Nichi-Iko set for ¥98.5 bil. in debt relief

Jiji Press

17:39 JST, December 29, 2022

TOYAMA — Financially troubled generic drug maker Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical Co. said it will receive up to ¥98.5 billion in debt relief from 15 creditor financial institutions under an out-of-court rehabilitation procedure called alternative dispute resolution.

Nichi-Iko’s business turnaround scheme, which includes the debt relief plan, was approved at a creditors’ meeting held Wednesday, the company said the same day.

In another turnaround effort, the company will issue new shares worth ¥20 billion under a third-party allotment scheme.

Nichi-Iko President Yuichi Tamura will step down to take responsibility for his mismanagement. His successor will be picked at an extraordinary shareholders meeting planned to be held in February 2023.

The company is expected to be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange around March or April next year.

It will aim to eliminate debt excess by the fiscal year that ends in March 2026 with support from J-Will Partners, an independent investment fund, and Medipal Holdings Corp., a drug wholesaler.

In March 2021, Nichi-Iko, based in Toyama Prefecture, was slapped with a business suspension order by the Toyama prefectural government for allegedly making drugs using methods not authorized by the central government.

The company reported a consolidated net loss of ¥104.9 billion in the fiscal year that ended in March 2022 and had excess liabilities of ¥35.6 million as of the end of September 2022.