Samsung Biologics said it would purchase a land site to construct its fifth and sixth plants in Songdo, Incheon.
In a public filing on Tuesday, the company said it planned to buy “Songdo International City High-tech Industrial Cluster (C)) (430 Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon)” from the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) for about 426 billion won ($351.4 million).
According to the IFEZ’s notice on the supply of industrial facilities, the site area is 357,366 m². Its building-to-land ratio is 60 percent or less, the floor area ratio is 250 percent or less, and its building height is 60 meters or less.
“This is to purchase a site for a second Bio Campus. Our company was selected as a preferred bidder. We are negotiating to conclude a land purchase agreement,” Samsung Biologics said.
The company plans to clinch the land purchasing deal in April, according to the disclosure. Upon the full payment for the purchase, the company will acquire the land on April 30, 2025.
Early this year, Samsung Biologics said it would start constructing a multi-modal Plant 5 in 2022 to produce mRNA utilizing vaccines and cell and gene therapies at a single site.
Also, the company said it would secure additional land in Songdo to build Plant 6 to mass-produce antibody drugs and the Open Innovation Center.
On Tuesday, the company held the 11th general shareholders’ meeting at the Incheon Global Campus in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. More than 1,500 shareholders participated in the in-person and virtual meetings.
At the shareholders’ meeting, five agendas were passed -- approval of the financial statements, the appointment of directors, the appointment of an outsider director as a member of the audit committee, appointment of members of the audit committee, and approval of the remuneration limit for directors.
Bahk Jae-wan, president of Hansun Foundation, and Lee Chang-woo, a Seoul National University Business School professor, were newly appointed as outside directors. Outside director Heo Geun-nyeong and inside director Kim Dong-joong were reappointed.
In an address to the shareholders, Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim said the company would “become a global comprehensive bio company through intensive investment in portfolio expansion, human resource nurturing, and process innovation."