Yeon E&B T acquires 37.4% stake in Medican... "Full-scale promotion of stem cell and healthcare business"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Yeon E B&T has completed the acquisition of shares in Medican, a stem cell culture specialized company, and is set to actively enter the healthcare business utilizing stem cells.

Yeon E B&T announced on the 13th that it acquired 1.08 million shares of Medican (37.4% stake) for 27 billion KRW. The stock acquisition was conducted in the form of a substitute payment exchanging convertible bonds (CB) issued by Yeon E B&T for Medican shares. The issued convertible bonds have both a coupon rate and maturity interest rate of 0%, and the bond maturity date is 30 years from the issuance date, making it a perpetual bond.

Medican is a stem cell culture specialized company with 20 years of experience. Dr. Heeyoung Lee, President of the Korean Society for Stem Cell Therapy, leads the stem cell research and development as CEO. Medican holds more than 30 patents in the stem cell field and also owns key patents for high value-added technologies such as the ‘stem cell centrifugation method and enzyme-free substrate cell separation method.’

Medican is expected to receive approximately 470 million USD (about 530 billion KRW) in support through the Saudi Arabian government’s ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ project. As part of the ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ project, in the SKIV (Saudi-Korean Industrial Village) project, Medican plans to establish a stem cell culture production facility and operate a clinic in Yanbu, a city located in western Saudi Arabia.

Yeon E B&T plans to collaborate with Medican to establish a de-aging center (tentative name) that enables simultaneous stem cell research, culture, and treatment by utilizing stem cell extraction and culture facilities. Medican will be responsible for research and development, while Yeon E B&T will promote commercialization to expand the stem cell culture business.

A company official stated, “Together with Medican, we will lead the popularization of stem cell therapy, which has been limited in accessibility due to high treatment costs. Our core business, surface mount EMS business, has successfully turned profitable from the first quarter due to increased demand for display products such as LCD monitors, and it is expected to continue a favorable performance trend in the second quarter.”