Enhancing Corporate and Shareholder Value
On June 23, Ildong Holdings announced that it would sell a portion of its stake in its affiliate, Ildong Bioscience, to institutional investors, including the IBK Kiwoom Business Restructuring Private Equity Fund.
The stock transaction involves 3.81 million shares, equivalent to 47.6% of the total issued shares, amounting to approximately KRW 30 billion. Of this, KRW 12 billion for the first installment will be received within this month, while the remaining second installment will be settled by the end of next month.
An official from Ildong Holdings explained that this equity investment, utilizing shares of Ildong Bioscience, is intended to enhance corporate and shareholder value, as well as to secure funds necessary for the operation and business development of its affiliates.
Through this investment, Ildong Holdings aims to have the value of its affiliate assessed in the capital market and to attract pre-investment from external institutions. The company intends to use this as an opportunity to facilitate the planned initial public offering (IPO) of Ildong Bioscience in the future.
Ildong Bioscience is a company specializing in health functional foods and related raw materials and ingredients. It was established in 2016 as an affiliate of Ildong Holdings, following a spin-off from Ildong Pharmaceutical.
In particular, the company possesses proprietary technologies and patents in the fields of probiotics and postbiotics, state-of-the-art dedicated manufacturing facilities of the highest standard in Korea, and a robust business infrastructure and competitiveness, including a vast database of over 5,000 strains.
Additionally, Ildong Bioscience is actively targeting domestic and overseas markets by leveraging functional ingredients and materials such as more than 20 types of self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) probiotics in the United States, as well as the first individually recognized postbiotics by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korea for improving skin immunity and blood cholesterol.
Ildong Holdings plans to attract investment in Ildong Bioscience and meet listing requirements, aiming for an IPO in 2028.
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