Warburg Pincus buys 32% stake in Laurus citing ARVs and global opportunities
The deal – which was announced over the weekend – saw New York, US-based Warburg Pincus pay Visakhapatnam-headquartered Laurus $92m (INR5.5bn) for a minority stake through its Bluewater Investment Limited division.
The US private equity firm did not disclosed further details of the investment, however, a note clearing the deal that was issued by the Competition Commission of India indicates that the US private equity fund has bought a 32.29% stake in Laurus.
Warburg Pincus' invesment means Laurus is worth INR1.700bn ($280 million). Available figures suggest the privately owned API firm earns revenue of INR1.7bn a year.
Antiretrovirals
Niten Malhan, managing director of Warburg Pincus India Pvt Ltd, cited Laurus' position in the HIV drug ingredients market as an important driver for the investment, describing the firm as “a global leader in the generic ARV API segment.”
Malhan also said management had positioned the firm to “enter other attractive segments of the global pharmaceutical industry” without providing any additional details.
Laurus CEO Chava Satyanarayana told the Economic Times newspaper “the latest round of funds would be deployed for adding manufacturing capacities near Vizag in Andhra Pradesh in oncology, anti-retroviral (ARV), cardiovascular and anti-diabetic therapeutic segments."
In addition to the large-scale manufacturing facility in Vizag, Laurus also has R&D operations in Hyderabad, which were set up through a $100m joint venture agreement with US contractor Aptuit in 2007.
