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The 28.4 billion yuan anesthesia market leader, Humanwell Healthcare (Group) Co., Ltd. (ST Humanwell), is set to completely divest from the condom giant, Jissbon.
According to an announcement released by Humanwell Healthcare after the market closed on June 4th, the company plans to transfer its 16.34% stake in Lifestyles Healthcare Pte. Ltd., the parent company of Jissbon, for no less than 1.056 billion yuan.
Looking back at Jissbon's development, its parent company's shares have been bought and sold multiple times by Humanwell Healthcare. Upon completion of this transaction, Humanwell Healthcare will completely exit its position in Jissbon.
It is worth noting that in the middle of last year, China Merchants Life Sciences officially replaced the Contemporary Group to become the controlling shareholder of Humanwell Healthcare. Since then, Humanwell Healthcare has been advancing its strategy of "refocusing on core businesses" and divesting non-core assets.
For the first quarter of 2026, Humanwell Healthcare achieved revenue of 6.101 billion yuan, a slight decrease of 0.59% year-on-year; it recorded a net profit attributable to shareholders of 588 million yuan, an increase of 8.85% year-on-year.
As of the market close on June 9th, ST Humanwell was trading at 17.39 yuan per share, with its stock price having halved from its peak six years ago, resulting in a total market capitalization of approximately 28.4 billion yuan.
Exiting Jissbon to Implement Strategic Refocus
On June 4th, Humanwell Healthcare announced its plan to transfer its 16.34% stake in Lifestyles Healthcare for no less than 1.056 billion yuan.
After the transaction, Humanwell Healthcare will no longer hold any shares in the latter, signifying a complete departure from Jissbon.
Currently, Humanwell Healthcare indirectly holds 81.7 million shares (16.34% equity) in Lifestyles Healthcare through its wholly-owned subsidiary RFSW Holding Pte. Ltd., making it the joint third-largest shareholder alongside Crescent Hill Limited.
If the 1.056 billion yuan valuation corresponds to a 16.34% stake, the implied total valuation of Lifestyles Healthcare is approximately 6.46 billion yuan.
However, Humanwell Healthcare stated that the 1.056 billion yuan figure represents the equity value of the 16.34% stake as of the valuation reference date (September 30, 2025). The final listing transfer price is intended to be no lower than this assessed value, with the ultimate transaction price and counterparty to be determined based on the results of the public listing process.
Humanwell Healthcare emphasized that the pricing for this transaction is fair and does not harm the interests of the company or its shareholders, particularly minority shareholders.
Judging from the financial information disclosed in the announcement, Lifestyles Healthcare is clearly a high-quality asset. For the full year 2025, Lifestyles Healthcare achieved revenue of 3.159 billion yuan, an increase of 12.81% year-on-year, and recorded a net profit of 421 million yuan, a growth of 20.07% year-on-year.
As of the end of 2025, Lifestyles Healthcare's total assets were 2.015 billion yuan, total liabilities were 726 million yuan, and net assets were 1.289 billion yuan.
Given that it is such a quality asset, why is Humanwell Healthcare willing to part with it? The company provided the reason in its announcement: to implement its "refocusing on core businesses" strategy and actively promote business concentration and asset optimization.
Humanwell Healthcare stated that this transaction does not affect the scope of its consolidated statements. The proceeds from the asset sale will be used for the company's production and operational activities, including but not limited to repaying interest-bearing debt and supplementing working capital for the company and its controlled subsidiaries.
The company believes this move is conducive to further optimizing its asset-liability structure and concentrating resources on developing competitive niche areas, aligning with its development strategy and long-term interests.
The announcement shows the final transfer price is still uncertain. If calculated based on the assessed value of 1.056 billion yuan, it is estimated to impact Humanwell Healthcare's current profit or loss by approximately 500 million yuan, which will have a positive effect on the company's financial position.
Condom Giant's Control Changes Hands Multiple Times
Corporate records show that Lifestyles Healthcare was registered and established in 2001 as an enterprise focused on the research, production, and sales of health products.
Lifestyles Healthcare's core business is adult health products. It owns well-known brands like Jissbon and holds a significant position in the condom and sexual wellness product market.
Information from the brand's official website indicates that Jissbon was founded in 1998. According to media reports, at that time, the domestic condom market had just been liberalized. Ai Luming, the founder of Humanwell Healthcare, saw the business opportunity and established the Jissbon brand, entering the condom business.
However, Jissbon got off to a poor start, causing Humanwell Healthcare to lose its initial investment of tens of millions in the first year. At this critical juncture, 24-year-old Wang Xuehai was appointed as the general manager of Jissbon.
After taking over Jissbon, Wang Xuehai boldly expanded sales channels, moving beyond the single pharmacy model to include supermarkets and convenience stores. He also seized opportunities for "event marketing," targeting occasions like World AIDS Day and Valentine's Day for promotions.
Under a series of measures, Jissbon's sales continuously climbed, and the company gradually emerged from its loss-making predicament. By 2006, Jissbon was generating an annual profit of 30 million yuan, from which Humanwell Healthcare received 20 million yuan in dividends.
After this successful turnaround, Wang Xuehai gradually became a key figure for both Humanwell Healthcare and Jissbon, even serving as chairman of Humanwell Technology (the predecessor of Humanwell Healthcare). Corporate records show he currently remains the chairman and legal representative of Lifestyles Healthcare.
However, also in 2006, to emphasize its strategic focus on the pharmaceutical industry, continue adjusting its product structure, improve its asset structure, and reduce its debt ratio, Humanwell Healthcare decided to make a strategic divestment.
