Indian drugmaker Sun Pharma along with its subsidiaries and/or associate companies, have executed a definitive agreement to take a majority stake in a Russian company in order to expand its presence in that market.
As a result, Sun Pharma will acquire an 85.1% stake in JSC Biosintez, which is engaged in manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical products in Russia and CIS region. The equity consideration for the 85.1% stake is $24 million.
Sun Pharma would also assume a debt of about $36 million as part of this transaction. Biosintez is a Russian pharmaceutical company focusing on the hospital segment with annual revenues of around $52 million for 2015. It has a manufacturing facility in Penza region with capabilities to manufacture a wide variety of dosage forms including pharmaceuticals for injections, blood substitutes, blood preservatives, ampoules, tablets, ointment, creams, gels, suppositories, APIs, etc.
According to Aalok Shanghvi, head of emerging markets, Sun Pharma:“This acquisition is consistent withSun Pharma’s philosophy to invest in strategic Emerging Markets. This transaction gives us access to localmanufacturing capability across multiple dosage forms in Russia, enabling us to serve the Russia pharmaceuticalmarket more effectively.”
“This is an important milestone for us,” added Artur Valliev, country head at Sun Pharma Russia, saying: “The acquisition signifies Sun Pharma’s commitment to Russia and the Russian 2020 plan for localization.”
The transaction, expected to be completed by end of 2016, is subject to approval of the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service and other closing conditions.
As per IMS (MAT September 2016), the Russian pharmaceutical market recorded sales of approximately $10 billion. The market recorded a growth of 7.4% in local currency terms.
Source: The Pharma Letter
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