Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has arranged a credit line for as much as $2.3 billion from global banks toward its acquisition of a controlling stake in JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.
The banks include Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is confidential. The funds are expected to be raised through local currency bonds with tenors of up to four years, they said.
Besides the $1.4 billion Torrent will be paying KKR & Co. for the controlling stake, it is making a mandatory open offer to acquire up to a further 26 per cent of the company for 1,639 rupees per share.
The company won’t necessarily use up all of the credit line, the people said.
Acquisition financing has been a bright spot for global lenders in India, thanks to an uptick in cross-border transactions, driven in part by supportive regulatory and government policies, according to a report by Goldman Sachs.
Deal volumes were down 8 per cent in Asia Pacific this year while it increased 18 per cent in India, according to consulting firm PwC.
Torrent Pharma is holding an investor call Monday around 4 p.m. India time to explain the deal to investors, one of the people said.
Standard Chartered declined to comment. Torrent, Barclays, and HSBC did not immediately reply to Bloomberg’s emails seeking comment.
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