April 19, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and US-based Biogen, will issue new shares worth 220 billion won (US$187.45 million) for existing shareholders to reduce debt and improve its capital structure, the firm said Nov. 22. 

According to the biosimilar developer’s regulatory filing, the new shares will be offered at a price of 50,000 won. The offer will be open during the trading session on Dec. 21.

The company will offer 4,385,820 new ordinary shares to the existing shareholders -- Samsung BioLogics, the drug-making arm of Samsung Group, and biotech firm Biogen which hold a 91.2 percent and 8.8 percent stake in Bioepis, respectively.

Samsung BioLogics confirmed it intends to back Bioepis’ capital increase.

BioLogics, which issued a 2.25 trillion won initial public offering in early November, said it will earmark some 400 billion won it raised from the offering into its subsidiary Bioepis.

“BioLogics plans to take part in Bioepis’ capital increase planned for December this year and June next year and we will invest 200 billion won for each offering,” the firm said in a filing.

But the second largest shareholder Biogen hasn’t expressed its interest to participate in the increase of share capital. Biogen could not be reached for immediate comment.

The move comes as Bioepis has been logging losses due to growing marketing expenses for its biosimilar versions of Enbrel, Remicade as well as R&D cost for new pipeline that weighed on its balance sheet.

“Financing its own R&D expenditure seems to be a difficult task for Bioepis,” said Seo Keun-hee, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)