Lifesaving and critical care drug maker, BDR Pharmaceuticals International Pvt Ltd, has diluted about 9.3 per cent equity stake for Rs 685 crore to a consortium of investors led by Renuka Ramnath-founded private equity firm Multiples Private Equity.

Multiples becomes the first PE investor in the family-owned BDR Pharmaceuticals, founded by senior pharma leader Dharmesh Shah. Following the stake-sale, BDR gets a valuation of about $1 billion (approximately Rs 7,500 crore).

The consortium of investors participating along with Multiples PE include institutional investors such as the investment arm of the Times Group, QRG Invest (Havells Family Office), and high networth individuals Nishant Agarwal of Avighna Group, and Mrs. Mallika Srinivasan of TAFE, the company informed in a statement.

The funds will be used by the company to build additional research and development capabilities in current and emerging areas, accelerate investments in manufacturing capacity expansion and enhance the degree of vertical integration.

In response to a BusinessLine query, Dheer Shah, CFO, BDR Pharmaceuticals, said, “The deal has been closed and all the formalities are complete with our predominant investor, Multiples Private Equity. The stake dilution is for the purpose of R&D, inorganic growth and CAPEX. The selling promoters are the founders of BDR Pharma where they have diluted 9.3 per cent, but it is predominantly a primary sale.”

The company will also selectively pursue inorganic opportunities to build scale.

Commenting on the investment, Manish Gaur, Managing Director and Head of Healthcare, Multiples said, “Multiples is thrilled to be the first PE partner for the company, and we look forward to working closely with the leadership of BDR Pharma to unlock its full potential and create value for all stakeholders. Healthcare as an industry is highly promising in India and Multiples, brings strong sector expertise with investments in companies across the value chain.

BDR Pharma’s Chairman and Managing Director, Dharmesh Shah said, “We are looking forward to accelerating our growth journey with trusted investors having a deep understanding of the sector, and regulatory environment and who bring first-hand experience in working with innovative, high-growth companies.”

With a high-quality product portfolio across multiple therapy areas, the company has established itself as an innovation partner of choice in attractive therapy areas with a track record of leadership in Oncology and Critical Care and a growing presence in Dermatology, Gynaecology, and other therapy areas. BDR Pharma’s portfolio includes Covid-19 drugs Favipiravir, Molnupiravir and Baricitinib in India.

For Multiples, J Sagar and Associates acted as the Legal Advisors and EY acted as the Financial and Tax Advisors, while for BDR Pharmaceuticals, SAM for Legal, Transaction Square for Tax and O3 Capital as Investment bankers led the transaction, a company statement said.

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