also.
No one trick pony
Vitaco's vitamins brands include Nutralife, Healtheries and Wagner, while it sells protein powders and low-carb bars under the Aussie Bodies and Musashi brands.
"It's not a one product, one brand company," Mr Wong said.
While the major focus in the first instance is on generating strong growth in the vitamins brands, there is substantial upside in the sports nutrition brands because of increasing interest in fitness, attending gyms and body-building among the Chinese middle-class. That segment isn't growing as fast as the vitamins category.
"A little bit of growth in China can be quite large in absolute terms," Mr Wong said.
Primavera was founded by Dr Fred Hu, who is still chairman of the private equity firm. Dr Hu was a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Greater China business.
Shanghai Pharma was one of the three final bidders for Swisse Wellness in a sale process late in 2015, where Hong-Kong-listed Biostime International won a hotly contested auction by agreeing to buy 83 per cent of Swisse in a buyout which valued Swisse at $1.67 billion."

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