Aurobindo, Intas in race for Teva’s European assets
SWEET PILL Israeli firm’s business expected to receive bids upwards of $1 bn
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd and Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd are in the race to acquire part of the European assets of Israeli generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd in a deal that, if completed, could be the biggest overseas acquisition by an Indian pharma company.
The assets include the oncology, pain management and women’s health divisions of the company, two people aware of the acquisition talks said on condition of anonymity. The process, which is being managed by Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAML), is expected to receive bids that are upwards of $ 1 billion, they added.
Spokespersons for BAML, Morgan Stanley and Intas Pharmaceuticals declined comment. Spokespersons for Aurobindo Pharma and Teva did not respond to e-mails seeking comment.
This will be the second time in less than a year that Aurobindo and Intas are vying for Teva’s assets. Last year, Aurobindo unsuccessfully bid for Teva’s Actavis UK Ltd and Actavis Ireland Ltd units and was pipped at the post by Intas, which paid close to £600 million (₹5,083 crore) to win the deal, Mint reported in October. The transaction was part of the European Commission’s (EC) antitrust divestiture requirement arising from Teva’s acquisition of Actavis. In July last year, Cipla Ltd, India’s fifth largest drug maker, acquired a portfolio of three products from Teva in the US. In November last year, Aurobindo Pharma acquired a few products from Teva in France.
If either Aurobindo or Intas
LAST YEAR, AUROBINDO UNSUCCESSFULLY BID FOR TEVA’S ACTAVIS UK AND ACTAVIS IRELAND UNITS AND WAS PIPPED AT THE POST BY INTAS, WHICH PAID CLOSE TO ₹5,083 CR FOR THE DEAL
acquires the assets, it will be largest outbound deal pharma by an Indian company so far. “Both companies are in talks with banks to tie up funding for the final bids,” one of the two people cited in the first instance said.
Several other international companies and private equity funds are also expected to participate in the bidding process. “Intas’s bid is likely to be in the range of $1 billion or slightly higher and the acquisition will be completely funded by debt,” the first person added.
Promoted by the Ahmedabadbased Chudgar family, Intas Pharma is one of India’s largest closely held pharma companies and is backed by private equity firms Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd and ChrysCapital.
In 2015-16, Intas Pharma earned close to $ 1 billion in revenue with a profit after tax of $130 million. More recent financials are not available.
Aurobindo Pharma registered sales of ₹15,090 crore and a net profit of ₹2,296 crore in the year ended March. During the first nine months of FY17, the company filed 23 Abbreviated New Drug Applications or ANDAs, a research report by rating company India Ratings and Research Pvt. Ltd said. The company’s recent corporate filings show that it has free cash balance of close to ₹880 crore and a moderate term loan repayment obligation of ₹300 crore over 2017-18, the India Ratings report added.