[Market Focus] HLB Life Science Rises on News of Merger Approval with HLB

As of 9:22 a.m. on July 11, HLB Life Science was trading at 5,080 won on the KOSDAQ market, up 9.01% from the previous day's closing price. This appears to be due to the announcement that the merger plan between HLB and HLB Life Science was approved at the HLB Life Science extraordinary shareholders' meeting the previous day.

On July 10, HLB Life Science announced that the merger plan was approved through a vote on the merger agreement at the extraordinary shareholders' meeting held at Ramada Dongtan Hotel in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Of all common shares, 34% of the issued shares participated in the vote, and over 97% voted in favor of the merger proposal.

The merger ratio between HLB and HLB Life Science is 1 to 0.1167458. HLB Life Science will complete the merger on September 1, following the exercise period for appraisal rights, which runs until July 30.

HLB Group explained that by integrating the new drug development and healthcare businesses of HLB and HLB Life Science, it can achieve not only financial benefits but also greater management efficiency. The anticancer substance development capabilities centered at the HLB Life Science Dongtan New Drug Research Center will be combined with HLB, enhancing research and development (R&D) efficiency. In addition, the rights and revenue entitlements for Rivoceranib, which were previously distributed between HLB and HLB Life Science, will be unified.