Dechert Advises Echosens on Minority Investment from Cathay Capital and OrbiMed

Cathay Capital Private Equity, OrbiMed and several Chinese institutional investors acquired shares of Echosens SAS, a subsidiary of the FuRui group. The FuRui Group will retain a majority sharehold of 51% with Cathay Capital entering Echosens’ shareholding structure in the context of a capital increase. Cathay Capital also subscribes for close to €30 million of newly issued company shares to finance its international expansion. Through this operation, Echosens will receive the support of Sino-French and Sino-American funds to further expand its business in the United States and in China.

“This operation illustrates the strong appetite of Asian investors for French high-technology companies and the important activity of new global actors investing Chinese capital. Thanks to our presence in Asia and in the United States, we are currently advising on several similar operations,” explains Matthieu Grollemund, M&A/Private Equity Partner at Dechert LLP.

Echosens, founded in 2001, is a French high-tech company specializing in non-invasive diagnostic products and services for hepatology. The company designs, develops, and sells FibroScan®, a device which gives quantitative diagnosis to detect liver fibrosis and steatosis. The medical device has been approved for sale in more than 70 countries.

The Dechert team advising Echosens/Furui includes partner Matthieu Grollemund (Paris, Corporate) assisted by Hélène Parent (Paris, Corporate) and Judith Malka (Paris, Corporate), as well as by partners Alain Decombe (Paris, Corporate) and Jinghzou Tao (Beijing, International Arbitration).

Read the press release in French (PDF): "Dechert conseille Echosens dans une cession et une levée de fonds auprès de Cathay Capital Private Equity, OrbiMed et divers investisseurs institutionnels chinois."

About Dechert

Dechert is a global specialist law firm focused on sectors with the greatest complexities and highest regulatory demands. We deliver practical commercial insight and judgment to our clients' most important matters. Nothing stands in the way of giving clients the best of the firm’s entrepreneurial energy and seamless collaboration in a way that is distinctively Dechert.