A consortium led by private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management Pvt. Ltd has bought 9.3% stake in Mumbai-based BDR Pharmaceuticals International for Rs 685 crore ( around $88 million).
BDR Pharmaceuticals will use the capital to boost its research and development capabilities and expand manufacturing capacity. The company also aims to scout for acquisition opportunities.
The investors in the consortium include the investment arm of Times Group, QRG Invest (Havells Family Office), and high net worth individuals, Nishant Agarwal of Avighna Group and Mallika Srinivasan of TAFE, said Multiples in a statement.
Manish Gaur, managing director and head of healthcare at Multiples noted in the statement that BDR Pharmaceuticals has built a strong business in Indian as well as overseas markets.
“Healthcare, as an industry is highly promising in India and Multiples brings strong sector expertise with investments in companies across the value chain. We will continue to explore partnering with promising enterprises in the healthcare industry,” added Gaur.
Founded in 2003 by Hetero Drugs promoter, Dharmesh Shah, BDR Pharmaceuticals is involved in active pharmaceuticals ingredients (API) or bulk drugs. Apart from BDR Pharma, the BDR group also has another entity, BDR Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd, which is involved in formulation manufacturing. For drug development, the group focuses on four specialised therapeutic segments - oncology, critical care, gynaecology and neurology.
Multiples Alternate Asset Management, founded in 2009 by former ICICI Venture managing director and CEO Renuka Ramnath, announced the final close of its third fund at $680 million last year.
Its first investment in the healthcare space was in Bengaluru-based Vikram Hospital, which was acquired by multi-specialty chain, Manipal Hospitals last year. A person familiar with the development had told VCCircle that Multiples made around 2.5 times on its equity investment from Vikram Hospital.
The private equity firm later made an investment in contract development and manufacturing firm Encube Ethicals Pvt. Ltd and listed drugmaker Natco Pharma. In May last year, a consortium led by Multiples agreed to acquire an animal health business from a wholly owned unit of Zydus Lifesciences Ltd (erstwhile Cadila Healthcare) for Rs 2,921 crore ($397 million).
Multiples' bets outside the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors include fantasy gaming firm Dream11, logistics platform Delhivery, multiplex chain PVR, big data startup Quantiphi, and human resources technology company PeopleStrong.
Last year, Multiples also made investments in meat brand, Licious and customer analytics and cross-channel engagement platform, MoEngage.
