Capital International buys 3% stake in Intas Pharmaceuticals for US$ 107 million

Mumbai: Capital International Private Equity Fund has acquired about 3% of Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd for $107 million (Rs690 crore) from ChrysCapital Llc., according to two people aware of the development.

The transaction values Intas Pharma at around $3.5 billion (Rs23,000 crore), said one of the two persons on condition of anonymity. ChrysCapital, which had a 6% stake in Intas prior to the transaction, will continue to own the remaining stake.

Investment bank Moelis and Co. advised ChrysCapital on the transaction. The deal is likely to be made public in a few days, said the second person.

Mint reported in January that ChrysCapital had decided to sell around a 3% stake in Intas.

Capital International is part of the Capital Group, one of the world’s largest investment management companies with over $1.4 trillion in assets under management.

In India, Capital International had investments in L&T Finance Holdings Ltd, Deccan Aviation Ltd, IT services firm MindTree Ltd, Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd(later rebranded as Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd) and Manipal Global Education Services. At present, it holds investment in Mankind Pharma. Capital International manages six emerging markets private equity funds.

Mails sent to spokespersons for Intas Pharma and Capital International did not elicit any responses. Spokespersons for ChrysCapital and Moelis declined to comment.

ChrysCapital invested a total Rs350 crore in Intas through two funds—ChrysCapital III and ChrysCapital V. ChrysCapital had first acquired a 12.5% equity stake in the drugmaker for around Rs50 crore from ICICI Venture Funds Management Co. Ltd. Later, in 2012, the private equity fund raised its holding to more than 16% by acquiring an additional stake for about Rs300 crore, after Intas deferred its initial public offering due to volatile market conditions.

Intas, which has annual sales of more than $1 billion, is currently ranked 10th in the Indian pharmaceutical market, with a 2.8% market share.

In November 2014, ChrysCapital had partially exited Intas by selling a 10.2% stake to Temasek Holdings Pvt. Ltd at close to 10 times its original investment. While the fund did not disclose the details of the transaction at the time, Mint had reported that the stake was sold for Rs880 crore.

ChrysCapital had also gained about 10-fold on its original investment when it sold its 11% stake in Mankind Pharma to Capital International Private Equity Fund. ChrysCapital had invested $24 million in Mankind Pharma in 2007.

ChrysCapital is also looking to exit its investment in Eris Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd. It invested about Rs160 crore in the firm in 2011 for a 16% stake. The private equity firm recently raised over $600 million for its seventh offshore fund, ChrysCapital VII.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.