Amicogen, a bio-materials and healthcare specialized company (CEO Park Cheol), announced that it will sell its stake in its subsidiary Amicogen (China) Biopharm Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Amicogen China) for the purpose of listing on the Chinese stock market and securing liquidity. Considering the overall effect of this stake sale and the listing of the remaining shares on the Chinese stock market, a capital inflow of more than 100 billion KRW is expected.
An Amicogen official stated, “The stake to be sold is 48.78%, and the total sale price amounts to approximately 54 billion KRW. Of this, about 33 billion KRW will be received in the first phase by December this year, and the remaining balance will be received in the first half of 2025.” He added, “Through this sale, we have strengthened financial stability and secured liquidity necessary for new business promotion. This will allow us to focus more on high value-added new businesses such as pharmaceutical special enzymes, healthcare materials, bio-pharmaceutical media, resins, ligands, and enzyme pharmaceuticals, which are our core businesses.”
After the stake sale, Amicogen will still hold 14.36% of the shares and plans to maintain close cooperation with Amicogen China in the special enzyme and resin business sectors.
With the acceleration of Amicogen China’s listing on the Chinese stock market due to this sale, the value of the remaining shares is also expected to rise significantly. The company expects the value of the remaining shares after listing to be evaluated at approximately 50 billion KRW or more.
This stake adjustment is an essential measure for Amicogen China’s listing on the Chinese stock market. Under the current structure, it is difficult to list if a foreigner (Korean) is the largest shareholder, so it was necessary to change the largest shareholder to a Chinese person to resolve this issue. If Amicogen China is listed on the Chinese stock market, an increase in the value of the remaining shares can also be expected.
Additionally, Amicogen has been able to expand its business beyond the China-centered special enzyme business for antibiotics and APIs to Europe, the United States, Japan, India, and other regions, and transform its business structure into a bio-pharmaceutical materials business with high value-added bio-pharmaceutical enzymes, ligands, media, resins, and healthcare new materials.
Park Cheol, CEO of Amicogen, said, “The sale of Amicogen China can be seen as the culmination of our liquidity securing plan. The funds inflow from this sale will not only stabilize the company’s finances but also give momentum to new businesses such as media and resins.” He added, “Moreover, the timeline for Amicogen China’s listing will accelerate after the stake sale, and considering the value of the remaining shares after listing, the liquidity securing effect from this sale is expected to exceed 100 billion KRW.”
He continued, “Based on stable liquidity, we will focus on expanding our core businesses of enzyme bio-pharmaceuticals and healthcare, as well as accelerating new businesses such as essential bio-pharmaceutical materials media and resin businesses to enhance corporate value.”
Amicogen is currently restructuring its business by selling and liquidating non-core businesses and subsidiaries. The strategy is to focus on core businesses while streamlining the organization and improving operational efficiency to maximize liquidity and profitability.
The secured funds will be strategically invested in key business sectors. The enzyme bio-pharmaceutical division will focus on strengthening competitiveness of special enzyme products and expanding new pipelines such as Green API (enzymes for cephalosporin antibiotic synthesis), Green NAG, ligand proteins, and enzymes for bioprocessing. The healthcare division plans to enhance global competitiveness through overseas market entry and individual recognition-type raw material approvals. The essential bio-pharmaceutical materials business aims to quickly enter the market by securing large-scale pilot production, process stability, raw materials, and manpower.
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