Kaneka acquires 34% of AB-Biotics

It will invest €490,000 for product development and acquires the rights to use some of these for Japan and the United States

The Spanish biotechnology company AB-Biotics has reached an agreement with the American company Kaneka Americas Holding, subsidiary of the Japanese Kaneka Corporation, for the participation of its shareholders through Kaneka Europe Holding Company , its European subsidiary.

As a result, Kaneka has become the reference shareholder of AB-Biotics with an ownership of 26.859% of its shares, acquired from various owners. The largest package was owned by Seed Capital Fund: 662,750 shares representing 5.264% of the capital stock. Furthermore, through this agreement it has also acquired the stock of another nine shareholders, and 500,000 shares from the company's treasury stock, at a price of €2.72 per share.

On the same day of this agreement was also signed the transaction of six of these eleven share packages, the largest of the total, which already left the Kaneka stake at 24.54% of the shares. The other significant stakes are those of the founding partners, Miquel Ángel Bonachera and Sergi Audivert, with 10.11% each, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Luis Sánchez-Lafuente, with 10.10%.

Planned investment
The Japanese company has clearly placed its bets on the Spanish one. After gaining ownership of 26.859% of the shares of this agreement it has continued purchasing shares from other small shareholders, and on April 9th its package already amounted to 34.05% of the capital stock.

Kaneka's entry as shareholder of AB-Biotics was linked to a licensing agreement through which Kaneka Americas Holding is granted exclusivity rights for the manufacture, import, fermentation, use, sale and offer of specific AB-Biotics products in Japan and North America. In addition, Kaneka assumes the obligation of investing €490,000 in the company's product development.