FamiCord Group investing in stem cell bank owned by Smart Cells Holdings Limited, UK

WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Polski Bank Komórek Macierzystych S.A. (PBKM), which leads the international FamiCord Group, Europe's largest stem cell bank, signed a transaction agreement with shareholders of Smart Cells Holdings Limited, based in London UK, to acquire a majority stake in the stem cell bank operating in Great Britain, Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait  and others) and Hong Kong.

The transaction was closed on August 4th, 2021. FamiCord acquired 84.2 percent of shares in Smart Cells Holdings Limited. The transaction was financed from PBKM's own funds.

- We are very pleased to welcome another well-organized and highly efficient stem cell bank to the FamiCord Group. This is another step in our strategy towards consolidation of the European family cord blood banking market which itself attracts multiple takeover targets we are interested in. By making this move we also entered new markets, substantially strengthen our position in Europe and our global presence on the markets in Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain , Kuwait and others) and Hong Kong, where Smart Cells Holdings operates.

We're going to focus on strengthening Smart Cells UK and UAE markets with the goal to reach number one position within the next two years. We believe with our diverse product range, scientific expertise across   many countries and financial strength, we will be the strongest service provider for stem cells and related healthcare products.

I wish to add that we are continuing to seek further acquisitions from the European and other markets - says Jakub Baran, the co-founder, a shareholder and the President of the Management Board of PBKM S.A (the leading entity for the international FamiCord Group).

Shamshad Ahmed- Founder and CEO , Smart Cells International Ltd says:

- I am delighted that Smart Cells has become a part of the Famicord family of businesses. We are confident that bringing together our excellent customer care and world class storage facilities with PBKM's global reach and research capabilities will provide existing and new customers with unrivalled product offerings to protect their family's health.

Our vision has always been for Smart Cells to be a global enterprise empowering people to store their children's stem cells with a company that is based on excellent science and integrity.

I am so proud of what  Smart Cells have accomplished together, and now with scale and presence, we are even closer to inspiring many more to take charge of their family's health and wellbeing.

Smart Cells Holdings Limited was founded in 2001. It is the first private UK stem cell storage company to have released stored stem cell units for the use in the treatment of children with life-threatening or debilitating  illnesses. Since its establishment, Smart Cells have  released the greatest number of samples for use in transplants from a private  UK  bank for use in transplants in the UK and other countries (21 releases to 6 countries) from some of its 40,000 clients. The Company operates in the UK (laboratory near London Heathrow airport),Italy, Albania,  Middle East, South Africa, Kenya , Pakistan, and Hong Kong. After the collection at the site of birth, biological materials are transported for storage to the Company's laboratory in the UK''

Polski Bank Komórek Macierzystych leads the international FamiCord Group, which manages stem cell banks located in Europe. After the transaction FamiCord Group will store 610.000 samples belonging to over 450,000 families. FamiCord's core business is the procurement, processing and long-term storage of stem cells from umbilical-cord blood and other post-foetal tissues on behalf of parents (family banking). The purpose of this banking is to provide security for the family in the event of a serious illness which requires a stem cell transplant in the donor or his/her immediate family members.

The FamiCord Group is now present in over 35 European countries. It directly offers services to clients in Poland, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and more recently in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Great Britain, Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Lebanon) and Hong Kong. It is one of the leading companies in almost all of these countries. In addition, it provides services to partners who acquire clients in Sweden, Denmark, Serbia and the Balkan countries, Italy and Ukraine. The Group's services are provided through a network of its own banks and through cooperating banks located in Switzerland, Sweden, Ukraine, the USA and other countries.

On May 31st, 2021 PBKM and Vita 34 AG - the largest private stem cell bank in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) signed a business combination agreement. The business combination will be carried out through the exchange of PBKM shares for newly issued Vita 34 shares. The proposed business combination will create a stronger pan-European family stem cell bank with combined revenues of approximately EUR 67 million (based on the 2020 reported results) and having a total market capitalization of approximately EUR 249 million (at closing prices as of 28 May 2021).

In addition, the Group invests in the development of advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) manufacturing services, considered to be one of the most important developments in medicine. The PBKM Group is also involved in close to 10 clinical trials, in which stem cell fraction drugs have already been administered to patients about 700 times.

Since May 2016, PBKM has been listed on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

For more information: www.pbkm.pl, https://akcjonariusze.pbkm.pl/ Twitter @PBKM_FamiCord

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