Planned Public Offering Amount Up to Approximately KRW 1.4918 Trillion
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] SK Bioscience is entering the full-scale public offering process with the goal of listing next month.
On the 5th, SK Bioscience announced that it submitted a securities registration statement to the Financial Services Commission for listing on the KOSPI. The total number of shares to be offered is 22.95 million, with a desired offering price range of 49,000 KRW to 65,000 KRW. The expected maximum offering amount is approximately 1.4918 trillion KRW.
SK Bioscience plans to conduct demand forecasting targeting domestic and international institutional investors over two days, March 4 and 5, to finalize the offering price, followed by subscription on March 9 and 10, and complete the new listing within March. The lead underwriter for the listing is NH Investment & Securities, with Korea Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities serving as joint underwriters.
Through this listing, SK Bioscience aims to secure sustainable growth capital to leap forward as a global vaccine and bio company based on innovative technology while simultaneously enhancing shareholder value.
Specifically, the public offering funds will be used for ▲expansion of research centers and production facilities for additional CMO business such as biopharmaceuticals ▲development of new pipelines including mRNA platforms and immune enhancers ▲partnerships with foreign governments and state agencies for technology cooperation ▲and expansion of the basic vaccine portfolio.
An SK Bioscience representative said, “We will expand our product lineup and diversify our business by utilizing the R&D platform and biopharmaceutical process and production platform accumulated through vaccine development, production, and commercialization.” He added, “We will accelerate our entry into the global market with the funds raised through the listing.”
Meanwhile, SK Bioscience, a vaccine-specialized company newly established in July 2018 after spinning off from SK Chemicals, possesses excellent capabilities across the entire vaccine value chain. Recently, it has entered clinical trials for vaccines preventing COVID-19 in collaboration with domestic and international institutions such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations). It has also signed contracts to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines on consignment for global companies including AstraZeneca and Novavax.
Additionally, last month, SK Bioscience was selected as the sole executing agency for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s project on ‘Establishment and Operation of Domestic COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Management System,’ taking charge of distribution, storage, cold chain construction, and shipment management for COVID-19 vaccines entering Korea.
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