At that time, Humanwell Healthcare transferred 70% of its stake in Jissbon to the Australian rubber glove manufacturer Ansell for 137 million yuan.
In August 2009, Humanwell Healthcare continued to reduce its stake, selling its remaining 5% share in Jissbon to PDIPL, a company controlled by Ansell, for 25.117 million yuan.
After parting ways with Jissbon, Humanwell Healthcare invested in Tianjin Zhongsheng Latex Co., Ltd., re-entering the condom sector, but the latter's profits declined year after year until it incurred losses.
In 2016, Humanwell Healthcare achieved a non-GAAP net profit of 565 million yuan, with growth of only 0.02%.
In 2017, due to strategic adjustments, Ansell decided to sell its global sexual wellness business, which included Jissbon.
Ultimately, Humanwell Healthcare, jointly with CITIC Capital, acquired 90% of Jissbon's equity. Humanwell Healthcare itself acquired a 54% stake for $120 million.
However, after the pandemic, domestic condom consumption declined rapidly. By 2020, the condom business of Humanwell Healthcare generated revenue of 1.758 billion yuan, a decrease of 8.83% year-on-year, accounting for only 8.63% of the company's total revenue.
In November of the same year, Humanwell Healthcare transferred a 40% stake in Lifestyles Healthcare, Jissbon's parent company, for $200 million to three leading funds: Hillhouse Capital, Boyu Capital, and Arbor Capital.
After that transaction, Humanwell Singapore, a subsidiary of Humanwell Healthcare, still held a 20% stake in the Lifestyles Group. The Lifestyles Group was no longer included in the consolidated statements of Humanwell Healthcare, and this transaction brought the company an investment gain of approximately 400 million yuan.
Investing 11.8 Billion to Participate in Restructuring, China Merchants Life Sciences Takes Control
Shifting the perspective back to Humanwell Healthcare, which has had an on-and-off relationship with Jissbon for over two decades, its origins can be traced back to the Wuhan Contemporary Biochemical Technology Research Institute founded in 1988 by Ai Luming and six other Wuhan University graduate students.
At that time, the 31-year-old Ai Luming and his classmates earned their first capital by extracting urokinase from urine for export.
The Contemporary Group's website shows that in 1992, the institute was renamed Wuhan Contemporary Science and Technology Development General Company. In 1996, it merged with Wuhan Yangtze River Biochemical Pharmaceutical Factory, completing its first acquisition project.
In 1997, Contemporary Technology was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and later renamed Humanwell Healthcare. Humanwell Healthcare was the first listed company under the Contemporary Group.
After listing, Humanwell Healthcare focused its operational strategy on a niche area with relatively lower competition intensity: anesthetic drugs.
In August 2001, the company led the establishment of Yichang Humanwell Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., starting the project to develop Remifentanil Hydrochloride, aiming to break dependence on imported technology and fill a gap in the domestic anesthetic drug field.
Six years later, the Remifentanil Hydrochloride project passed the national acceptance for the high-tech industrialization demonstration project of new anesthetic series drugs. By 2020, Yichang Humanwell had become the only R&D and production enterprise in China with a complete series of four fentanyl products.
Financial data shows that in 2019, Humanwell Healthcare's revenue surpassed the 20 billion yuan mark for the first time and remained above that level in subsequent years. The company's net profit attributable to shareholders peaked at 2.484 billion yuan in 2022.
However, just as Humanwell Healthcare's performance was flourishing, its parent company, the Contemporary Group, was facing increasing financial strain.
According to media reports, after 2010, under Ai Luming's leadership, the Contemporary Group successively invested in listed companies like Wuhan Sante Cableway and Contemporary明诚, and increased its stake in Tianfeng Securities through companies like Wuhan Sante Cableway and Humanwell Healthcare.
By 2021, the Contemporary Group's business had expanded into sectors like tourism, real estate, and education.
However, due to frequent leveraged acquisitions, the Contemporary Group also accumulated heavy debt. When the pandemic hit in 2020, pressure on the group began to show.
At that time, Ai Luming admitted in an interview, "Diversified operations have not brought us outstanding results, and there are many different voices from investors in the market."
Despite subsequently disposing of multiple assets, the Contemporary Group could not withstand the funding crisis. On September 30, 2024, the court formally ruled to accept the restructuring of the Contemporary Group.
In January of last year, the Contemporary Group, China Merchants Innovation Technology, and the Contemporary Group administrator signed a Restructuring Investment Agreement. China Merchants Innovation Technology planned to establish China Merchants Life Sciences to participate in the restructuring of the Contemporary Group, with a total investment of 11.8 billion yuan.
In late July of the same year, Humanwell Healthcare announced that China Merchants Life Sciences had completed procedures such as reorganizing the board of Humanwell Healthcare and had gained control of the company. The controlling shareholder of Humanwell Healthcare changed to China Merchants Life Sciences, and the actual controller changed to China Merchants Group.
Since then, Humanwell Healthcare has continued to advance its "refocusing on core businesses" strategy and divest non-core assets. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, the asset-liability ratio of Humanwell Healthcare had decreased to 39.68%.
In terms of performance, for the first quarter of this year, Humanwell Healthcare achieved revenue of 6.101 billion yuan, a slight decrease of 0.59% year-on-year, and recorded a net profit attributable to shareholders of 588 million yuan, an increase of 8.85% year-on-year.
In the first quarter, the net cash flow from operating activities of Humanwell Healthcare was 281 million yuan, an increase of 618 million yuan compared to the same period last year, mainly due to increased sales collections and reduced payments for employee compensation during the reporting period.
After completely divesting from Jissbon, what developments will follow for Humanwell Healthcare?
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