OCI, a leading energy and chemical company, signs a stock purchase agreement to invest KRW 146.1 billion ($122 million) in Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., to acquire a share in the company, thereby accelerating its penetration into the pharmaceutical and biotech sector, which it has designated as one of its future new business areas.

 

On February 22, OCI (CEOs Baik Woo-Sug, Lee Woohyun, Kim Teak Joung) announced that it had signed a stock purchase agreement worth KRW 146.1 billion to acquire 7.73 million shares of Bukwang Pharmaceutical held by an affiliated person and the company's largest shareholder (CEO Yoo Hee Won). With this investment, OCI will own about 11% of shares issued by Bukwang Pharmaceutical, securing the largest shareholder status. Through a shareholders' agreement, OCI laid the groundwork for shared responsibility, ensuring business collaboration with Bukwang Pharmaceutical on important managerial decisions such as new product development, investment decision-making, and large borrowings. 

 

OCI and Bukwang Pharmaceutical have accumulated experience in joint management and investment cooperation through BNO Bio, a joint venture established in 2018, which allowed OCI to ascertain the ability and future growth potential of Bukwang Pharmaceutical to develop new drugs. 

 

Established in 1960, Bukwang Pharmaceutical is specialized in the R&D, production, and marketing of drugs, with a particular focus on R&D. Relying on an open innovation model to develop new drugs through strategic investment and cooperation with external partners, the company has expanded drug development pipelines mostly for the treatment of diseases of the brain (central nervous system) and oncology drugs, and maintains global partnerships with 30-odd overseas pharmaceutical firms. 

 

Since launching a Bio Business Department in 2018, OCI has made financial investments in promising biotech ventures, both domestic and foreign, and funds specialized in oncology drugs. With the investment in Bukwang Pharmaceutical, OCI can engage in various business fronts, such as the commercialization of newly developed drugs at home and abroad and the operation of diverse projects such as CMOs (Contract Manufacturing Organizations), allowing it to take a more strategic approach. 

 

Combined with the global chemical capabilities, corporate management expertise, and funds OCI has accumulated for over 60 years as an energy and chemical business, the strength of Bukwang Pharmaceutical in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors is expected to generate robust synergy. In addition, OCI's participation in joint management will further stimulate the strategic investments of Bukwang Pharmaceutical and drive rapid growth in pharmaceuticals and biotech.

 

OCI is a global leader in polysilicon, a core material for solar PVs. The company successfully developed polysilicon for the first time in Korea in 2008 and has cultivated ultra-purity and the precision production technology and expertise to produce an ultra-high-purity polysilicon product for semiconductors with the purity of over 11N. In addition, OCI has accumulated chemical business experience by producing agricultural chemicals and chemical reagents, and more recently, has been diversifying its business portfolios into high value-added, high-tech, and eco-friendly material sectors, such as semiconductors and rechargeable batteries. 

 

OCI Vice Chairman Lee Woohyun said, "This is a meaningful move in laying a foundation for R&D in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors through equity investment in Bukwang Pharmaceutical, and as we advance, OCI will explore synergy to grow Bukwang Pharmaceutical into a global leading pharmaceutical and biotech company.