Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceutical’s chief executive officer Dilip Shanghvi will pick up 11.26 per cent stake in the Israeli investment company Bio-Light Life Sciences Investments Ltd for NIS 10.5 million (around Rs 13.6 crore), Israeli news portal Globes has reported. Shanghvi will invest through his private company, MJ Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the report added.
Bio-Light will allot 30 million shares to MJ Pharmaceuticals at a company value of NIS 95 million (Rs 1.22 billion), double of today’s market cap of NIS 42 million (Rs 541.6 million), even after the stake dilution.
The Israeli firm invests in small, research-oriented biotech companies and is currently developing two clusters – the first in oncology through its takeover of Micromedic Technologies Ltd, which already has a range of cancer diagnostic activities, and the second in ophthalmology, through its subsidiary IOptima Ltd.
“We will use the initial investment to finance our deal with Micromedic, support IOptima and create synergetic operations around them,†Bio-Light CEO Suzana Nahum Zilberberg was quoted as saying.
According to Zilberberg, the company is moving forward systematically to create value for a secondary offering. “We already realised that we should raise capital gradually, rather than seeking an immediate large investment.â€
Established in 1983, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd manufactures and markets a wide range of pharmaceutical formulations. It is one of the largest Indian companies in the US generic market.
In September, 2010, Sun Pharma acquired a controlling stake in the Israeli pharma major Taro Pharmaceuticals. Consequently, its subsidiaries have increased their stake in Taro to 48.7 per cent.
