SK, SK Pharmteco Select Brain Asset Management as 'Pre-IPO' Negotiation Partner

SK Inc. announced on the 18th that it has selected Brain Asset Management as the preferred negotiation partner for the growth capital raising (pre-IPO) of its active pharmaceutical ingredient contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) subsidiary, SK Pharmteco. The investment scale is approximately $500 million, equivalent to about 630 billion KRW.

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SK Inc., which holds 100% of SK Pharmteco's shares, selected Brain Asset Management as the preferred negotiation partner by offering the optimal conditions for SK Pharmteco's mid- to long-term development in terms of △investment scale and conditions △strategic direction as a business partner, and plans to continue negotiations going forward. Since March, SK Inc. has been conducting a competitive bidding process over about four months, starting with meetings with potential investors and including due diligence at its U.S. facilities.

Through this capital raising, SK Pharmteco plans to accelerate its global business centered on the U.S. and Europe and strengthen its competitiveness in the cell and gene therapy (CGT) field, which it is promoting as a new growth engine. It also aims to secure technology and expand production capabilities in rapidly growing innovative therapeutic areas such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADC).

To expand its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business, SK Inc. acquired Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS) Ireland plant (now SK Biotech Ireland) in 2017, and acquired the U.S. CDMO AMPAC in 2018, thereby establishing a global production system.

In 2019, SK Inc. integrated AMPAC, SK Biotech Ireland, and the domestic SK Biotech production corporation to create the global CDMO integrated corporation SK Pharmteco, aiming to generate synergy.

SK Pharmteco entered the cell and gene therapy CDMO field by acquiring the French cell and gene therapy CDMO company Iposketch in 2021 and investing in the U.S. cell and gene therapy CDMO company 'CBM' last year.

SK Inc. explained, "Once negotiations are completed, we plan to finalize the execution of SK Pharmteco’s growth capital through Brain Asset Management’s funding."

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