Diamond Biofund, a subsidiary of Microbio, announced jointly with Microbio last night (24th) that, in accordance with its commitment made during its IPO application, it has approved a resolution via its audit committee and board of directors to divest its 26,691,358 shares in Oneness Biotech through a block trade transaction. The shares were sold at a price above TWD 125 per share. The planned buyers are Microbio and two long-term international institutional investors.
The transaction amount, based on the entire divestment of Diamond’s Oneness shares, is estimated at TWD 3.336 billion, with a profit of TWD 2.059 billion. Microbio’s acquisition amount is capped at TWD 1 billion, representing around 30% of the total transaction value, while the two funds from Europe and Asia will each invest TWD 1.168 billion, accounting for 35% each of the transaction.
At Oneness’ closing price of TWD 138 per share yesterday, Diamond's divestment carries a discount rate of no more than 9.4%. Diamond Biofund was previously the third-largest shareholder in Oneness Biotech, holding around 5.6% of shares, following Microbio and the Fubon Group.
Following this transaction, Microbio will increase its stake in Oneness by 1.6%, raising its overall ownership to over 21%, while the two international funds will each hold around 2%, becoming the third and fourth-largest shareholders in Oneness. These overseas funds have chosen to invest based on their positive outlook on Oneness Biotech’s future market potential for global commercialization of its new drug portfolio and the promising pipeline of its innovative drugs.
Diamond Biofund explained that one of the transaction parties, Microbio, is an affiliated company that already has a substantial holding in Oneness, recognizing its value and growth potential. Choosing Microbio as a transaction partner aligns with Diamond Biofund’s “friendly and quiet” exit strategy. The two international investors are also making the investment with a long-term perspective. The transaction price is consistent with the pricing for the institutional investors in this block trade. Diamond Biofund plans to reinvest the proceeds into globally competitive biotech and pharmaceutical projects domestically and abroad to maximize shareholder value.
Microbio added that Oneness Biotech, under the equity method, is an affiliated company, in which it previously held a 19.67% stake. Oneness Biotech has made notable progress in recent operations, including international commercialization of a novel drug for diabetic foot ulcers and successful unblinding of a Phase II trial for the nucleic acid drug SNS812 targeting COVID-19 variants. Other promising products include the weight loss drug SNS851, and two innovative first-in-class (FIC) nucleic acid anti-infective drugs, SNS611 and SNS612, positioning Oneness as a potentially competitive global player in nucleic acid therapeutics.
Microbio noted that it anticipates increasing revenue and licensing potential from Oneness, which presents significant growth in profitability. This is expected to enhance Microbio’s investment returns. Utilizing the opportunity of Diamond Biofund’s release of Oneness shares, Microbio increased its stake through a block trade within regulatory limits and self-financed resources.
Resource (mandarin): 鑽石投資出清合一持股 中天生技及兩家國際投資機構吃下
