KOSDAQ-listed biotech company AprilBio will sell its management control to TKG Group (formerly Taekwang Industrial Group) and IMM Investment(related article☞[exclusive] AprilBio to be acquired by TKG and IMM Inve).
According to the electronic disclosure system on the 25th, AprilBio will carry out a third-party paid-in capital increase of about 350 billion won for TKG Huchems and IMM Investment. After the capital increase, the TKG Huchems side will nominate three registered directors and the side of Chief Executive Cha Sang-hun, the previous largest shareholder, will nominate two registered directors to form the board.
Through this paid-in capital increase, 141.8 billion won in common stock and 50 billion won in nonvoting convertible preferred stock (CPS) will be issued to IMM Asset Management and IMM Scale-up Bio No. 1 Private Company. Voting convertible preferred stock worth 155 billion won will be issued to TKG Huchems and IMM Startup Venture Fund No. 2.
AprilBio is developing new drugs centered on the platform "SAFA," which increases the persistence of protein therapeutics and delivers drugs precisely to disease sites. The approach raises the efficacy of existing therapeutics or drug candidates while reducing side effects. It also has the multi-antibody platform "REMAP" and the antibody library "HuDVFab," among others.
With this sale of management control, AprilBio will secure development funding for its key pipelines. AprilBio recently completed a phase 2a clinical trial for "APB-R3," a treatment for atopic dermatitis and autoinflammation, and is preparing for phase 2b. It also has multiple pipelines currently under in-house development.
TKG Group is preparing to shift its business focus from existing footwear manufacturing to advanced industries including biotech. Last year, it secured a 50% equity stake in electronic materials company JL Chem and a 100% stake in fire equipment manufacturer Udang Technology Industry.
TKG Group and IMM Investment appear to have proceeded with this investment by assigning high value to AprilBio's technology. In 2021, AprilBio drew attention by successfully out-licensing the autoimmune disease drug candidate "APB-A1" to Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck for up to 595 billion won. APB-R3 was also out-licensed to Evommune in 2024 for up to about 600 billion won.
With this investment, IMM Investment is expected to become the largest shareholder of AprilBio. The current largest shareholder of AprilBio is founder Chief Executive Cha Sang-hun. However, based on voting rights, the TKG side will become the largest shareholder, and over the next five years IMM Investment's equity will also be transferred to TKG. Management control will be acquired by TKG, and IMM Investment will participate as a financial investor (FI).