Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd, the alternative investment arm of Kotak Group, said Monday it will part-finance the acquisition of Viatris Inc's Indian active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) business by Matrix Pharma Pvt Ltd with an investment of Rs 1,445 crore (about $174 million).
The announcement comes five months after VCCircle first reported that Kotak Strategic Situations Fund II IFSC, which is domiciled in Gujarat’s GIFT City, was backing Nimmagadda Prasad-founded Matrix’s acquisition of the Indian API business of Viatris.
After the acquisition, Matrix will be the second-largest Indian API player. Matrix will gain access to Viatris’ R&D capabilities, including more than 185 scientists, Kotak Alt said in a statement.
Kotak Alt, which hit the first close of its second special situations fund garnering $1.25 billion last year, said that its investment will enable Matrix to consolidate its leadership in the API business by strengthening its third-party sales. Matrix will also selectively evaluate inorganic opportunities in the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) segment.
Srini Sriniwasan, managing director at Kotak Alternate, said this buyout shows the firm's strong deal sourcing and structuring capabilities. "It underscores our pharma industry capabilities and ability to create a platform to build a robust API business which we can support with organic and inorganic growth,” he said.
Viatris was created via a merger between Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn unit in 2020. It inked an agreement last year to sell two of its businesses in India for $1.2 billion as part of a global transaction to sign off from non-core businesses.
Viatris’ API business in India encompasses three manufacturing sites and a research lab in Hyderabad, three manufacturing sites in Vizag and third-party API sales. It will retain some research and development (R&D) capabilities in API. Its women's healthcare business includes two manufacturing facilities in Gujarat, one each in Ahmedabad and Sarigam. This is being separately sold to Spain’s Insud Pharma.
Kotak Strategic Situations India Fund II is an alternative investment fund managed by Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd. It currently has capital commitments of about $1.4 billion (Rs 11,700 crore).
Set up in 2005, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd focuses on alternate assets management and investment advisory businesses. It has managed over $22 billion across different asset classes including private equity, real estate, infrastructure, special situations, private credit and investment advisory.
