Drugmaker Sanofi India Ltd said on Friday it has extended the deadline to sell a manufacturing unit in Gujarat to Advent International-backed Zentiva Pvt. Ltd.
The local unit of French drugmaker Sanofi said in a stock-exchange filing that it pushed the deadline to June 30 from March 31 because of delays in receiving regulatory approvals.
The pharmaceutical company, in September last year, had said it would sell the Ankleshwar unit for Rs 261.7 crore ($36.53 million then) to Zentiva.
At the time, Sanofi India had said the sale was in line with its broader strategy, including to address its unutilized manufacturing capacity and the focus on producing Sanofi-branded products.
The move was also part of a global transaction between the larger Sanofi Group and Advent International, in which the latter acquired Zentiva, which was part of Sanofi’s generics business. Zentiva continued to source products from Sanofi as part of a five-year supply agreement.
The sale is expected to help improve asset efficiency ratios, Sanofi said previously, adding that it will mitigate any potential revenue losses through a focus on its core activities and brands.
The Ankleshwar unit makes active pharmaceutical ingredients, or bulk drugs, and finished products. As part of the sale, Sanofi India said it would move the products being manufactured at Ankleshwar to another site while Zentiva products being manufactured at other locations would be moved to this plant.
The Sanofi group has a presence in over 100 countries and employs more than one lakh people, its website shows. It makes pharmaceutical products, vaccines and consumer healthcare products.
