Torrent Pharmaceuticals plans to raise $682 million

By Joseph Rai

  • 18 May 2021
Credit: 123RF.com

Drugmaker Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Tuesday said that its board has approved raising funds up to Rs 5,000 crore ($682 million).

The company will seek to raise the amount by issuance of equity shares including convertible bonds through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) and/or depository receipts or any other modes, said Torrent Pharma in a stock market disclosure.

It did not specify the reason for raising the capital.

Earlier in the day, Torrent Pharma said its revenue from operations for the fiscal year ended March 2021 was Rs 8,005 crore as compared with Rs 7939 crore in the previous year. Its net profit rose from Rs 1,025 crore to Rs 1,252 crore during the period.

Torrent Pharma is the flagship company of Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group, which also operates a power generation business, besides others. It has manufacturing plants at Indrad, Baddi, Sikkim, Dahej, Pithampur and Visakhapatnam.

The drugmaker has in the past been active in making acquisitions. In 2018, Torrent Pharma acquired US-based generic pharmaceuticals company Bio-Pharm, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

In 2017, it acquired the branded formulations business of Unichem Laboratories Ltd in India and Nepal for Rs 3,600 crore. Earlier in the same year, it bought a portfolio of brands from Novartis India.

In June 2016, Torrent Pharma bought an active pharmaceutical ingredient facility of Hyderabad-based Glochem Industries Ltd for an undisclosed amount.

In 2015, it acquired Zyg Pharma, which manufactures various dermatological formulations like creams, ointments, gels, lotions and solutions, for an undisclosed amount.