PKU HealthCare changes hands for US$0.14 as orthopaedics tycoon takes control
What's the deal? PKU HealthCareDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (000788.SZ) is changing hands again, with Shanghai Hongkang acquiring 100% of parent Southwest Synthetic Pharmaceutical Group for US$0.14. The announcement, made late on October 26, hands control of the listed drugmaker to Cheng Dong, chairman of private orthopaedics chain Bon'er Orthopaedics.
How is it structured? As with past deals, the token price comes with debt. Cheng is paying US$4.13M to take on related claims against the group, giving him an indirect 18.29% stake in PKU HealthCare. The equity and debt transfers are conditional on each other and inseparable.
Why now? This marks the second change of control in under two years. The previous owner, Xu Xiren, took over for the same US$0.14 in December 2024 from the Ping An camp, but was arrested on suspicion of criminal offences in November 2025.
The numbers: The business is under pressure. After its partnership with Peking University International Hospital — long the backbone of its drug distribution revenue — ended in 2025, performance has slid sharply. For the first three quarters of 2026, revenue fell 47.01% year on year to US$89.7M, and net profit dropped 45.72%.
Who is the buyer? Shanghai Hongkang was set up only in September 2026, with registered capital of US$13.8M. Cheng indirectly holds 72.09% and acts as its controlling person. It says it has no plans to change the listed company's main business within 12 months.
What's the endgame? Cheng founded Bon'er Orthopaedics in 2012; the chain runs 18 medical institutions, 15 of them second- or third-tier hospitals. It has raised five funding rounds, including a Pre-IPO round exceeding US$110M in November 2023 backed by investors such as C&D, Qingchi CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and CPIC. Bon'er has been in IPO tutoring since December 2020.
What could go wrong? Cheng's earlier attempt to take over Renzhi Co (002629.SZ) was terminated in September 2026, barely a month before this deal. With no replacement yet found for the lost hospital business, the key question is whether the new owner can stabilise the shareholder structure and reverse the decline.
The signal: Buying distressed listed shells for a nominal US$0.14 plus debt assumption has become a recurring pattern in China's capital markets. But current information does not show any real synergy between orthopaedics and the listed drugmaker — making this less a strategic fit than a bet on a turnaround.
Read more: sohu.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
