A leading producer of lysine for animal feed, CJ Cheiljedang said its board backed the proposed acquisition of a 75.8% stake in Netherlands-based Batavia Biosciences for 267.7bn won ($226m or €195.3m), according to Korean media coverage, citing a regulatory filing by the firm.
CJ Cheiljedang said it will purchase 50,807 shares in Batavia including 13,007 new shares, at €3,844 euros per share.
The Dutch company’s existing major shareholder was reportedly allowed to retain management as the second-largest shareholder.
The transaction is subject to the customary approval by regulatory authorities in both countries.
The CJ Group would seem to be turning its attention back to the pharmaceutical sector, having divested its CJ Healthcare division to Kolmar Korea in 2018; it now appears to be keen to expand into the biopharmaceutical domain. In July, CJ Cheiljedang acquired ChunLab, a bioinformatics company specializing in microbiome research and development.
Batavia Biosciences, established by Janssen Pharmaceuticals researchers in 2010, is a biopharmaceutical contract development and management organization (CDMO), working on viral vaccine, viral vector, protein and antibody projects.
It is focused on early stages of product development including mammalian cell line and microbial strain generation, upstream process development, purification development, medium optimization, product characterization and clinical manufacturing. Headquartered in Leiden, The Netherlands, it also has a US-based facility in Woburn, Massachusetts, and offices in Hong Kong.