Celltrion Group said the exercise amount for the share buy-back related to the appraisal right for the merger of Celltrion and Celltrion Healthcare totaled 7.9 billion won ($5.9 million) combined for both companies.

The shares tallied due to the appraisal right were approximately 41,972 shares (about 6.3 billion won) for Celltrion and 23,786 shares (about 1.6 billion won) for Celltrion Healthcare.

The company stressed that this amounts to only 0.19 percent of the total shares, showing low opposition toward the merger for both companies.

Both companies consider the significantly smaller than initially expected size of appraisal right as an acknowledgment by the market of the future value of the integrated Celltrion after the merger.

“With the minimization of the appraisal right size, concerns within the market regarding the merger of the companies have been virtually resolved,” the company said. “As a result, the merged integrated Celltrion is expected to focus on substantial growth after its launch on Dec. 28, with reduced financial burden.”

Once the new shares are listed on Jan. 12, 2024, the merger process of both companies will be completed, it added.

Celltrion Group anticipates that through the merger, it will be able to pursue aggressive pricing strategies due to strengthened cost competitiveness, leading to expansion in sales regions and market share.

The group further expects that the growth momentum will become greater in the future with the recent success in acquiring new drug approval in the U.S. for Zymfentra, also known as Remsima SC, outside the U.S., and the smooth progress in the development and approval process for five new biosimilar pipelines to be introduced by 2025.

“With the successful conclusion of the buy-back claim related to the appraisal right, which was considered the biggest hurdle for the merger, the merger is now virtually in its final stage,” a Celltrion official said. “This means that another milestone towards achieving 12 trillion won in sales by 2030 has been reached, and growth will accelerate even further.”

With new product launches and smooth progress in pipeline development and approval, the leap to become a global big pharma through a quantum jump will also become rapidly visible, he added.