New Delhi - India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has
signed agreements to acquire Israel's Taro Pharmaceutical Industries
Ltd in a 454-million-dollar deal, Sun said in a notice Monday to the
Bombay Stock Exchange.
This is the first investment in Israel by a multinational
pharmaceutical company based in India.
The Indian drugmaker, which signed the deal over the weekend,
informed the exchange that it would acquire Taro shares for 7.75
dollars in cash, a 27-per-cent premium over its Friday closing price,
representing a transaction with total equity value of 230 million
dollars. Sun also agreed to refinance about 224 million dollars of
Taro's debt.
'We intend to build on Taro's expertise in dermatology and
paediatrics along with specialty and generic pharmaceuticals, and
over-the-counter products,' Sun chairman and managing director Dilip
Shanghvi said.
'With the addition of 170 talented scientists to our team, we look
forward to an increasing number of product filings of higher
complexity,' he added.
The two companies also entered into a separate agreement for Sun
to provide 45 million of interim equity financing to Taro by
acquiring 7.5 million of its ordinary shares.
Established in 1983, Sun employs 550 scientists and manufactures
and markets pharmaceuticals in India, the United States and several
other markets across the world. Based on the latest closing price on
the Indian stock exchanges, Sun's market value is 5 billion dollars.
Taro has research, manufacturing, distribution and marketing
operations in the United States, Canada, Israel and Ireland. It
produces more than 180 pharmaceutical products, including topical
preparations, oral medications and sterile products.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
Your Talkback on this Story