Torrent Pharma Close to Finalising Stake Acquisition in JB Pharma

In order to buy its 47.84 percent share in J B Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (JB Pharma), Gujarat-based Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited has reopened negotiations with private equity (PE) company KKR.

According to the sources, the two parties are expected to ink a contract shortly. Torrent Pharma had been in protracted negotiations to buy JB Pharma last year. But in the end, value issues caused the agreement to collapse. For about Rs 3,100 crore, or Rs 745 per share, KKR purchased 54% of JB Pharma from the Mody family, who were the company's founders and promoters, in July 2020.

With JB Pharma's stock closing at Rs 1,802.9 per share on June 27, KKR's stake is worth about Rs 13,400 crore. Since the beginning of the year, JB Pharma's stock has dropped 2.26 percent. The equity sale will result in an open offer for up to 26 percent of the company's stake held by public shareholders. Torrent, which has expanded over the years through a number of inorganic initiatives, has a presence in cardiovascular, central nervous system, and gastro-intestinal therapeutics as well as women's healthcare.

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In 2013, it purchased Elder Pharma's Indian-branded company. Additional purchases include the 2015 buyout of Zyg Pharma's dermaceutical business, the 2016 acquisition of Glochem Industries' API facility, Novartis' women's healthcare brands, and the 2017 purchase of Unichem's Indian branded business and Sikkim facility. Its most recent significant purchase was the Rs 2,000 crore purchase of Curatio Healthcare, a manufacturer of skin care products, in 2022.