ORLANDO, Fla., June 1, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bio-One Corporation (OTCBB:BICO) announced today that the company has signed an agreement to acquire a 51% interest in a Chinese herbal medicine company in Guangzhou Province. With reported 2003 revenues of US$10 million, operating profit of US$2.7 million and assets totaling US$4 million, the company is an integrated business that includes research and development, manufacturing, sales and marketing.
Purchase terms include cash and convertible preferred stock priced at US$2.00 and US$3.00 per share, respectively, with lock-up terms regarding sale. The 78-employee business will continue to be run with its present management team. Closing is scheduled to occur upon the completion of the certified audits, which is anticipated to be within 90 days.
The company distributes and markets products on an agency basis. Since 2003, the company's R & D team has developed four new products in the China Class 5 and Class 6 category of new drugs. During 2005, the company intends to expand its distribution channel to market to traditional Chinese Drugstores, hospitals, and wholesale distributors throughout China.
Bio-One President and CEO Armand Dauplaise said, "This will be our fourth step in establishing a presence in China. We are aggressively pursuing additional synergistic candidates in China as well as in North America that meet our criteria for profitability and revenue growth."
Bio-One announced in April the purchase of majority control of WeiFang Shengtai Pharmaceuticals, a Shandong Province-based manufacturer and distributor of glucose that reported US$16.3 million in revenue in 2003 and a net income of US$2.3 million. Bio-One announced in March that it signed an agreement to acquire a 51% interest in a prominent Chinese herbal medicine company with reported 2003 revenues of US$20 million. In May Bio-One announced its third step in establishing a presence in China with the signing of an agreement to acquire a 51% interest in a Chinese herbal medicine company in Hebei Province with reported 2003 revenues of US$9 million.
About Bio-One
Bio-One Corporation is a nutritional supplements company serving the preventive and alternative healthcare segments. The company intends to acquire additional businesses in order to provide quality nutraceuticals to consumers through vertical integration of manufacturing, distribution and marketing. Current Bio-One subsidiaries include PNLabs, American Nutritional Exchange, Interactive Nutrition International, Nutrition Sciences Corp. and WeiFang Shengtai Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.
Bio-One Corporation is committed to its mission of the continuing pursuit of excellence in serving its customers, suppliers, team members and shareholders. Bio-One is confident that it will accomplish its mission and goals through the application of its management philosophy, which is to treat others the way they would want to be treated themselves.
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For investor relations information, contact Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, Hawk Associates at (305) 852-2383. Email: info@hawkassociates.com. For Bio-One information contact Bob Gartzman at 888-327-4703. Detailed information about Bio-One may be found on the website www.bioonecorp.com. Copies of Bio-One press releases, current Level II price quotes, interactive and java stock charts and other valuable information for investors may be found on the websites www.hawkassociates.com and www.hawkmicrocaps.com
Certain statements released by Bio-One Corporation that are forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Editors and investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties that may affect the company's business prospects and performance. These include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other risks detailed in the company's registration statements and periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.