KL& Partners, a Korean private equity firm, is in advanced talks to acquire Boryung Biopharma for an undisclosed sum.
If the deal is finalized, it will mark approximately nine months since Boryung Biopharma was first put up for sale in February.
According to industry sources, KL& Partners Consortium was selected as the preferred bidder last month. As the consortium has been selected as the preferred bidder, it is in the final stages of discussions for the acquisition.
The acquisition price is said to be approximately 400 billion won ($296.7 million), with KL& Partners planning to bear 140 billion won of the total cost in partnership with strategic investors (SI).
KL& Partners is the third preferred bidder selected by Boryung for the sale of Boryung Biopharma after Boryung appointed Samil PwC as the lead organizer for the sale last year.
The sale involves a 100 percent stake in Boryung Biopharma, including shares held by Boryung Partners (69.29 percent), Boryung CEO Jay Kim (1.78 percent), and all other stakes held by investors such as Shinhan Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Securities.
Earlier in February, Dongwon Industries had expressed interest by submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the preliminary bidding for Boryung Biopharma's management rights.
However, the acquisition merger was abandoned when Dongwon announced its intention to withdraw. During this period, although Boryung Biopharma had aspired to secure over 600 billion won for the sale, the negotiations were ultimately terminated due to the inability to bridge the differences with Dongwon Industries.
In June, Fine Investment Corp. was designated as the preferred bidder. However, disagreements over the sale price and challenges in fundraising again ultimately led to the acquisition's collapse.
Subsequent interest from various companies in acquiring Boryeong Biopharma was reported, but none progressed to the preferred bidder phase, until the recent selection of KL& Partners Consortium.
KL& Partners, founded in June 2015 by former finance ministry official Kim Ki-hyun, has previously invested in companies like chicken burger chain Mom's Touch, Gayasan Mineral Water, The E&M, and Cosmo & Company. Within the biotech sector, the firm invested in EuBiologics, a vaccine maker.
Post-acquisition of Boryung Biopharma, KL& Partners is believed to be planning an initial public offering (IPO).
"We will be able to disclose specific details regarding the sale of Boryung Biopharma in due course," a Boryung official told Korea Biomedical Review.
Established in 1991, Boryung Biopharma is an affiliate of Boryung Group, developing vaccines and new drugs.
Boryung Biopharma is known for developing Korea's first oral typhoid vaccine, and the company is ranked third in the domestic vaccine industry in terms of sales.
It also produces eight of the 18 vaccines listed in the National Immunization Program (NIP), enabling it to record stable sales every year.
In addition to vaccines, the company has a diverse portfolio of specialty drugs, diagnostic kits, cord blood, genetic tests, and fluids.
The company has built a strong sales infrastructure centered on local and general hospitals.
As a result, Boryung Biopharma has been experiencing solid growth in recent years. In 2022, Boryung Biopharma's sales and operating profit, based on separate financial statements, was 158.9 billion won and 21.9 billion won, up 14.27 and 6.3 percent compared to the previous year.