Piramal looking for buyouts; plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore
Scouting OTC, patented drugs, contract research and research molecules space.
Piramal Healthcare is eyeing acquisitions in the areas of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, patented drugs, contract research and research molecules. Swati Piramal, director, strategic alliances and communications, Piramal Healthcare, said the company’s board has taken a decision to raise Rs 1,000 crore within the next 6-8 months.
She was speaking on the sidelines of a summit on ‘West Bengal - The Investment Destination’ by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry.Though the board has not decided whether it would be raise the money locally or from overseas, Piramal said there will be a debt component.Asked if the company is looking at multiple acquisitions, she said, “It could be variety. We have not decided yet.”
Piramal declined to specify any particular geography of acquisition, saying the company is open to “any geography.”
Piramal Healthcare, which has 250 patents to its credit, has grown 25% over the last three quarters, she said.
The company is setting up a contract research plant at a cost of Rs 70 crore in Hyderabad while its Rs 100 crore plant at Sanand in Gujarat has gone onstream.
The company, which has set up 100 co-branded pathological laboratories across the country, is now looking to increase its number in areas “where such labs are scarce,” Piramal said.
Having expanded its portfolio to cosmetics through a tie-up with Pierre Fabre of France, the pharma company has brought in 14 of Pierre Fabre’s products into India. Piramal Healthcare is Pierre Fabre’s licencee and manufacturer in India.