Delhi-based RFCL Ltd, which is completely controlled by ICICI Ventures, has reportedly acquired US-based speciality chemicals firm Mallinckrodt Baker for $340 million. This acquisition would bring RFCL into the top league of fine chemicals companies across the world, which include Sigma Aldrich Co., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Merck KGaA.
Though RFCL, which previously known as Ranbaxy Fine Chemicals Ltd, has done quite a few small acquisitions but this acquisition is in a different league altoghter. ICICI Venture could put anywhere around $100 million as equity contribution to the deal while the rest would be finance through debt from ICICI Bank and others, reports Economic Times.
Mallinckrodt Baker has over 2,000 employees in four plants in the US, the Netherlands, Mexico and Malaysia will bring in revenues of reported annualised revenue of $422 million in 2006-07. It supplies chemicals for laboratory research, microelectronics devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology therapeutics.
RFCL has three divisions, animal healthcare, fine chemicals and the diagnostics business. It was once a part of drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, but was acquired by ICICI Ventures in 2005 for Rs 125 crore. At that time the company had revenues of about $37 million (Rs 150 crore), which have now gone up to over $87 million (Rs 350 crore). Last year RFCL acquired three companies, Wipro Biomed and Godrej Medical Diagnostics in the diagnostics space and Chennai-based Alved Pharma and Foods Pvt Ltd in the animal healthcare space.
