JTBC违约后，多家韩国药企历史股权投资回收风险上升

With JTBC recently entering default, domestic pharmaceutical companies that acquired stakes in the broadcaster years ago are facing deepening concerns. Although they have already recognized impairment losses over several years to sharply reduce book values, the prospects for recovering their investments have grown even more uncertain depending on whether JTBC can normalize its management.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Daewoong Pharmaceutical acquired 600,000 JTBC shares (a 0.52% stake) for 3 billion won in April 2011. The investment purpose was disclosed as "business purpose." However, the book value of that stake now stands at 410 million won, down to about 14% of the acquisition cost.
Samjin Pharm also purchased 600,000 JTBC shares (a 0.52% stake) for 2.5 billion won in February 2011. The investment purpose was "general investment." The book value has now fallen to the 100 million won range. Most of the value relative to the original investment has been impaired. "Because it is such a small stake, the impact on our financial statements is minimal," a Samjin Pharm official said. "We have already sharply reduced the book value, so no matter what result emerges going forward, there will be no meaningful impact on the company's earnings."
Medytox is another company that took part in the JTBC investment. Medytox acquired 600,000 JTBC shares (a 0.52% stake) for 3 billion won in September 2017, stating that the investment purpose was "business purpose." The book value has now shrunk to 291 million won.
All of these companies acquired their stakes considering JTBC's growth potential and possibilities for business cooperation, but in effect failed to realize the investment returns they had expected. As an unlisted company, JTBC is difficult to exit through share prices, and the value of the investment assets continued to decline amid prolonged weak earnings.
On top of this, with JTBC recently entering default, some assess that the possibility of recovering the investments has become even more uncertain. Within the industry, analysts say that while the immediate financial shock is limited given that most of the book value has already been impaired, the possibility of effectively losing most of the investment cannot be ruled out.
"At the time, various companies took part in the equity investment given expectations for the launch of comprehensive programming channels and brand value, and pharmaceutical firms joined as well," an industry official said. "But with JTBC being an unlisted company and its recent management deterioration, from the investing companies' perspective it has effectively become an asset that has been tied up for a long time."