Mumbai-based drugmaker Cipla Ltd has inked a deal to buy Duomed Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltd, a two-year-old importer and distributor of pharma products in Brazil for R$ 1.29 million (Rs 2.6 crore or $418,000 million), it said on Thursday.
The deal, which is expected to be completed by the end of next month, is routed through a wholly owned subsidiary Cipla (EU) Ltd, UK.
Duomed was incorporated in 2013 and has received approvals from ANVISA (Brazilian health authority) and other regulatory authorities to import and distribute pharmaceutical products in Brazil.
This acquisition is part of the company's front-end strategy and will expedite its product registrations in Brazil.
Cipla has been active in forming overseas JVs besides buying other firms in its bid to expand abroad.
Earlier this year, Cipla entered into a joint venture agreement with two of its existing business partners in Morocco—Societe Marocaine De Cooperation Pharmaceutique (Cooper Pharma) and The Pharmaceutical Institute (PHI). It is expected to invest $15 million in this venture.
A few months ago it said it is acquiring 51 per cent stake in a UAE-based pharma company. Earlier the company acquired 60 per cent stake in a Sri Lankan firm for $14 million.
Cipla revived its inorganic expansion strategy in 2013 when it acquired its distribution partner in South Africa—Cipla Medpro South Africa Ltd—for $512 million. This was the company’s first acquisition since 2010.
It has also acquired firms in India. A few weeks ago, it bought 60 per cent stake of Mumbai-based Jay Precision Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd (Jay Precision) for Rs 96 crore ($15.4 million). Jay Precision is a supplier of respiratory devices to Cipla and has a manufacturing facility at Vasai, Maharashtra.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
