Fosun accepts lower stake in Indian pharma

Shanghai-based Fosun Pharmaceutical Group will downsize its planned acquisition stake in the Indian generic drugmaker Gland Pharma to 74 percent from the previously announced 86 percent, according to a Fosun Pharmaceutical announcement released on Monday.

The founding shareholders of Gland Pharma said they have proposed maintaining a higher stake in the company as its operations continue to perform well. The revisions of the agreement will not impact Fosun Pharmaceutical's acquisition of a controlling interest in Gland Pharma, according to the founding shareholders.

Fosun Pharmaceutical will pay about $1.09 billion for the acquisition－the biggest takeover by a Chinese firm in India. It is also the biggest acquisition by a Chinese pharmaceutical company in the overseas market.

According to the announcement, the stake of Gland Pharma held by KKR Floorline Investment and the company's founding shareholders that will be acquired by Fosun Pharmaceutical is adjusted from 69.971 percent to 57.891 percent. KKR will no longer own shares in Gland Pharma once the transaction is completed.

Meanwhile, the aggregate number of shares held by Vetter Family and the convertible shares to be purchased by Fosun Pharmaceutical remains unchanged.

Fosun Pharmaceutical said the deal has gained approval from the National Development and Reform Commission and also completed its antitrust declaration in the United States and India.

The termination date for the deal will be extended to Oct 3.

Regarding this announcement, Shanghai-listed Fosun Pharmaceutical saw its price pick up a slight 0.61 percent to close at 31.17 yuan ($4.75) per share, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 0.28 percent on Monday. Its mother company Fosun Group, which is listed in Hong Kong, saw its price surge 11.73 percent to close at HK$ 16.76 ($2.14) per share.

Chen Qiyu, chairman of Fosun Pharmaceutical, said that the integrated resources of Chinese and Indian pharmaceutical companies, such as Fosun Pharmaceutical's acquisition of Gland Pharma, will help promote the internationalization of Chinese pharmaceutical companies in research and development and generic drug export.

Fosun filed to acquire 86 percent in Gland Pharma in late July last year, with the acquisition amount reaching up to $1.26 billion. However, the deal went through two major suspensions in January and July this year due to concerns expressed by Indian regulatory bodies.

Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Gland Pharma is a leading Indian pure-play generic injectable pharmaceutical products company founded 39 years ago. It is the first injectable drugs manufacturer in India that has been approved by the US FDA.

Its income for fiscal year 2016, which ended March 31 last year, was 1.36 billion yuan with the profit reaching 314 million yuan.