Jubilant Organosys to hive off non-pharma biz, amalgamate other units

Drugmaker Jubilant Organosys has decided to hive off its non-pharma business into a life sciences-focused unit, under a new name - Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd.

The demerged entity to be named Jubilant Industries Ltd would continue to operate in the the agri and performance polymer segment. It would be separately listed on the stock exchanges by January 2011, according to a company statement issued today.

Under the new arrangement, Jubilant shareholders would be allotted one share in the demerged entity for every 20 held, the statement said.

"The newly formed entity would build expertise and grow in the field of polymers and fertiliser, while Jubilant Life Sciences would become a firm focused on life sciences segment," chairman Shyam Bhartia told television channel CNBC-TV18.

In another development the company announced the amalgamation of its unit Speciality Molecules Ltd and Pace Marketing Specialities Ltd, a contract manufacturer of adhesives, with itself.

According to analysts, the spin-off would help improve the pharma business performance. They say Jubilant's pharma business performace had been suffering due to the agri-performance polymer (APP) business.

Bhartia said that the company took the demerger decision today with a view to segregating its complete polymer and fertiliser business from it life science business. He added that life sciences was the almost 90 per cent of the company's business at present and the polymer and fertiliser business was therefore being demerged.