EQT is about to sell the mainland China business of Taiwan-based contact lens producer Ginko International to Advent International, said four sources familiar with the situation.

The deal size could be over USD 1.1bn, one of the sources said.

EQT decided to go ahead with a mainland China carve-out instead of a full entity sale as the process would be quicker. No formal auction process was launched since Advent has held bilateral talks with EQT directly to acquire the mainland China operations, the fourth source said.

The private equity firm has priced the whole entity of Ginko at around 20x EV/EBITDA 2024, the fourth source said, adding that Ginko’s EBITDA grew around 20% year-on-year (YoY) last year.

EQT and Advent declined to comment. Ginko did not respond to a request for comment.

EQT had entertained bank pitches for a potential exit from Ginko, according to a Mergermarket report last December.

EQT, previously known as Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), had acquired Ginko at an enterprise value of USD 1bn in a February 2022 deal that privatized the company from the Taiwan Stock Exchange, as announced.

Apart from the financial sponsor, the buying consortium included Ginko International’s existing shareholders Hydron International (28.45%) and New Path International (18.39%), according to a Mergermarket report on 22 February 2022.

Founded in 1985, Ginko is mainly engaged in the development and manufacturing of clear and colored contact lenses, along with other related lens solutions. It offers a comprehensive multi-brand product portfolio across a range of price points, according to EQT’s website.

Ginko’s contact lens brands include Hydron and Horien, among which Hydron ranks as the best-selling contact lens brand in China, according to Ginko’s website.

With global headquarters in Taichung and mainland China headquarters in Shanghai, Ginko has top-class manufacturing and R&D capabilities, supported by its facilities in mainland China and Taiwan, as well as a strong omnichannel distribution network with particular strength in e-commerce, as per Ginko’s website.