Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has acquired the domestic formulation business of Veritaz in a slump sale at a consideration of ₹171 crore.
The transaction is agreed at a consideration of ₹171 crore on debt-free cash-free basis. The transaction comes into effect from April 1 and is expected to close by May.
“I am pleased to announce the Aurobindo’s entry into the domestic market with this acquisition; with this acquisition we strongly believe that with Aurobindo’s ability to build a product portfolio, and with the existing and expanding distribution network of Veritaz we will be able to create a significant footprint in the domestic pharma market over the next few year,” K Nithyananda Reddy, Managing Director, Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, said in a release on Monday.
The acquisition will “greatly” help Hyderabad-based Aurobindo as a launch pad for marketing biosimilar and other products in India, the release said.
The 10 year-old Hyderabad-based Veritaz had an audited turnover of ₹133 crore for the period of 9 months ended December 2021 and it had a turnover of ₹ 127 crore for FY21.
Its current product portfolio operates in an addressable market of ₹26,775 crore which is an exciting space to gain market share and grow our business. The company has around 40 brands across the acute and critical care segments.
The total number of trademarks registered in its name is around 180. Its largest brands are Fepanil and Merogram group which clock a revenue of around ₹31 crore and ₹20 crore up to December 2021 respectively.
Currently the company caters to anti-infective and pain-management therapeutic areas and has a pipeline of products to enter into the cardio/diabetic and ortho/gynecology segments.
The company has an existing sales and distribution network with 900 field force, covering more 50,000 retailers with nearly 1,700 stockist, presence in 23 cities, reaching out to more than 70,000 doctors and empanelled with major hospitals.