[Market Focus] Bridge Biotherapeutics Hits Upper Limit on News of U.S. Hedge Fund Acquisition

As of 9:10 a.m. on June 23, Bridge Biotherapeutics was trading at 1,225 won on the KOSDAQ market, up 29.9% from the previous session's closing price. This surge appears to be due to an announcement made on the evening of June 20, stating that the company's largest shareholder would change to a U.S. hedge fund. Previously, Bridge Biotherapeutics was designated as an administrative issue in March for failing to resolve its loss from continuing operations before corporate tax, and in April, the share price plummeted after its core pipeline BBT-877 failed to meet its primary endpoint in Phase 2 clinical trials.

On June 20, Bridge Biotherapeutics announced that it had decided to raise a total of 25 billion won through a third-party paid-in capital increase and the issuance of unsecured convertible bonds, targeting Parataxis Korea Fund and others, in order to secure operating and other funds.

As a result of this capital increase, the largest shareholder is set to change from the current CEO Lee Jungkyu to Parataxis Korea Fund. Parataxis Korea Fund is known as a special purpose company (SPC) under Parataxis Holdings, which is an affiliate of Parataxis Capital Management, a U.S. hedge fund specializing in virtual assets founded in New York in 2019 by CEO Edward Chin.

While Bridge Biotherapeutics will maintain its status as a KOSDAQ-listed company, its name will be changed to 'Parataxis Korea.' Andrew Kim, a partner at Parataxis Capital Management (PCM), an affiliate of Parataxis Holdings, is expected to be appointed as the company's new CEO.

Given that Parataxis views this deal as marking the official launch of a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury platform (a strategy of holding Bitcoin as a corporate asset) in the Korean stock market, it is expected that the bio business will become a lower priority.

Edward Chin, CEO of Parataxis, stated, "We are very pleased to establish Korea's first BTC treasury company based on a platform that meets institutional investment standards," adding, "Considering the strategic value and limited supply of BTC on a global scale, establishing a company like Parataxis Korea and accumulating BTC as a financial asset will benefit not only shareholders but also the Korean market in the long term."

Meanwhile, Lee Jungkyu will continue to lead the core bio business and serve as a member of the board of directors. The company stated, "We plan to continue focusing on business development activities for our key clinical projects, including BBT-877 currently under development, with core personnel from the bio business division led by Lee Jungkyu."

Bridge Biotherapeutics' detailed future business plans are expected to be confirmed after the shareholders' meeting scheduled for August.