Samsung Biologics' KRW 2.7 Trillion Rights Offering Sees 97% Subscription; Funding Almost Secured

2.27 Million Common Shares at an Issue Price of KRW 1,174,000

Samsung Biologics’ KRW 2.7 trillion rights offering to fund its acquisition of global peptide contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) company Polypeptide Group has effectively entered its final stage.

A view of Samsung Biologics Plant 4 in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. The Asia Business Daily archive

On November 11, Samsung Biologics said its rights offering subscription, which was open to existing shareholders and its employee stock ownership association on November 9 and 10, attracted subscriptions for a total of 2,198,146 shares, for a subscription rate of 96.8%. The offering involves issuing 2.27 million common shares at a confirmed price of KRW 1,174,000 per share, raising a total of KRW 2.665 trillion. All proceeds will be used to acquire Polypeptide Group.

By subscription type, existing shareholders holding subscription rights applied for 1,792,716 of the 1,816,000 shares allocated to them, representing a subscription rate of 98.7%. More than 30,000 shares were also requested through oversubscription. The employee stock ownership association applied for 405,430 of the 454,000 shares preferentially allocated to it, for a subscription rate of 89.3%. The company’s largest shareholders, Samsung C&T and Samsung Electronics, also subscribed for all of their respective allocations—782,818 shares and 567,503 shares—after approval by their boards of directors.

In July, Samsung Biologics announced its acquisition of Polypeptide Group for CHF 1.46 billion, equivalent to approximately KRW 2.7 trillion at the time of the announcement. It is the largest merger and acquisition (M&A) deal in South Korea’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. In the recently completed tender offer, holders of 97.98% of the shares tendered their stakes, and the company plans to secure 100% ownership through a compulsory acquisition and other measures.

The rights offering is being conducted through a shareholder allocation followed by a public offering of unsubscribed shares. The public subscription for the remaining shares will take place on November 12 and 13, and the offering will be completed after payment for the shares on November 17 and the listing of the new shares on November 30. The underwriters will purchase any shares that remain unsubscribed after the public offering.

Samsung Biologics is expanding its business beyond existing antibody drugs, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) into the fast-growing peptide sector. The company aims to diversify its portfolio while securing a mid- to long-term growth driver.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.