China Biologic slams lawsuit filed by former chairman

In response to a lawsuit filed against China Biologic Products (Nasdaq: CBPO) in the Cayman Islands by David (Xiaoying) Gao, the former chairman and chief executive of the company who was terminated for cause, China Biologic stated: "We deeply regret that Mr. David Gao, acting individually in his personal capacity, has attempted to challenge the completion of the private placement that was announced on August 24.

Earlier this month, China Biologic received $3.9 billion bid to take over the Beijing-headquartered company from the consortium led by Mr Gao, who was chief executive from 2015 until last month. The offer was rejected, and the company also announced a share sale expected to raise gross proceeds of around $590 million.

The company is prepared to fend off meritless lawsuits like this and will take actions to seek actual and punitive damages from Mr Gao in connection with his ill-intended lawsuit as well as any damages caused by breaches of his employment agreement. The company continues to believe that the private placement transaction referred to in the lawsuit is beneficial to shareholders, through the additional capital and strategic partnerships which it will result in.