Aurobindo Pharma on Thursday said it will acquire a 51% stake in generic veterinary pharma firm Cronus Pharma Specialties India for Rs 420 crore ($56 million).
The company said the acquisition is expected to be completed in eight weeks and that it will pay cash for the stake.
The deal is expected to give Aurobindo a foothold in the $48 billion global animal health market.
Both Aurobindo and Hyderabad-based Cronus, incorporated in 2015, have manufacturing facilities in India and the US.
Cronus has built a non-sterile and sterile facility in a special economic zone (SEZ) in India. The plant is yet to become operational, the company said in a statement.
The veterinary pharma firm has over 67 products in its pipeline, of which 22 have been filed and six have been approved by the US regulator. The company also generates income as a contract research organisation.
Aurobindo on Thursday said it had reported a 1.68 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 770 crore for the quarter ended on June.
DSK Legal acted as the legal counsel on this transaction.
In a similar deal in May this year, Zydus Animal Health and Investment sold an animal healthcare business to a consortium led by private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management for Rs 2,921 crore.
Aurobindo has sealed other deals in the past. In October 2020, the firm sold its American nutritional supplement unit Natrol Inc for $550 million (Rs 4,048 crore), six years after buying the company.
In October 2020, the pharma firm took full control of a joint venture.
In January 2019, the drugmaker agreed to buy seven branded oncology injectables from US-based Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc for up to $300 million.
The firm had planned to acquire Sandoz’s US generic oral solids and dermatology businesses but the deal fell apart.
In 2018, Aurobindo acquired the commercial operations and supporting infrastructure assets of Canadian pharmaceutical firm Apotex International Inc in five European countries for 74 million euros ($86.5 million).
The company’s product portfolio is spread across seven major therapeutic areas including antibiotics, antiretrovirals gastroenterological, anti-allergies, and antidiabetics. The firm sells these products in over 150 countries.
