HLB has entered the finishing stage of splitting off its ship business sector.

The company said Thursday that it has completed the procedure for its shareholders exercising claims for stock purchase to split off HLB ENG, its ship business unit.

“The buyback request procedure ended without any accidents, which could have been the biggest variable in the split off,” an HLB official said.

If the buyback requests from shareholders opposing the split-off had exceeded 5 billion won ($3.7 million), the company might have withdrawn the split-off decision. However, the number of shares requested to be bought back had remained small until Wednesday, the official added.

A split-off is a corporate reorganization method in which a parent company divests a business unit using specific structured terms. The parent company offers shareholders the option to keep their current shares or exchange them for shares of the divesting company. Minority shareholders have the right to demand that the company appraise and repurchase their shares.

HLB decided to split off its ship business sector in February to focus on the bio business.

The company will wrap up all procedures on May 19. HLB ENG will be a non-listed company 100 percent owned by HLB. On Monday, HLB also relocated its headquarters office from Ulsan to Sejong.

The company plans to apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approving rivoceranib as the primary treatment of liver cancer next month. Simultaneously with submitting the application, it will begin preparations to manufacture and commercialize the therapy and sell it immediately.

“As the company transformed itself into a bio company, our shares will also gain momentum for further rises with the influx of bio funds,” the official said. “We will grow into a global bio company by producing results in following pipelines, too.”