Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd has agreed to acquire 100% stake in Sequoia-backed skincare products manufacturer Curatio Healthcare (I) Pvt Ltd (Curatio) for Rs 2,000 crore (around $245 million), the drugmaker said in a statement.
The consideration includes Rs 115 crore (on the date of signing) of cash and cash equivalents in the acquired business indicating an enterprise value of Rs 1,885 crore, Torrent Pharma said in a regulatory filing.
The transaction is subject to conditions precedent and is expected to close within one month.
With this acquisition, Torrent Pharma will add a Field Force of 600 MRs (medical representatives) and a distribution network of 900 stockists.
“Over the last fifteen years, Curatio has built a strong portfolio of differentiated products in the derma segment that are very well received by doctors and patients. We believe Torrent is best suited to further catapult the business which we have built,” said Sequoia, ChrysCapital and the promotors (including GK Ramani) of Curatio in a joint statement.
Earlier in March, VCCircle had reported that Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, Torrent Healthcare Ltd, KKR-backed JB Chemicals and Warburg Pincus were the shortlisted entities to buy Curatio.
Sequoia Capital had acquired a 33% stake in Curatio Healthcare in 2014, while ChrysCapital purchased stake in the business in 2018, when Fulcrum Capital made a partial exit. Anicut Capital owns about 1% stake in the company.
Curatio’s portfolio consists of brands such as Tedibar, Atogla, Spoo, B4 Nappi and Permite, with top ten brands of Curatio accounting for more than75% of total revenue.
The firm reported a revenue of Rs 224 crore for FY21-22, with dermatology constituting over 82% of the revenues. It estimates the revenue to increase to Rs 275 crore in FY23.
With this latest deal, Torrent Pharma will enter the league of top 10 players in the dermatology segment and will be the leader in the cosmetic dermatology space, the company said.
“The acquisition offers Torrent the opportunity to enhance its presence in dermatology with a differentiated portfolio and is a strong strategic fit. Curatio has built a commendable set of high market share brands in cosmetic and paediatric dermatology that we look forward to adding to our product offerings,” said Aman Mehta, director at Torrent Pharma.
The drugmaker has in the past been active in making acquisitions. Torrent’s last major deal was in 2017 when it acquired the branded formulations business of Unichem Laboratories Ltd in India and Nepal for over Rs 3,600 crore. Earlier in the same year, it bought a portfolio of brands from Novartis India.
In 2018, it acquired US-based generic pharmaceuticals company Bio-Pharm, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. In 2017, it the branded formulations business of Unichem Laboratories Ltd.
In 2016 and 2015, Torrent Pharma bought active pharmaceutical ingredient facility of Hyderabad-based Glochem Industries Ltd and acquired dermatological formulations manufacturer Zyg Pharma, respectively.
In similar space, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories announced acquisition of Nimbus Health in Germany earlier this year and in 2020 had acquired Wochkardt’s domestic formulations business for Rs 1850 crore.
