Drugmaker Strides Shasun Ltd has agreed to acquire a 50% stake each in two wholly owned subsidiaries of Hyderabad-based Vivimed Labs Ltd, according to a stock-exchange filing.
Strides Shasun will acquire a 50% stake in Vivimed Labs’ pharmaceutical formulations plant in Chennai for $10 million (Rs 66 crore).
It will also invest $1.4 million (Rs 9 crore) in Vivimed Global Generics Pte Ltd. The investment will be made through Strides Pharma Global Pte Ltd. This entity will own certain approved Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) and product pipeline from Vivimed Labs.
An ANDA approval means the company has got consent from the US Food and Drug Administration to make generic drugs for the US market.
Strides Shasun has struck a number of mergers and acquisitions over the past year. In February, Strides and SeQuent Scientific Ltd agreed to merge some of their bulk drugs businesses.
Strides Shasun also sold its African generics business for around Rs 108 crore.
Last year, it acquired Perrigo’s bulk-drugs plant for around $14 million. It also acquired three brands of Moberg Pharma AB for $10 million.
Vivimed, founded in 1988, sold its specialty chemicals business to Clariant Chemicals in September 2015 to pare debt and has now become a predominantly pharmaceuticals company.
Vivimed is backed by PE investors Jacob Ballas Capital and Kitara Capital. In October 2016, Jacob Ballas sold part of its stake in the company at modest returns.