April 16, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] CJ Group said on Nov. 3 it will sell off its 34-year-old pharmaceutical affiliate CJ Healthcare.

Morgan Stanley has been named the underwriter for the sale that industry watchers expect to exceed 1 trillion won (US$898.87 million), the affiliate’s estimated market cap when it sought stock market listing early last year. The flotation was postponed at the time due to unfavorable market conditions.

CJ officials said no specific sale discussions are in progress and that the company is open to all possibilities. The underwriter is due to provide corporate information next week to key investors.

CJ Cheiljedang, the foods business of the group, had launched the pharmaceutical affiliate in 1984 through acquisitions of local companies. CJ Healthcare was split off in 2014. The company, which mainly produced generic drugs, logged 520.8 billion won in sales last year with operational profit of 67.9 billion won and net profit of 46.9 billion won.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)