In June 2024, the Haier Group completed a 12.5 billion yuan cash acquisition of a 20% stake in Shanghai Raas Blood Products, securing operational control over 26.58% of shares through voting rights delegation and becoming the actual controller of the domestic blood products leader.
Before this deal, Haier Biologics had already established a presence in upstream segments such as plasma collection equipment, low-temperature storage, and cold-chain transportation. The acquisition of Shanghai Raas filled the most critical gap in blood product manufacturing, making the transaction a cornerstone of Haier's broader healthcare strategy.
However, two years on, the first full annual cycle interim report under Haier's stewardship paints a bleak picture. According to the 2026 half-year results, the company generated 3.209 billion yuan in revenue, a year-on-year decline of 18.79%, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell by 35.80% to 661 million yuan. Meanwhile, the stock price has continued its downward trajectory, dropping to 4.93 yuan per share by August 2026, nearly halved from Haier's acquisition price of 9.405 yuan per share.
With both revenue and profit declining, cash flow halved, 8.2 billion yuan in goodwill hanging overhead, and an industry-wide policy chill, Haier's billion-dollar cross-sector acquisition is now facing multiple risk tests.
Massive acquisition hits a cold spell: earnings and stock price both suffer
Haier's decision to acquire Shanghai Raas was rooted in the "plasma volume is king" growth logic of the blood products industry and the long-term value of scarce licenses. But within just two years, the industry's fundamentals have reversed sharply. As Shanghai Raas's performance deteriorates, Haier is confronting the simultaneous emergence of short-term balance sheet pressure and long-term asset impairment risks.
The most immediate issue is the substantial paper loss on the acquisition itself. Calculated at the acquisition price of 9.405 yuan per share, Haier's total cost for 1.329 billion shares was 12.5 billion yuan, implying an overall company valuation of approximately 62.5 billion yuan. After Haier took control, the stock price has persistently declined, reaching only about 4.9 yuan per share by the end of August 2026. Based on this, the book value of Haier's 20% stake is only around 6.55 billion yuan, representing a paper loss of nearly 6 billion yuan on the single acquisition. When combined with three subsequent rounds of share increases, the total unrealized loss has reached approximately 6.4 billion yuan.
More concerning than short-term share price fluctuations is the deterioration in Shanghai Raas's own operational fundamentals. On January 1, 2026, a new policy under the Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration officially took effect, abolishing the long-standing 3% simplified tax rate for biological products. Except for special categories such as anticancer drugs and rare disease drugs, ordinary blood products now uniformly face the 13% standard value-added tax rate. This impact is starkly visible in Shanghai Raas's income statement. The half-year report shows revenue of 3.209 billion yuan, down 18.79% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 661 million yuan, down 35.80%. After excluding non-recurring items, net profit fell 39.85% to 626 million yuan. The company's net margin during the period was approximately 20.6%, down more than 5 percentage points from 26.05% in the same period last year.
Looking at quarterly data, second-quarter 2026 revenue came in at 1.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 12.7%, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 25.5% to 345 million yuan. Although the second-quarter decline narrowed compared to the first quarter, the overall trajectory remains firmly downward.
Compounding the policy headwind is intensifying market competition. Investment research notes from Boya Bio indicate that on the demand side, with the deepening of policies such as centralized procurement expansion, DRG/DIP payment reforms, medical insurance cost control, key drug monitoring, and industry compliance requirements, clinical prescription volumes have contracted noticeably, putting significant pressure on industry-wide sales. On the supply side, continuous growth in plasma collection and the gradual release of new production capacity from some companies have further intensified competition against a backdrop of shrinking terminal demand. Prices for the three core product categories—albumin, human immunoglobulin, and coagulation factors—are all under downward pressure.
For Shanghai Raas specifically, blood product production and sales revenue during the first half of 2026 reached 3.16 billion yuan, down 19.4% year-on-year. Among these, revenue from self-produced albumin, imported albumin, intravenous immunoglobulin, and other blood products fell by 28.82%, 24.42%, 6.62%, and 8.6% respectively. At the same time, the half-year report noted that sales volume actually grew by more than 10% year-on-year—yet revenue still slumped, highlighting the severity of price pressure.
