Orion Group Becomes Largest Shareholder in LegoChem Biosciences with $418M Investment to Enter ADC Market

January 15On [date], South Korean confectionery company Orion Group (Orion) will invest 550 billion won (He4.18 billion U.S. dollars (approximately 3 billion yuan) to acquire a 25.7% stake in LegoChem Biosciences, becoming the largest shareholder of this NASDAQ-listed biotechnology company.

This transaction wasLed by Orion’s Hong Kong subsidiary, Pan Orion Corp., the transaction involves a combination of a rights issue and share purchases. According to electronic disclosures filed with the Financial Supervisory Service, Orion will acquire 7.96 million new shares at KRW 59,000 per share and simultaneously purchase 1.4 million existing shares at a floor price of KRW 56,186 per share. This makes Orion the largest shareholder, holding a 25.7% stake. The investment funds are scheduled to be paid on March 29.

Post-acquisition,LegoChem Biosciences will become a subsidiary of Orion, retaining its current management and operations. Both parties stated that the transaction not only marks a deeper foray into the biotechnology sector by Orion, which entered the field in 2020, but also aims to support LegoChem Biosciences by providing the necessary financial impetus for clinical development and facilitating research into new technologies.

LEGO Kim Yong-joo (phonetic), Representative Director of LigaChem Biosciences, commented on the background of this agreement: “We believed that securing a majority shareholder with more than 20% equity was necessary for stable future operations, and thus we had been seeking a suitable partner. Given Orion’s thorough understanding of the specialized pharmaceutical R&D industry, as well as its respect for the management team, operational systems, and organizational culture that have led the company over the past 18 years, we consider Orion to be the ideal partner for our future growth.”

Earlier,LegoChem Biosciences has formulated an aggressive strategy aimed at achieving its mid-to-long-term development goals (2030) ahead of schedule, by identifying more than five candidate materials annually and establishing at least five additional clinical-stage pipelines within five years. Leveraging the funds secured through this agreement, the company will pursue more advanced research and development than ever before, striving to rapidly ascend into the ranks of the world’s leading ADC companies.

Monday, Vice Chairman of Orion GroupHur Inn-chul and Kim Yong-zu, CEO of LegoChem Biosciences, signed a share transfer agreement, formally bringing the accord into effect by committing to make every effort through collaborative initiatives to build a global pharmaceutical company.

SinceSince its founding in 1956, Orion has been a leader in South Korea’s confectionery industry. Guided by its founding spirit and motto, “When making food for the people, it must be done from the heart,” the company has launched numerous popular products. As it expands globally, Orion will continue to innovate and rapidly evolve into a global supplier as a comprehensive food and healthcare company.

LegoChem Biosciences is aLocated in South KoreaA research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to the global development of novel drugs based on medicinal chemistry.LegoChemistry leverages its research team’s expertise in new drug development and proprietary technologies to establish multiple drug development pipelines with global potential, utilizing over 20 unique chemical scaffolds with drug-like properties.

Since 2020, LegoChem Biosciences has entered into multiple collaboration agreements with global biotechnology companies, including Janssen Biotech, BostonGene, Elthera AG, SOTIO Biotech, NextCure, Glycotope, Harbin Pharmaceuticals Group (HBM), DualityBiologics, Antengene Corporation, Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, WuXi XDC, WuXi AppTec, Pyxis Oncology, CStone Pharmaceuticals, and Iksuda Therapeutics.

Furthermore,LegoChem Biosciences also has a presence in the small-molecule drug sector.

As a company listed on the main board of the South Korean stock market, Orion Holdings was established inEstablished in 1956, it is one of South Korea’s three major food companies and entered the Chinese market in the 1990s. In 2020, Orion Group focused on leveraging biotechnology as a new growth engine, expanding its business lines from food to healthcare solutions aimed at improving quality of life.

In March 2021, we partnered with Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical Group to jointly establish Shandong Lukang Haoliyou Biotechnology Development Co., Ltd. Through this joint venture, we are introducing promising biotechnologies and commercializing them in China. Haoliyou Biotechnology focuses on in vitro diagnostics for the early detection of serious cancers (the most common cancers in China) as well as infectious disease vaccines. Looking ahead, we plan to expand our business into synthetic pharmaceuticals and new drug development.

In May 2021, Lukang Haoliyou Biotechnology, a subsidiary of the company, formally signed a technology licensing agreement with Genomictree, a South Korean enterprise specializing in the research and development of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) reagents for early cancer detection, concerning its colorectal cancer IVD reagent products. Genomictree will provide support for clinical trials and regulatory registration in China, along with relevant technical assistance, until the successful commercialization of the colorectal cancer IVD reagent products. This technology licensing agreement marks the beginning of a significantly accelerated market entry process for these colorectal cancer IVD products in China.