As the shareholders' meeting season approaches, the flurry of equity movements in the biotech industry over the past year has drawn attention. According to statistics, at least ten companies have undergone mergers, acquisitions, or attracted strategic investors in the past year. The hottest topic this year is Ding Yu Health and Taipei Muse proposed acquisition of 25%-35% equity in T.L.Biotech at NT$16.8 per share. ApexBio, on the other hand, received investments from Catcher Tech and Sanyang, making the upcoming shareholder meeting and director election on April 30 a highly anticipated event.
Of note, Creative Life Science, which focuses on microbiological testing, recently completed a private placement of NT$204 million, attracting investments from Bora, ONYX Healthcare, and BioLASCO, among others. The biotech industry has become a new target for various players seeking to secure positions.
Since the beginning of the year, four companies have experienced changes in their equity structure, including Haozhan and ApexBio. Haozhan caused a stir by unexpectedly announcing in January its intention to launch a public takeover bid for 5%-20% of its shares at NT$42 per share.
To prevent its equity from falling into others' hands, Haozhan's board urgently decided to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on February 23 to advance the director election and propose a private placement of 12 million shares. Eventually, Zhenzan acquired a 6.478% stake. Currently, operational control remains unchanged, but further developments are being closely monitored.
Another major development occurred at ApexBio, which received investments from Sanyang and Catcher Tech. By the end of last year, Catcher Tech's holding company held a 9.9% stake, surpassing ApexBio Chairman Shen Yanshi's 9.74%, making it the largest institutional shareholder. Sanyang's stake also exceeded 6%. Both parties are bullish on ApexBio' continued expansion. Additionally, with Shen Yanshi's advanced age, the potential changes in the board of directors election this year have become a hot topic in the biotech industry.
As for T.L.Biotech, which is subject to a public takeover bid, Ding Yu Health and Taipei Muse are planning to acquire or invest in it. The deadline for the offer is April 23, making the outcome a focal point in the market.
According to statistics, since 2023, excluding overseas investment cases, the largest transaction in the biotech industry was Polaris-KY's acquisition of Genovior Biotech for NT$2 billion. As Genovior Biotech ventures into weight-loss drugs and peptide fields, developing Semaglutide (Slimming Needle) to target commercialization by the end of 2024, Polaris will pivot with cancer drugs and peptide products as dual engines. Genovior Biotech 's founder, Zhan-Ping Hsu, also serves as Polaris' CEO.
Cell therapy stock UnicoCell attracted the attention of the E-united Group, with Yieh Phui Enterprise participating in a private placement through Shin Yang Steel to acquire a 14.45% stake at NT$26 per share, totaling NT$208 million, giving UnicoCell a "wealthy father."
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