Bayer AG is selling its Avelox antibiotics business and related assets to Asian investment firm HSG, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

The SPA has already been signed between the two parties, two of them added.

The deal size is at roughly EUR 160m-EUR 260m, one of them said. The assets include IP, brand, and global commercial rights, two sources added.

HSBC is advising Bayer on the sellside, one source noted.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) is providing loan financing to HSG, two of the sources said.

Avelox (moxifloxacin) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic developed by Bayer. It is primarily prescribed for upper and lower respiratory tract infections, including community-acquired pneumonia, acute sinusitis, and acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. It is also effective against skin and soft tissue infections, according to public information.

Avelox was approved by the US FDA in 1999, according to the FDA website. It reached peak sales in 2012 and started to decline since then, according to Drugpatentwatch data.

China has always generated a significant portion of its global sales, one of the sources said.

The most recently available sales revenue for Avelox was from 2021, when it generated USD 72m globally, according to an announcement by China Resources Double-crane Pharmaceutical in 2023.

China currently has over 22 pharmaceutical companies supplying generic drug products, including Hainan Aike Pharmaceutical, Zhengda Tianqing Pharmaceutical and China Resources Double-crane Pharmaceutical, according to the same announcement by China Resources Double-crane in 2023. Bayer’s Avelox had 40% market share in China in 2021, as per the announcement.

Off-patent branded drugs are still recognised as good investment assets in China as multinational pharma companies have made a strategic shift to focus on innovative product lines. Last year, CBC Group and Mubadala jointly acquired Belgian pharma company UCB’s business in China for USD 680m, including well-known brands UCB Keppra, Vimpat, Neupro, Zyrtec, Xyzal and a production site in Zhuhai (China), according to CBC’s press release in December 2024.

SPDB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bayer, HSG and HSBC declined to comment.