Samsung Biologics has launched an all-cash public tender offer to acquire PolyPeptide Group for approximately CHF 1.46 billion. The proposed transaction would expand Samsung Biologics into peptide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients and strengthen its manufacturing presence across the United States, Europe, and India.
Under the terms of the offer, PolyPeptide shareholders would receive CHF 44.31 in cash for each share. The transaction is expected to close near the end of 2026, subject to shareholder acceptance, regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
The offer price represents a 40% premium to PolyPeptide’s closing share price of CHF 31.65 on April 10, 2026, the final trading day before acquisition rumors emerged. It also represents an approximately 11.6% premium to the company’s volume-weighted average share price over the preceding 60 trading days.
PolyPeptide’s independent and non-conflicted board members unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer. The company’s largest shareholder, representing approximately 55.65% of outstanding shares excluding treasury stock, has irrevocably agreed to tender its entire position.
The offer requires at least two-thirds of PolyPeptide’s fully diluted shares to be tendered. Samsung Biologics expects to publish the formal offer prospectus by the end of August 2026, followed by a minimum 20-trading-day offer period after the required cooling-off period under Swiss law.
Following a successful closing, Samsung Biologics intends to acquire any remaining minority shares through a squeeze-out process. It also plans to delist PolyPeptide from the SIX Swiss Exchange and operate the business as a wholly owned subsidiary.
PolyPeptide is a contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in peptide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers from early development through commercial production.
Its history dates to 1952, and the company has produced more than 1,000 therapeutic peptides. PolyPeptide operates six certified manufacturing facilities across Europe, the United States and India, along with a corporate office in Switzerland and an innovation center in Strasbourg, France.
The acquisition would expand Samsung Biologics beyond its existing work in antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, multispecific proteins and mRNA therapeutics. Peptide manufacturing would add another major modality to the company’s global development and production platform.
Demand for peptide-based medicines has increased substantially as pharmaceutical companies develop treatments for obesity and diabetes. This includes GLP-1 therapies, which have become an important growth area within the broader metabolic disease market.
Peptides are also being developed across oncology and other therapeutic categories. Samsung Biologics believes PolyPeptide’s technology, commercial manufacturing experience and late-stage project pipeline can help it serve customers across a wider range of drug programs.
PolyPeptide uses an integrated development-to-commercial model supported by modular and automated production capabilities. This structure is intended to help the company adjust manufacturing capacity as customer needs and market demand change.
Samsung Biologics plans to combine its global scale with PolyPeptide’s scientific and manufacturing expertise. The transaction is expected to support additional customer programs while improving geographic proximity to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across major markets.
The acquisition would also expand Samsung Biologics’ presence beyond its existing operations in South Korea, the United States and Japan. PolyPeptide’s facilities would give the combined company additional research, development and commercial manufacturing capabilities in Sweden, Belgium, France and India.
Samsung Biologics currently has 785,000 liters of biomanufacturing capacity across its Korean campuses. Including a 60,000-liter facility in Rockville, Maryland, the company has approximately 845,000 liters of global capacity.
Samsung Biologics has also secured land for a third biomanufacturing campus to support future growth. The addition of PolyPeptide would broaden the company’s capabilities without relying exclusively on additional antibody manufacturing capacity.
J.P. Morgan is serving as Samsung Biologics’ exclusive financial adviser. Ernst & Young Han Young is providing accounting and tax advice, while O’Melveny & Myers and Schellenberg Wittmer are acting as legal advisers.
KEY QUOTES:
“This acquisition reinforces our long-term growth strategy by not only broadening our service portfolio with modality expansion into peptides including GLP-1, but by also boosting our geographic reach and proximity further within the US, Europe, and India. We highly value PolyPeptide’s world-class employees, industry-leading capabilities, and global operational footprint, and look forward to leveraging the complementary strengths of PolyPeptide and Samsung Biologics in our continued growth supporting clients as the CDMO of choice for decades to come.”
John Rim, Chairman and CEO of Samsung Biologics
“PolyPeptide was built on the dedication of our employees, deep scientific expertise and strong customer focus. After a comprehensive review of strategic options, the Board is convinced that Samsung Biologics’ offer is compelling for our shareholders, delivering an attractive cash price and immediate, certain value today. At the same time, it represents a transformational opportunity to accelerate our strategic ambitions at a scale we could not reach alone, creating a stronger global partner for customers and a platform uniquely positioned to lead the next phase of growth in peptide-based therapeutics.”
Peter Wilden, Chairman of PolyPeptide