8.2 billion yuan goodwill hangs overhead, hidden guarantee risks lurk beneath
Beyond the earnings deterioration, the "aftermath" of Haier's acquisition of Shanghai Raas is more evident in areas such as goodwill and implicit guarantees.
On goodwill, since its listing, Shanghai Raas has successively acquired several companies—including Banghe Pharmaceutical (now Zhengzhou Raas), Tonglu Bio, and Zhejiang Haikang—continuously expanding its plasma station network and production capacity through mergers and acquisitions. In March 2025, Haier pushed Shanghai Raas to acquire Nanyue Biologics for 4.2 billion yuan in cash, while the target's book net assets were only approximately 839 million yuan. This represented a premium of nearly 400%, adding approximately 3 billion yuan in new goodwill at once. Following multiple high-premium acquisitions, the company's goodwill balance stood at a staggering 8.199 billion yuan as of the end of the first half of 2026, accounting for more than 25% of net assets attributable to shareholders.
In the current industry downturn—with blood product prices under pressure and demand growth slowing—there is significant uncertainty about whether the profitability of these previously high-premium acquired subsidiaries can meet the expectations set at the time of acquisition.
Additionally, Shanghai Raas carries substantial hidden guarantee exposure. In 2019, Shanghai Raas issued shares valued at 13.246 billion yuan to acquire a 45% stake in Grifols Diagnostic Solutions (GDS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grifols. As consideration, Grifols received 1.766 billion shares of Shanghai Raas, giving it a 26.2% stake and making it a co-largest shareholder with a core position in the company.
In 2021, the two parties signed an exclusive albumin distribution agreement, designating Shanghai Raas and its subsidiary Anhui Tonglu Pharma as the exclusive distributors of Grifols albumin in mainland China. To support the agency business, Shanghai Raas issues bank comfort letters (carrying substantive guarantee effect) to Grifols each year, providing joint and several liability guarantees for the payment obligations of Anhui Tonglu Pharma. For 2026, the total guarantee limit is set at 339 million USD, meaning the listed company effectively assumes all channel receivables risk for the distribution business.
Strained by its own debt pressures and a short-seller crisis, Grifols initiated a global asset divestment plan in 2023, with its controlling stake in the Chinese market becoming a disposal target. In December 2023, Grifols transferred 20% of its Shanghai Raas shares to the Haier Group, delegating the voting rights of the remaining 6.58% to Haier while retaining only the economic benefits of those shares.
After Haier took over Shanghai Raas, no changes were made to the existing guarantee and distribution arrangements. In the prior industry environment, blood products had strong essential-demand characteristics, and payment collections were stable, making the actual risk of these guarantees negligible. Haier effectively traded a low-probability, hidden risk for smooth control transition and a stable core business—a seemingly prudent bargain.
The problem is that the dramatic industry shifts in 2026—the VAT reform, medical insurance cost controls, and demand contraction converging simultaneously—have lengthened hospital payment cycles and sharply increased channel funding pressure. The bad debt risk once considered nearly zero is now steadily accumulating through the industry's downcycle. Half-year data shows Shanghai Raas's accounts receivable stood at 2.043 billion yuan, up 1.87% year-on-year—an increase despite a nearly 20% drop in revenue. Meanwhile, the accounts receivable turnover days have stretched dramatically from 32.41 days in the same period of 2024 and 77.52 days in 2025 to 108.94 days, hitting a record high.
The halved stock price has produced paper losses of nearly 6.4 billion yuan, the VAT reform and medical insurance cost controls are squeezing margins with earnings in persistent decline, 8.2 billion yuan in goodwill hangs overhead, and extended receivable cycles are elevating the risk of hidden guarantees. Just two years after the control acquisition was completed, the Haier Group finds itself encircled by multiple pressures. The healthcare strategy that once held such promise is now facing its most severe cyclical test.