Private equity major ChrysCapital has invested an undisclosed amount in Eris Lifesciences Pvt Ltd (ELPL), a branded formulations company based out of Ahmedabad. Founded in March 2007 by Amit Bakshi, the company operates with a strong focus on cardiovascular, diabetes, gastro and ortho segments.
ChrysCapital, one of India’s largest independent PE firms, has made several bets on the pharmaceutical space. These include Intas Pharmaceuticals, a domestic formulations company which filed for an IPO earlier this year, and Mankind Pharma. Some of its recent investments include KPIT Cummins, NCC Ltd and Pratibha Industries.
Eris currently employs over 1000 people across five divisions – Eris, Nikkos, Adura, Asta and Montana. The company markets and distributes pharmaceutical drugs such as tablets, syrups and injections under the prescription drugs segment. It also provides contract manufacturers with formulations and purchase orders for manufacturing drugs. Eris has over 70 registered brand names.
According to a CRISIL report dated January 2011, Eris Lifesciences reported a profit after tax of Rs 5.32 crore in FY10, as compared to Rs 1.67 crore in FY09. Net sales were up to Rs 95.55 crore in FY10, as compared to Rs 35.5 crore a year earlier. As per the company website, Eris achieved Rs 200 crore sales in FY11.
Avendus Capital was the exclusive advisor to Eris Lifesciences for this transaction.
“We are excited about this partnership with ChrysCapital. Having spent the last four years building a quality branded formulations business in India, we are delighted that ChrysCapital was able to see immense value in our business model,” said Amit Bakshi, founder and managing director of Eris.
“The ethical branded formulations space is, by far, the most attractive segment for investment in the Indian life sciences sector. The $12 billion industry is all set to double in the next five years, with high-performing businesses more or less guaranteed to witness month-on-month growth, along with good profitability and strong cash flows. No surprises then that this sector has attracted significant strategic inbound interest,” said V Krishnakumar, executive director at Avendus.
