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Samsung Biologics is moving to acquire PolyPeptide Group AG, a Swiss peptide contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). The move is seen as a strategy to strengthen its global CDMO competitiveness by expanding its antibody-focused business portfolio, as the market for peptide drugs, including obesity treatments, grows rapidly.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 20th, Samsung Biologics disclosed that it had decided to acquire shares and equity securities of PolyPeptide Group. The company plans to secure a 100% stake (33,016,411 shares) through a tender offer, with the acquisition amount totaling about 2.7062 trillion won. The transaction is scheduled for November 30.
PolyPeptide Group, the acquisition target, is a global peptide CDMO headquartered in Switzerland. It currently operates six production sites and a research and development (R&D) center across five countries, including in Europe, the United States, and India, and is regarded as a global leader with a track record of more than 1,000 peptide therapeutic development and production projects.
Peptides are substances made of short chains of amino acids, and production demand has been rising rapidly as development of treatments for metabolic and rare diseases, including GLP-1 class obesity drugs, expands. The industry expects that through this acquisition, Samsung Biologics will secure peptide production capabilities on top of its existing antibody drugs and antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), broadening the range of CDMO services it can offer to clients.
Through this acquisition, Samsung Biologics plans to enhance its business competitiveness by combining its existing antibody drug production and operation capabilities with PolyPeptide's development and production technology. It also plans to assume PolyPeptide's ongoing CDMO contracts immediately after the acquisition, continuing production and supply.
The transaction will be carried out through a tender offer. Draupnir Holding B.V., the largest shareholder, has committed to tendering its entire 55.65% stake. However, for the tender offer to succeed, at least 66.7% of all issued shares must be tendered. Samsung Biologics plans to fund part of the tender offer amount through borrowings, with specific financing plans to be finalized and disclosed later.
John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics, emphasized, "This acquisition will serve as an opportunity to raise Samsung Biologics' competitiveness to another level in terms of production capacity, business portfolio, and global footprint," adding, "By combining the capabilities of both companies, we will provide broader and more competitive services to our clients."
