This article was published on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:38 p.m. on Sep. 10, 2025.
Domestic private equity (PEF) managers, including J& Private Equity (PE), and other financial investors (FI) are nearing the final stage of recovering their investments in contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) ST PHARM. The FIs converted all their holdings of convertible bonds (CBs) into common stock. Because ST PHARM's share price fell briefly right after the conversions, individual investors should exercise caution.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 10th, CB investors in ST PHARM, the NH-Synergy IB Bio New Technology Investment Association and the IBK Capital-J&PE Bio New Technology Investment Association, exercised their CB conversion rights on the 8th and are preparing to sell on the market.
The CB conversion volume is 509,426 shares, worth 47.7 billion won based on the market price (93,700 won). ST PHARM issued 110 billion won in CBs at the end of 2020 to cover production facility expansion and research and development expenses. The FIs also exercised CB conversion rights in May and July last year, securing 420,491 shares of ST PHARM common stock.
The shares converted this time can be sold starting on the 26th. Because ST PHARM's stock price exceeds the conversion price by more than 30%, the FIs are likely to sell immediately. The stock also fell briefly right after the two previous conversion exercises. After the May CB conversion exercise, ST PHARM's stock fell 10% over four trading days, and in July it fell 19% over eight trading days.
Even if this volume is fully absorbed by the market, concerns about overhang (a large potential sell volume) remain. ST PHARM issued 100 billion won in CBs in Aug. 2023 for raw material purchases and research and development expenses. Some were converted into common shares, but CBs worth 43.2 billion won still remain.
ST PHARM's stock price is likely to be driven by the interim analysis results of the phase 2a trial of its experimental human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment STP0404. ST PHARM plans to present the analysis results at IDWeek 2025, the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, on Oct. 20 U.S. time.
ST PHARM, a subsidiary of Dong-A Socio Holdings, was founded in 1983 and listed on the KOSDAQ market in 2016. Its three core businesses are oligonucleotide CDMO, production of small-molecule synthetic drug active ingredients, and mRNA therapeutic production using its own platform. As of this date, its market capitalization is 1.8883 trillion won. Last year, revenue was 274 billion won and operating income was 28 billion won.