Celltrion Holdings CI

Celltrion Holdings, the holding company of Celltrion Group, announced on the 4th that it has secured a new funding limit of 1 trillion won, which will be utilized for purchasing Celltrion shares and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The plan aims to accelerate the restructuring of its business and improve profitability.

Celltrion Holdings plans to conduct large-scale purchases of Celltrion shares primarily for improving profitability and enhancing the corporate value of its subsidiaries. The strategy includes increasing expected dividends through additional equity acquisition to boost revenue while also contributing to enhancing the undervalued shareholder value of subsidiaries. The share buyback will be conducted in two phases, totaling 500 billion won, with all shares bought on the open market.

The company plans to purchase approximately 250 billion won worth of Celltrion shares within a short period. Considering the share buyback period announced by the executive team and major shareholders in April, the buyback will officially commence in early August and is expected to be completed by the end of the year with a total purchase of 500 billion won.

Once the new share buyback is completed within the year, the holding company intends to retain the shares for at least one year. If the undervaluation of the shares persists, plans will also be considered to inject the remaining 500 billion won to further enhance subsidiary shareholder value.

If it is deemed that the undervaluation of Celltrion's corporate value has eased and external uncertainties have been resolved, the company plans to sell the newly acquired shares to secure liquidity. The sale will be conducted in a manner that minimizes market burden, and the holding company will continue to hold its existing shares without selling them.

The remaining 500 billion won could be utilized for the restructuring of Celltrion's business. The company plans to explore options for M&A with high-value domestic and foreign corporations or to transition from a pure holding company to a business holding company.

A representative of Celltrion Group said, "With the large-scale funding of 1 trillion won secured, efficient fund management and investment will proceed, taking into account not only the restructuring of the holding company and profitability improvements but also the enhancement of shareholder value for Celltrion, a key affiliate. In particular, Celltrion has considerable potential for additional growth, and its dividend payout ratio has been steadily increasing, which will significantly help improve the holding company's revenue structure due to the equity expansion."