|
Chennai:
The Mumbai-based speciality drugs manufacturer, Sun Pharmaceutical
Industries, has signed an agreement with two large shareholders
of the US-based Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories to
acquire most of their common stock and options in the
company. The agreement was finalised in the third week
of January 2004.
This
will increase the equity holding of the company and its
affiliates in Sun Pharmaceuticals to over 60 per cent
from 44 per cent on a fully diluted basis including options.
This stock acquisition will cost Sun Pharmceuticals approximmately
$42 million, which works out to $9 per share/option. The
company will fund this acquisition from its internal accruals.
The
Sun Pharma board, in its meeting on January 28,2004, cleared
this investment to strengthen the company''s base in the
high priority US generics market. The requisite permission
for these investments have been obtained.
"We
view this as a firm intent of our long term interest in
the US generic market, the potential that we see there
and the capability of the management at Caraco to partake
of this growth", said Sun Pharma''s chairman and managing
director, Dilip Shanghvi.
Situated
in Detroit, Caraco Pharmaceutical develops, manufactures
and distributes generic and private-label prescription
drugs to some of the largest wholesalers, distributors,
drugstore chains, healthcare systems and state and federal
agencies in the US.
|
