Singapore: China Cord Blood Corporation (CCBC), the first and largest cord blood banking operator in China, and Cordlife Group, a cord blood and tissue banking service provider listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, have entered into a strategic partnership to offer umbilical cord blood storage services for expectant parents across Asia. Cordlife has acquired a 10 percent minority stake in CCBC, while CCBC has taken 100 percent effective equity ownership in Guangzhou Municipality Tianhe Nuoya Bio-engineering, the company's operating arm in Guangdong province.

The transactions will aimed at strengthening the strategic alliance between CCBC and Cordlife, enabling the parties to reap the opportunities across China and Asia.

Prior to the transactions, Nuoya was wholly owned by China Stem Cells (South) (CSCS), which was 90 percent owned by CCBC and 10 percent by Cordlife. Pursuant to the transactions, CSCS will repurchase its 10 percent equity interest from Cordlife for a cash consideration of approximately $16.8 million. In exchange, Cordlife will acquire 7,314,015 CCBC shares for a cash consideration of approximately $20.8 million.

"CCBC's prominent leadership in the industry clearly speaks through its presence in China. In recent years, it has successfully brought the benefits of umbilical cord blood banking to numerous people in multiple regions across China," said Mr Jeremy Yee, chief executive officer of Cordlife who will be a CCBC board member and will step down as a director of CSCS upon completion of the transactions. "CCBC's management team consistently demonstrates their unique ability to commercialize the company's leading edge services and expand its market coverage within China. We believe our alliance with CCBC should not be confined to a particular part of China, but instead gives the Company our full support across all regions where CCBC operates."

"Cordlife is Southeast Asia's first AABB-accredited cord blood bank and a leading service provider in Singapore and Hong Kong. Under the leadership of Mr Yee and his fellow team members, Cordlife has established an extensive presence across these two key markets and created tremendous market awareness," said Ms Ting Zheng, chairperson and CEO of China Cord Blood Corporation. "CCBC and Cordlife have long been strategic partners and closely aligned in the mission to bring the benefits of cord blood banking to populations across Asia. By joining forces, we can benefit from Cordlife's professional status and Asia-wide expertise and better serve our existing and prospective clients throughout our operating regions."