PE major Blackstone is selling its equity stake in Pune-based pharmaceutical major Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd to Bain Capital for an undisclosed amount, the fund announced on Thursday.
“Emcure was the first private equity investment by a Blackstone managed fund in India. Since our investment, the company has significantly strengthened its position in the Indian pharmaceutical market and has established a strong presence in the US and other semi-regulated markets,” said Amit Dixit, co-head of Private Equity at Blackstone Advisors India Pvt Ltd and a director on Emcure’s board.
Blackstone had invested Rs 226 crore in Emcure through convertible shares and held 13.09 per cent stake. According to earlier media reports, the fund was planning to sell its stake in the company to Bain Capital for about $100 million.
Emcure had also filled its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator SEBI to raise Rs 300 crore. Blackstone was planning to sell 1.7 million of its 5.9 million shares, which would have meant over one-fourth of its holding. The DRHP indicated that the company was looking at a valuation of over Rs 4,000 crore.
“Blackstone has been a valuable strategic partner for us over the last few years. In addition to providing growth capital to expand our business multi-fold, it also shared strategic insights to manage our fast growing business effectively,” said Satish Mehta, Emcure’s managing director and chief executive officer.
Emcure is ranked as the 14th-largest pharmaceutical company in India in terms of market share based on the domestic sales of pharmaceutical products. It is ranked as the 7th-largest pharmaceutical company in the therapeutic areas in which it operates. These areas include cardiology, pain and analgesics, HIV, gynecology, nephrology, anti-infective, and vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
In April 2011, Emcure acquired Heritage Pharmaceuticals, a New Jersey-based generic pharmaceutical company, which provided it a commercial platform to market and sell its products. In December 2012, it acquired the worldwide rights of BiCNU, a branded oncology product.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)