SKC Enters Biotech Business by Taking over Bioland



Company moves into bio materials business by taking over Bioland, accelerating transformation into global p specializing in materials
SKC Vice Chairman Park Jang-suk vows to develop Bioland into Pharmaton of Korea
SKC buys 13.8% stake in Bioland for 39.3 billion won, increases stake to 23.6% after takeover, emerging as majority stakeholder


SKC (CEO Park Jang-suk) has announced its decision made at a meeting of its Board of Directors to purchase a 13.8 percent stake in Bioland for 39.3 billion won from Bioland Chairman Lee Taek-seon and his allies. With its acquisition of the stake, SKC has secured a 23.6 percent stake in Bioland, emerging as the majority stakeholder of the latter. SKC will also possess a ‘call option’ for a 10.5 percent stake in Bioland, which is being bought by a joint buyer, a private equity fund that is friendly to SKC, and has thus secured a 34.1 percent stake to ensure stable managerial control over Bioland, while reducing initial financing costs.

Company vows to develop Bioland into Pharmaton of Korea

Bioland boasts a sound business structure, ranking No. 1 in the Korean natural materials-derived cosmetics product market, as well as an operating profit ratio of 19 percent, having posted 13.2 billion won in operating profit from 71 billion won in sales last year. SKC plans to develop its growth strategy for Bioland in collaboration with a global business consulting firm, and will apply SKC’s global business capacity to Bioland in order to expand its sales, which are currently focused on the Korean market, to overseas markets and develop it into a global bio materials firm.

In addition, SKC plans to expand Bioland’s business domain from natural materials to specialty products, including chemical synthesis materials and food and health supplements, and to expand its value chain in order to boost growth. SKC Vice Chairman Park Jang-suk said, “We will a synergistic effect between Bioland’s natural materials synthesis technology and SKC’s capacity in chemical synthesis, and integrate SKC’s global marketing capacity to develop Bioland into the ‘Pharmaton* of Korea.’”

SKC accelerates transformation into global materials firm

With the acquisition of Bioland, SKC has expanded its business boundary from a business structure focused on films and chemical products to include inorganic-organic materials and electronic materials, before newly moving into the bio materials sector, and aims to establish itself as a global technology-_ base_d materials giant by diversifying its materials businesses. In its core business - including films and chemical products - SKC is not only focusing its competence on the development of high-performance products, but is also moving into promising future businesses such as electronic materials and new materials like gluing agents and adhesives. In the wake of its acquisition of Bioland, the Company has expanded the scope of its operations to include the bio sector. The bio industry is expected to record continuous growth due to the aging population and the growing demand for Korean cosmetics products in the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets, and to provide new growth momentum within the SK Group through synergistic effects with other bio firms within the conglomerate. [END]






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Bioland

Bioland is the No. 1 p in terms of its market share of the Korean natural materials-derived cosmetics product market, which includes cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and health supplement businesses. Since its establishment in 1995, the company has been spearheading the domestic natural materials-sourced materials industry. By business area, the company earns 60 percent of its sales revenue from the cosmetics materials business, 24 percent from food materials, 15 percent from pharmaceutical materials, and 4 percent from medical equipment. The company’s head office and factory are _ base_d in Cheonan, and it has production plants in Ansan, Ochang and Osong in Korea. It also runs various overseas operations including a local affiliate in Shanghai, China, and launched a plant in Haimen City, Jiangsu Province, China in June, thereby accelerating its advance into the Chinese market. The company achieved an operating profit ratio of 19 percent in 2013 by posting 13.2 billion won in operating profits from 71 billion won in sales, and maintains a stable financial structure with a debt ratio of 30.5 percent as of the end of June 2014


- a subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim of Switzerland and a global enterprise with 3 trillion won in sales, develops health supplements, drug materials, and processed products sourced from natural materials.