[Edaily Reporter KIM SAE-MI ] As L&C BIO(290650)proceeds with a 140.6 billion won rights offering, its largest shareholder, Chairman Lee Hwan-cheol, and financial investor (FI) Now IB Fund No. 19 are successively selling their stakes.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 12th, Now IB Fund No. 19 sold 400,780 shares of L&C BIO common stock on the open market from the 5th through the 12th. Its holdings decreased from 2,616,469 shares to 2,215,689 shares, raising 23.8 billion won through the sale.
NAU IB Capital joined L&C BIO as a financial investor (FI) last year. Last April, L&C BIO secured a total investment of 76.3 billion won from the Now IB No. 19 Fund, consisting of 10 billion won in new common stock, 6.3 billion won in existing common stock, and 60 billion won in convertible bonds (CBs). At the time, both parties agreed to pursue a strategic partnership in the aesthetics business, as well as new investments and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Even after this stock sale, NAU IB Capital retains 707,547 shares worth of convertible bonds that can be converted into common stock. Including these, the total number of specific securities held stands at 2,923,236 shares, representing a 10.5% stake according to public disclosures.
Earlier, Lee Hwan-cheol, Chairman of L&C BIO, also announced on the 11th a plan to dispose of some of his held shares and a portion of the new share subscription rights he is set to receive in the future. Chairman Lee currently holds 6,325,390 shares of L&C BIO (a 23.5% stake).
According to the transaction plan, Chairman Lee intends to sell 826,276 common shares over-the-counter from the 11th of next month through October 10. The expected sale price is 61,400 won per share, totaling 50.7 billion won.
He also plans to sell approximately half of the new share subscription rights he is expected to receive through the rights offering. Chairman Lee is expected to be allocated 857,817 new share subscription rights; of these, he plans to sell 428,909 on the over-the-counter market and retain 428,908.
Chairman Lee stated that the purpose of the sale is to secure funds needed to subscribe to the rights offering, pay capital gains tax, and partially repay existing stock-backed loans. Applying the planned issue price of 38,000 won, the funds required to exercise all 428,908 retained subscription rights amount to approximately 16.3 billion won.
If the transaction plan proceeds as planned, Chairman Lee’s existing shareholding will decrease from 6,325,390 shares to 5,499,114 shares. He will retain 5,928,022 shares of specific securities, including stock subscription rights, and his ownership ratio of specific securities (as per disclosure standards) is expected to drop to 21.6%, while his ownership ratio of physical shares will decrease to 20.4%.
Meanwhile, on the 31st of last month, L&C BIO decided to raise up to 140.6 billion won by issuing 3.7 million common shares through a shareholder allocation followed by a public offering of unsubscribed shares. Of the funds raised, 105 billion won will be invested in facilities such as the Dongtan Global Smart Factory, and the remainder will be used for working capital and debt repayment.
