Ipca to acquire 33.4% stake in Unichem Labs for Rs 1,034 cr at Rs 440 per share

lpca Laboratories Ltd on Monday announced acquisition of 33.4% stake in Unichem Laboratories Ltd for Rs 1,034 crore.

"The company has entered into a definitive Share Purchase Agreement for acquisition of 2,35,01,440 fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 2 each, constituting 33.38% of the paid up equity share capital of M/s. Unichem Laboratories Ltd from one of its promoter shareholder at a price at Rs 440 per equity share aggregating to Rs 1,034.06 crore," said Ipca in a stock exchange filing.

Ipca is also making an open offer to the public equity·shareholders of Unichem to acquire from them up to 26% of the fully diluted outstanding equity share capital at a price of Rs 440 per share, under the relevant provisions of SEBI.

These transactions are subject to approval of the Competition Commis-sion of India under the
Competition Act, 2002 and such other approvals as may be required "as the business and product range of lpca and that of Unichem complement each other's business and product range".

Premchand Godha, Promoter and Executive Chairman, lpca Laboratories said: "Unichem has developed an excellent and proven quality track record with a differentiated capability which is highly complementary to lpca's strengths. This acquisition is in line with our stated strategy to enhance our portfolio in our chosen growth markets. We both are well positioned to s~ccessfully integrate our product offerings and grow our businesses."

Dr Prakash A Mody, Promoter and Chairman and Managing Director, Unichem Laboratories said: "We are very excited about this transaction and believe that lpca is an ideal partner to take business of Unichem through its next phase of growth. For Unichem, employees and customers have been core to its business and I strongly believe, they will benefit from lpca's expertise in providing competitive' and integrated services globally."

Jayendra Shah, Partner, N A Shah Advisors LLP acted as Advisor to Dr Prakash A Mody and Unichem Laboratories Ltd.

On Monday, Unichem Lab's scrip on BSE closed trading 3.5% higher at Rs 390 while Ipca's scrip closed nearly 2% lower at Rs 825.55