Samsung Biologics has launched a 1.46 billion Swiss franc ($1.8 billion) all-cash tender offer for Switzerland's PolyPeptide Group, a peptide-based drug ingredient specialist, in what the South Korean firm describes as the largest biopharmaceutical M&A deal in its country's history.
Samsung Biologics announced Monday that it has made an all-cash bid of 1.46 billion Swiss francs, equivalent to $1.8 billion, for Switzerland's PolyPeptide Group, a move that would mark the largest biopharmaceutical merger-and-acquisition deal in South Korean history.
Under the terms of the public tender offer, PolyPeptide shareholders would receive 44.31 Swiss francs per share. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026.
Shares of PolyPeptide Group rose approximately 5.3% in morning trading following the announcement. Samsung Biologics, for its part, closed 3.65% lower on Monday.
PolyPeptide Group, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, specializes in peptide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company was spun off from global pharmaceutical firm Ferring in 1996 and has since built a track record of developing and producing more than 1,000 therapeutic peptides.
The acquisition would allow Samsung Biologics to diversify beyond its existing portfolio centered on antibody drugs and antibody-drug conjugates, extending its reach into peptide therapeutics — a segment drawing considerable commercial attention due to surging demand for obesity treatments.
Peptide therapeutics are medicines derived from short chains of amino acids. That category includes certain GLP-1 drugs used to treat obesity and diabetes, which work by mimicking a natural hormone to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar levels.
Peter Wilden, chairman of PolyPeptide Group, characterized the offer as favorable for the company's shareholders. "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," Wilden said in a statement.
Beyond its product pipeline implications, the deal would give Samsung Biologics access to PolyPeptide's global manufacturing and research network, which spans facilities in Sweden, Belgium, France, the United States, and India.
The South Korean firm said the acquisition is also designed to address growing client demand across a broader range of therapeutic modalities, particularly as GLP-1-based therapies continue to generate commercial momentum for drug manufacturers worldwide.
The transaction comes as contract drug manufacturers are racing to build out capabilities in the peptide space, where capacity constraints have become a defining feature of the supply landscape amid accelerating demand from obesity and diabetes drug developers.
If the deal closes on the expected timeline, Samsung Biologics would emerge from the year with a substantially expanded footprint in peptide contract manufacturing — a position that could prove consequential as pharmaceutical companies seek reliable production partners for next-generation GLP-1 therapies.
Jay Goldberg is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering technology, markets, and policy. He files the breaking news and deal coverage that move the publication's core desks.
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