Reports indicate that an association of Zydus Cadila and Carlyle is competing against Advent International, a global private equity group, over the acquisition of Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd (BSV), a Mumbai based bio-pharmaceutical company. Both the companies have submitted non-binding offers between Rs 3,450-3,600 crore (US$500-520 million).
The Daftary family, founder promoters of BSV, had supposedly anticipated a valuation of Rs 4,000-4,300 crore (US$600-630 million) for their company. The Daftary family, present investors Orbimed Asia and Kotak Private Equity are seeking to sell a majority stake in the company.
Seemingly, the two funds own a combined 23% stake and the remaining part is with the founders. However, two years ago, the company had planned Rs 2,000-crore initial public offering for giving an exit to the investors, which was called off later.
According to ET reports, in Dec 2017, the company was highly valued at Rs 6,667 crore. If this acquisition agreement goes well, then Daftary would likely retain about 35-40% stake in BSV.
Sources reported that after Heinz India’s buyout, it would be the second time that Zydus Group is looking to work with a PE partner. Zydus Wellness, a profound company of Zydus group, had acquired consumer wellness business of Heinz India including renowned brands like Glucon D and Complan.
For the Rs 4,595-crore acquisition, Zydus had received the support of True North, a PE fund which invested around Rs 1,000 crore.
For the uninitiated, BSV is involved in selling products including antifungals, equine anti-toxins and serums, anaesthetics, cardiovascular and diagnostic products in India and also in over 45 countries. Its R&D facilities run in Germany, India, and the US.
The company also has joint venture-based and own plants in Germany’s Aachen as well as in India at Ahmedabad and Ambernath. In fiscal year 2017, the revenue of the company was Rs 620 crore with a profit of Rs 40 crore, though recent financial details are not available yet.