AGC Asahi Glass ("AGC"), a world-leading manufacturer of glass, chemicals and high-tech materials, announced on December 20 that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in CMC Biologics ("CMC"), a world-leading biologics active pharmaceutical ingredient ("API") manufacturer with major investors including Monitor Clipper Partners and European Equity Partners, for the purchase price of approximately 60 billion Japanese yen. The agreement remains subject to approval from the relevant antitrust authorities, and the acquisition is expected to be completed in January 2017.

CMC is a contract development and manufacturing organization ("CDMO"), offering biological API-manufacturing service with mammalian and microbial hosts. The company provides high value-added cell line construction, process development, scale-up and manufacturing of APIs used in drug development (pre-clinical and clinical trials) and in commercially marketed biopharmaceutical drugs. With approximately 530 employees, CMC operates on a global scale with production facilities in Denmark (Copenhagen) and the USA (Seattle and Berkeley).

David Kauffmann, Chairman of CMC Biologics, said, "I am excited by CMC Biologics becoming part of AGC, a world-class company committed to excellence and high customer satisfaction. AGC's dedication to best technology solutions and long-time partnership with clients align so well with CMC Biologics' quest to be the preferred biologics CDMO service partner for the world's top pharmaceutical and biotech companies."

"We are honored to become part of AGC, a successful global company with a long-term business strategy and resources to be the ideal owner of CMC Biologics. The CMC management team look forward to becoming one team with AGC, to bring and combine broad, as well as focused, innovative solutions to our clients," said Gustavo Mahler, President & Chief Executive Officer of CMC Biologics, adding: "With this transaction, I am confident that our clients will receive even further benefits from our combined high level of expertise, years of experience, and global offerings."

AGC has been engaged in contract manufacturing business since the early 2000s. Its acquisition of CMC is part of AGC's strategy to expand its biologics CDMO operations, complementing AGC's current operations in Japan and Europe (*). The business integration with CMC will enable AGC to offer world-leading biologics CDMO API services, with a host of best-in-class technologies and manufacturing solutions by both mammalian and microbial operations for its global customer base.

Under its management policy, "AGC plus," the AGC Group has designated its Life Science Business as one of its strategic areas. Through the business integration, the AGC Group will accelerate and expand its biopharmaceutical contract services business around the world.

(*) AGC's European operations made a full-fledged start through the acquisition of a German CDMO, Biomeva, in August this year. Please refer to AGC's press release at: http://www.agc.com/english/news/20160906e.pdf