International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is lending $147.5 million (Rs 865 crore) to Jubilant Pharma, a wholly owned arm of Jubilant Life Sciences, according to a stock market disclosure.
Late last year, Noida-based Jubilant Life Sciences had announced plans to transfer its pharmaceutical business to a wholly-owned Singapore-based subsidiary and said it plans to list it overseas in six-nine months.
As part of its restructuring, the company transferred its active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and dosage form businesses to Jubilant Pharma Ltd, Singapore. This subsidiary also controls shares held by the group in Jubilant Pharma Holding Inc (USA) and Jubilant Pharma NV (Belgium).
The move was part of a plan to consolidate its API, solid dosage form, radiopharma, allergenic extracts, sterile injectables and ointment, cream and liquid businesses under Jubilant Pharma and to raise money through options including by way of listing the pharma business and reduce debt.
Jubilant Pharma has manufacturing operations in India, the US and Canada.
According to the proposed debt funding, IFC will be investing $110 million out of its own account. The remaining $37.5 million is from the firm’s managed co-lending portfolio programme, which provides additional long-term financing through co-financing partners.
Shyam S Bhartia, chairman and managing director, Jubilant Life Sciences, said, “IFC’s long-term financing package will consolidate our entire pharmaceuticals business under Jubilant Pharma and build global competitiveness.”
Jubilant Life Sciences is a pharmaceutical and life sciences company engaged in the manufacture and supply of APIs, generics, specialty pharmaceuticals and life science ingredients. It provides services in contract manufacturing and drug discovery and development and counts General Atlantic, Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Government Pension Fund Global and Samena Capital as shareholders.
“There is an urgent need to expand access to affordable and quality healthcare, especially among low-income communities,” says Vipul Prakash, director – manufacturing, agribusiness and services, Asia Pacific, IFC.
IFC is the world’s largest multilateral investor in the private health care sector in emerging markets, having provided financing of over $2.2 billion to 164 private health care and life sciences projects in 53 countries.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
