[Exclusive] Celltrion Holdings takes first steps for U.S. listing

[Celltrion]

Celltrion Holdings is planning to list on Nasdaq as early as the end of 2024, a move that will allow the South Korean company to accurately evaluate its value in the global capital market and continue to grow as a healthcare investment company.

According to Maeil Business Newspaper on January 15th, 2024, Celltrion Group Chairman Seo Jung-jin attended the Federation of Korean Industries’ Future Leaders Camp that took place in Gangneung, Gangwon Province as the event’s first speaker the day before, where he announced the upcoming Nasdaq listing.

“I have asked the relevant departments to list Celltrion Holdings on Nasdaq as early as the end of the year, or by early 2025 at the latest,” Seo said, adding, “Celltrion Holdings will be the first relatively large Korean company to list on Nasdaq.” He continued, “We plan to use 5 trillion won ($3.72 billion) of the funds from the Nasdaq listing as seed money for the ‘Global Healthcare Fund’,” adding, “We plan to attract a large number of overseas investors to Korea and set up a 100 trillion won fund” and “I will do everything in my power to help young people have a smoother experience in getting their startups off the ground than I did.”

Celltrion Group reorganized its affiliates to make its governance more transparent at the end of 2023. The first step of this integration, whereby the group merged with Celltrion Healthcare, was the listing of new shares on January 12th, 2024, and the process will be completed once the integrated Celltrion entity merges with Celltrion Pharm, Inc. within the next six months.

Seo plans to list the holding company, which was formed during this reorganization process, within the year and develop it into an investment company. Industry sources believe that Nasdaq is the best source to attract external capital as more than half of Celltrion Group sales are generated overseas.

“Companies that generate big sales overseas or are familiar with foreign investors have the advantage of raising more funds via a Nasdaq listing. But U.S. legal and accounting standards are applied when listing on Nasdaq, and the group’s related costs, including concerns about lawsuits, could increase,” according to a financial investment industry official.

A second official said, “A company’s market capitalization must exceed 10 trillion won after listing for major institutions to consider investing in it and for the company to enjoy the benefits of a Nasdaq listing.”

By Kim hee-soo, Shim Hee-jin, Lee Ji Eun