Multinational firms vie for Korea’s ceramide dominant player Solus BioTech

Multiple foreign bio and chemical companies have offered to buy Solus BioTech, a supplier of organic compounds for beauty and pharmaceutical products developing nano material to facilitate delivery of mRNA vaccine.

Around 10 candidates from overseas including Solvay from Belgium and Evonik Industries from Germany have filed for preliminary bid arranged by SkyLake Equity Partners. Shortlisted candidates would be asked to offer final bid early December after due diligence.

The offering is on 100 percent stake in Solus BioTech that was carved out from Solus Advanced Materials, formerly Doosan Solus last year ahead of the sale. SkyLake bought the company from Doosan Group at 700 billion won in December 2020.

It is looking for about 400 billion won ($280 million) from the sale of the bio unit responsible for 95 percent of domestic supplies of ceramide, a type of fat widely used for skin and hair care products to retain moisture.

It also supplies its ceramide to international cosmetic brands, such as Lancome and Kiehl’s under the L’Oreal Group.

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