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Photo: CJ |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] CJ CheilJedang has acquired the remaining stake in Dutch contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Batavia Biosciences, strengthening its control as it accelerates restructuring of its underperforming bio business.
According to industry sources on March 17, CJ CheilJedang recently purchased an additional 24.2% stake in Batavia, bringing its ownership to 100%. The company had previously acquired a 75.8% stake in 2021 for about KRW 267.7 billion as part of its entry into the cell and gene therapy (CGT) market.
At the time, CJ CheilJedang had set call and put options on the remaining shares held by Batavia Biopharma. Although these options were originally scheduled to be exercised in two phases in 2025 and 2028, the company executed them all at once to complete the acquisition ahead of schedule.
Industry observers believe the final acquisition price was lower than the initial purchase price, as Batavia has recently reported net losses and faced performance challenges.
The move is seen as an effort to improve efficiency in CJ CheilJedang’s red bio (pharmaceutical and healthcare) business and to streamline its decision-making structure.
Previously, Batavia Biopharma had filed a lawsuit in a Dutch court over board composition rights, but the dispute was resolved through an agreement prior to the additional share acquisition.
CJ CheilJedang had aimed to create synergies between microbiome drug development and CDMO operations by acquiring Batavia and CJ Bioscience in 2021. However, as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a dominant trend and growth in the CGT market has slowed, the company has been forced to adjust its strategy.
Going forward, CJ CheilJedang plans to expand Batavia’s production scope beyond CGT to include areas such as viral vector-based vaccines to improve profitability.
With full ownership secured, the company will be able to more flexibly adjust operations and investment strategies in response to changing market conditions.
CJ CheilJedang is also continuing to restructure its green bio (agriculture and feed) and white bio (eco-friendly materials) businesses. It plans to shift its lysine business toward a licensing model to diversify revenue streams and to expand its presence in the global bioplastics market by focusing on polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) as a key product.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
