Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, the fast-moving consumer goods firm run by yoga guru Baba Ramdev, has made a Rs 4,000-4,500-crore bid to acquire bankrupt edible oils manufacturer Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd, The Times of India reported citing multiple people aware of the development.
Patanjali Ayurved’s bid is the highest when compared to offers made by Adani Wilmar, Godrej Agrovet and Emami, the report said.
Ruchi Soya is in the midst of insolvency resolution proceedings initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) following petitions from creditors Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank.
Citing people aware of the matter, the report said the Committee of Creditors will assess the eligibility of the bidders. They will not just look into the financial offer but also weigh other aspects of the bids.
Ruchi Soya’s debt stood at around Rs 12,000 crore.
The company sells food products and edible oils under the brands Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Gold and Ruchi Star.
Aurobindo bids for Novartis’ generics biz
Drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has submitted a non-binding bid to buy global healthcare giant Novartis AG’s dermatology generics drug business for about $1.6 billion, Mint reported citing two people aware of the development.
Among other interested bidders, which include private equity firms and drug companies, Aurobindo Pharma is the only Indian firm in the fray, the report said.
Credit Suisse is advising Aurobindo Pharma on this transaction, according to the report.
In November, Bloomberg reported, citing people aware of the development that Novartis was considering to sell its dermatology generics drugs business in order to remove its less profitable business and focus on growth areas such as cancer.
Temasek may pick minority stake in Pine Labs
Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings is looking to buy a significant minority stake in payments solutions provider Pine Labs for $350-400 million, at a valuation of $1 billion, Mint reported citing two people aware of the development.
Temasek is likely to pick up the stake from Sequoia Capital and Pine Labs’ promoters, the report said.
Sequoia Capital is the largest shareholder in the company.
In March, the company had raised $82 million (Rs 530 crore) in a round led by private equity firm Actis Capital. Tech-focused investment firm Altimeter Capital had participated in the round. The investment valued the company at $900 million.
Pine Labs has developed a cloud-based payments platform, which allows merchants to accept traditional electronic payment methods such as credit or debit cards issued by any bank, e-wallets, QR code payment solutions or other UPI based solutions, on a single platform.
The transaction also catapulted Pine Labs into the unicorn or soonicorn club, which includes firms like BigBasket, Swiggy, Practo, Delhivery, BlackBuck, Freshworks, and Rivigo. However, Pine Labs is unlike its peers, in that it has operated in the payments space for almost 20 years and undergone a change in business model, ownership and management.
