Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and healthcare-focused private equity firm InvAscent have jointly picked up a controlling stake in sterile injectables manufacturer Maiva Pharma Pvt. Ltd for Rs 1,000 crore (about $120 million).
The deal involves infusion of primary capital into Maiva and purchase of shares from existing investors, the Bengaluru-based contract development and manufacturing organisation said Thursday. This marks Maiva’s inaugural private equity fundraise, the company said, without disclosing any financial terms of the transaction.
The two PE funds will together own more than 60% stake in the company after the infusion of primary capital, VCCircle has gathered.
The announcement comes about three months after VCCircle first reported that the two PE firms were in advanced talks to buy a majority stake in Maiva for about Rs 800-900 crore.
Maiva said Thursday it will use the primary capital to set up a new manufacturing facility near Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The facility will specialize in sterile dosage forms, including pre-filled syringes, bags, as well as oncology and hormonal injectables.
“Over the last three years, Maiva has quadrupled its manufacturing capacity for the US, Canada, and the EU markets,” said Bhaskar Krishna, managing director and chief executive officer at Maiva Pharma. “We will expand at a greenfield site near Hosur. This fundraise will be used to add more vial, lyophilization, and suspension capacity and introduce new manufacturing capabilities such as prefilled syringes, cartridges and bags,” he said.
Avendus acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Maiva and its shareholders on this transaction.
Established in 1996, Maiva specializes in manufacturing sterile solutions in vials and ampoules. It has a portfolio of over 75 products for CDMO services. The company serves over 40 customers across the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
The company reported net sales of Rs 207 crore for the fiscal year 2022-23, up from Rs 162 crore the year before, as per VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose to Rs 63 crore from Rs 43 crore during the period under review. The company posted revenue of about Rs 300 crore in FY24, VCCircle has learnt.
InvAscent, which invested in Maiva through its India Life Sciences Fund-IV, primarily focuses on companies in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, animal health, and medtech industries. It typically invests between $10 million and $40 million over the duration of the investment. Overall, InvAscent has invested in approximately 36 healthcare companies. It has assets under management (AUM) of around $650 million across four funds.
Morgan Stanley PE invests across various sectors. It has previously supported healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, including diagnostics chain Sterling Accuris and ZCL Chemicals Ltd, which it exited in 2021.
