NANJING, CHINA, April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (NYSE:SCR), a leading manufacturer and supplier of branded generic pharmaceuticals and manufacturer of the patented anti-cancer biotech product Endu in China, today announced that it has been informed that one of its existing shareholders, New Good Management Limited, a British Virgin Islands company beneficially owned by 15 individuals, including certain senior management of Simcere Pharmaceutical, has entered into a share purchase agreement with King View Development International Limited, a British Virgin Islands company affiliated with Trust Bride Partners, a private equity fund. Under the terms and conditions of the share purchase agreement, King View has agreed to purchase from New Good Management in a private sale a total of 11,820,000 ordinary shares that New Good Management currently holds in Simcere Pharmaceutical, or approximately 9.3% of Simcere Pharmaceutical's issued and outstanding share capital as of April 26, 2008. Simcere Pharmaceutical has been informed that, except for Mr. Haibo Qian, the secretary to the board of directors and company secretary, and Chuan Li, a deputy manager of one of Simcere's subsidiaries, none of the shareholders of New Good Management participating in this proposed private sale is an employee of Simcere Pharmaceutical. The closing of the proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to take place prior to the middle of May 2008. Upon closing, Simcere Pharmaceutical expects that New Good Management and Assured Ahead Investments Limited, a British Virgin Islands company that is 68.0% owned by Hony Capital II, L.P., an exempted limited partnership formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands, will each own approximately 39.6% and 20.8% of Simcere Pharmaceutical's issued and outstanding share capital, respectively.
Upon closing of the proposed transaction, Simcere Pharmaceutical will enter into a registration rights agreement with King View and New Good Management, pursuant to which Simcere Pharmaceutical will agree to file registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission to cover the resale of the ordinary shares to be purchased by King View. New Good Management will bear all costs associated with the filing of such registration statements.
About Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (NYSE:SCRNYSE:Simcere) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of branded generic pharmaceuticals and manufacturer of the patented anti-cancer biotech product Endu in the rapidly growing China market. In recent years, Simcere has focused its strategy on the development of first-to-market generic and innovative pharmaceuticals, and has introduced a first-to-market generic stoke management medication under the brand name Bicun and an innovative anti-cancer medication under the brand name Endu. Simcere currently manufactures and sells more than 50 pharmaceutical products including antibiotics, anti-cancer medication and stroke management medication and is the exclusive distributor of three additional pharmaceuticals that are marketed under its brand names. Simcere concentrates its research and development efforts on the treatment of diseases with high incidence and/or mortality rates and for which there is a clear demand for more effective pharmacotherapy such as cancer, strokes, osteoporosis and infectious diseases and currently has more than 12 pipeline products. For more information about Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, please visit http://www.simcere.com/.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact: In China: Frank Zhao
Chief Financial Officer
Simcere Pharmaceutical
Tel: +86-25-8556-6666 x8818 Wu Kejia
Brunswick Group
Tel: +86-10-6566-2256 In Hong Kong: Joseph Lo
Brunswick Group
Tel: +852-3512-5000 In the United States: Michael Guerin
Brunswick Group LLC
Tel: +1-212-333-3810
DATASOURCE: Simcere Pharmaceutical Group CONTACT: In China: Frank Zhao, Chief Financial Officer of Simcere Pharmaceutical, +86-25-8556-6666 x8818; or Wu Kejia, +86-10-6566-2256, or In Hong Kong: Joseph Lo, +852-3512-5000, or In the United States: Michael Guerin, +1-212-333-3810, all of Brunswick Group, for Simcere Pharmaceutical Web site: http://www.simcere.com/
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