Alembic in talks for acquiring domestic ophthalmic company

Alembic Ltd, the maker of the cough preparation Glycodin which acquired part of Dabur’s pharmaceuticals business earlier this year is now eyeing a domestic maker of ophthalmic products as part of its inorganic growth strategy. “We plan to enter the ophthalmic segment through an acquisition in this space and we are in discussions to buy a company. The size of the deal could be about Rs100 crore,” said Chirayu R. Amin, chairman and managing director of Alembic. He declined to divulge further details.

Alembic ended 2006-07 with Rs700 crore in net sales.The company said its target would have expertise in manufacturing ophthalmic products. “We can build on these technologies to grow our presence in the ophthalmic segment, both in the domestic market as well as in the international markets,” said Pradeep Rane, president-formulations business, Alembic.

Ophthalmics is a niche segment and unlike other categories in the domestic pharmaceutical market which are crowded, few companies such as Allergan India Pvt. Ltd and Cipla Ltd have a significant presence in it.The domestic ophthalmology market is currently valued at around Rs400 crore and is growing at over 15%.
Read more in The Live Mint article.

Dabur to buy 60% stake in Singapore-based FMCG company Unza for Rs. 675 crores

Dabur is about to acquire over 60% stake in Singapore-based consumer goods company Unza Holdings for Rs. 600-675 crores. Dabur is expected to buy out the holdings of private equity funds Actis and Standard Chartered who hold 30% each in the $150 mn-Singapore company. The deal is touted to be one of the largest overseas acquisition deals in the FMCG space, and make it the third-largest FMCG company in India behind HLL and ITC with manufacturing facilities in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Unza is a leading personal care manufacturer and marketer in South-east Asia with 48 brands in its portfolio, and is equally owned by the company management and the two private equity funds.

Read more in The Economic Times article.