Chinese enterprise acquires antibiotic giant Imexpharm

According to a recent report, Lian SGP Holding bought more than 104.5 million IMP shares of Imexpharm Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company. This transaction helps foreign shareholders own 67.87% of charter capital, thereby holding important controlling power.

Previously, in mid-January, Imexpharm received a public offer to buy more than 120 million shares from Lian SGP Holding, equivalent to nearly 78% of capital. Compared to the initial registered amount, foreign shareholders bought about 15.5 million fewer shares.

With the offering price of 57,400 VND per share, the total deal value is estimated at nearly 6,000 billion VND. This level is 22.5% higher than IMP’s closing market price today. Calculated based on the asking price, Imexpharm is valued at about 8,842 billion VND (equivalent to more than 338 million USD).

Lian SGP Holding is a subsidiary of Livzon Pharmaceutical Group (China). This group was founded in 1985, headquartered in China. This is a large pharmaceutical corporation specializing in research, development, production and sales of modern medicines, biopharmaceuticals, oriental medicine, raw materials and diagnostic equipment. Their operating network is widespread throughout the country and in more than 30 countries such as the US, Europe, Japan, Korea or Southeast Asia.

Imexpharm has been operating for nearly 49 years, used to be a state-owned enterprise under Vietnam Pharmaceutical Corporation (Vinapharm), then equitized in the early 2000s. IMP in turn “caught the eye” of many large investors such as Dragon Capital, VinaCapital and SK Group, gradually becoming a “giant” in the domestic pharmaceutical industry.

The company is currently a manufacturing partner of major pharmaceutical companies such as Sandoz Group AG, Pharmascience Inc (Canada) and Sanofi SA. This enterprise is the leader in the production and distribution of antibiotics, accounting for 10% of the country’s market share by 2025.

At the annual meeting at the end of April, CEO Tran Thi Dao assessed that Livzon has very strong research and development (R&D) capacity. Manufacturing facilities and products all meet strict quality management standards, and some injectable drugs have been approved for circulation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This confirms their competitiveness in the global pharmaceutical market.

Ms. Dao also said that when investing in Imexpharm, Livzon is committed to maintaining a stable production and business strategy, while expanding the portfolio of high-tech products on existing lines. “Livzon’s participation as a strategic investor will help Imexpharm improve its R&D capacity, access and transfer advanced technologies in new treatment areas, thereby enhancing competitiveness,” she said.

In this transaction, the identity of the seller was not announced. However, last year, Livzon Pharmaceutical Group said it planned to buy back Imexpharm shares with the seller SK Investment (part of SK Group), Binh Minh Investment Joint Stock Company and KBA Investment Joint Stock Company.

According to a report in mid-March, FPT Securities (FPTS) revealed that a new group of shareholders will run the business from the second quarter. FPTS believes that Livzon becoming a major shareholder of IMP will help businesses take advantage of this group’s scale and brand to expand domestic and export markets. At the same time, Livzon has experience in manufacturing high-tech products and API active ingredients that can support Imexpharm in optimizing production costs and increasing the proportion of high-value products.

This year, IMP sets a revenue target of 3,200 billion VND, an increase of nearly 10% compared to the previous year. Pre-tax profit is expected to reach 502 billion VND, an improvement of 12.5%. If estimates are correct, Imexpharm will have the highest profit in history.