(Yicai) June 19 -- Haier Group has received all the necessary approvals from the government and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to purchase a controlling stake in Shanghai RAAS Blood Products, a company that specializes in the supply of parts of blood used for transfusions and other medical purposes, as part of the Chinese home appliance firm's expansion into the healthcare sector.

Last December, Haier said it would buy a 20 percent stake in RAAS for CNY12.5 billion (USD1.7 billion) from Spanish pharmaceutical group Grifols. Barcelona-based Grifols has also entrusted the voting rights to its remaining 437 million shares in the firm, or 6.5 percent equity, to Haier. This gives Qingdao-based Haier 26.58 percent voting rights.

The acquisition is part of Haier’s extension into the healthcare industry. The white goods maker has already set up an industrial ecosystem in areas such as plasma and blood collection, storage, preparation, cold chain transportation and clinical applications. It is also involved in fields such as medical devices, healthcare services and high-end research equipment.

The blood product sector is highly regulated by the state, due to its critical role in protecting health and life, and RAAS is one of only around 30 blood product firms in the country. Most of them are small with a limited range of products. RAAS is one of the biggest earners, producing human albumin, human immunoglobulin, specific immunoglobulin and coagulation factors. Last year it raked in revenue of CNY8 billion (USD1.1 billion).

RAAS’ share price [SHE: 002252] closed up 0.13 percent at CNY7.74 (USD1.06) per share today.

Editor: Kim Taylor