Privately owned Australian probiotic market leader Life-Space Group announced today it had entered into a binding agreement for the sale of 100% of its shares to listed China-based BY-HEALTH Group (BY-HEALTH). The transaction is subject to customary shareholder and regulatory approvals and implies an enterprise value for Life-Space Group of up to AUD $690 million.

Life-Space Group (www.life-spacegroup.com.au) is one of the largest probiotics companies in Australia. It operates the Evolution Health and Ultramix businesses, and owns Life-Space ® – the market leading probiotic brand sold in China and Australia. In addition, the company owns or distributes Healthy Essentials, Elmore Oil and Corams – a diverse brand portfolio in the natural
health, joint and muscular pain relief and infant and baby care categories.

In 2014, Life-Space Group entered the Chinese market through cross-border ecommerce. In a short period of time, Life Space ® has become highly recognised by Chinese consumers by virtue of its product quality and attributes and has expanded its sales in the market rapidly.

The Life-Space ® brand is also the market leading probiotic brand in Chemist Warehouse, Australia’s largest pharmacy retailer. Life-Space Group is also well advanced in broadening distribution of the Life-Space ® brand globally – including the North American, European and pan-Asian markets.

BY-HEALTH (www.by-health.com/en) was founded in 1995 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SHE: 300146) in 2010

BY-HEALTH has now grown into a leading brand and iconic company in the Chinese dietary supplement market, owning various brands such as BY-HEALTH, Keylid, GymMax and Naturone.

In 2016, BY-HEALTH acquired the rights to permanently operate the Nature’s Bounty and Met-RX businesses in China, which form a diverse brand portfolio. Its products include dietary supplements, sport nutrition supplements, traditional herbal and sports nutrition. The acquisition of Life-Space Group represents a natural progression towards BY-HEALTH becoming a globally recognised brand owner.
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Ben McHarg, Group Managing Director of Life-Space Group said: “Life-Space Group has grown exponentially over the past five years and we reached a point where to continue our expansion both domestically and internationally we needed to review the privately-owned structure of our business.

“Following a comprehensive global process, it became clear to us that BYHEALTH was the most natural owner and the best home for our brands. BYHEALTH shares many of the same values that we feel were vital in building our own business and we look forward to a long and successful future together.

“It is especially pleasing to note that BY-HEALTH has provided an ongoing commitment to our staff and management team, headquartered in Melbourne, who have been instrumental in achieving the growth and success we have experienced, both in Australia and abroad.

“BY-HEALTH recognises that the dedication, passion and expertise of our people, together with our valued distribution partners, is vital to achieving the true global potential of the business in its ownership.

“This outcome reflects a strong and continued commitment to the Australian manufacture of all Life-Space Group products through our TGA licensed facility – which has been so critically important to our success – especially in China where the safety and quality of Australian manufacturing are held in such high esteem.”

Mr. Zhicheng Lin, CEO of BY-HEALTH said:
“The acquisition will help Life-Space Group integrate its products and brand in the probiotic market segment and online channels, providing strong support for BY-HEALTH to develop new product categories and channels. Life-Space Group may also be able to take advantage of BY-HEALTH’s marketing network and channels to improve its own access in China and continue its strong growth momentum.

“As a part of BY-HEALTH’s strategy, the acquisition of Life-Space Group is an important step for the continuing large-scale development of BY-HEALTH. Currently, the probiotics market is one of the fastest growing market segments. Life-Space Group has received public praise for its online experience and brand, and meets the requirements to become a leader in the global probiotics market. The two companies will generate synergies at both a product and business level and explore new growth opportunities in the market.”

Australian firm Edison Partners acted as the exclusive corporate advisor to LifeSpace Group. Leading cross-border firm Baker McKenzie acted as legal advisors to Life-Space Group, with PwC Australia advising on the accounting and tax aspects of the deal.

CLSA Australia acted as financial advisor to BY-HEALTH with King Wood Mallesons and PwC China acting as legal, accounting and tax advisors to BYHEALTH respectively