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Daesang acquires German amino acid firm at W50b
Korean food company signals entrance into pharmaceutical
biotech sector
By Kan Hyeong-woo, The Korea Herald - Daesang will enter
the pharmaceutical biotech sector by acquiring Amino GmbH, a German amino acids
manufacturer, for 50.2 billion won ($34 million), the company said Thursday.
According to the Korean food company’s regulatory filing
Wednesday, it is currently undergoing procedures to obtain approval for the
acquisition, with a plan to complete the takeover by March.
Daesang underscored that the pharmaceutical-grade amino
acid market is growing 10 percent annually, as an aging population and
expanding medical infrastructure increase demand for intravenous solutions and
clinical nutrition products.
It added that the growth in the biopharmaceutical sector —
such as protein-, gene- and cell-based therapies — is also boosting demand for
amino acids used in cell culture media, excipients and laboratory reagents,
projecting high-potential growth for the pharmaceutical-grade amino acid
sector.
Amino GmbH, which was established in 1958, specializes in
the production of pharmaceutical-grade amino acids used in intravenous
solutions and clinical nutrition products. It operates a research center and
three manufacturing plants in Frellstedt, Germany, with long-standing business
relationships with major global biopharmaceutical companies and medical
nutrition suppliers.
Through the acquisition, Daesang expects to utilize the
German firm’s experience with regulatory approval in Europe and access to its
global customer network to expand its businesses in North America and Asia
while creating synergy with the Korean food company’s amino acid business for
animal feed.
“This acquisition is a strategic investment aimed at
expanding our business portfolio into the high-value-added pharmaceutical
biotech sector, building on the amino acid technologies we have accumulated
through our materials business,” said Daesung CEO Lim Jung-bae.
“By combining Amino’s technological expertise and global
network, we will strengthen our competitiveness in the pharmaceutical-grade
amino acid market.”
