Indian drugmaker Mankind Pharma Ltd on Thursday said it has signed a deal to buy Bharat Serums & Vaccines Ltd (BSV), from private equity firm Advent International for Rs 13,630 crores ($1.63 billion).
The deal will help Mankind expand into the Indian women’s health and fertility drug market besides giving it access to other high-entry barrier products in critical care with established complex R&D tech platforms. BSV has a niche portfolio offering in women’s health, encompassing the entire lifecycle—from fertility to post-pregnancy.
“BSV’s acquisition represents a pivotal milestone in Mankind’s journey, establishing us as a market leader in Indian women’s health & fertility segment. We believe women’s health & fertility has massive opportunity along with strong growth visibility globally, led by structural tailwinds,” said Rajeev Juneja, Vice-chairman and Managing Director, Mankind Pharma.
“BSV’s established Specialty R&D Tech Platforms with a complex portfolio across women’s health, fertility, critical care and Immunoglobulin segment perfectly aligns Mankind Pharma’s strategic vision to expand its footprint in high entry barrier portfolio,” added Juneja.
Advent had acquired a 74% stake in BSV from its erstwhile private equity investors, Orbimed Asia and Kotak PE, and the promoters of the company, the Daftary family, for around $500 million in November 2019. Later, the PE fund also acquired the remaining 26% stake of the Daftary family.
BSV reported revenues of Rs 1,723 crore in FY24, delivering robust 20% y-o-y growth with adjusted EBITDA margins of 28%. The business has grown at about 21% revenue CAGR over the last three years.
“Mankind’s strategic acquisition of BSV with branded specialty pharma portfolio across India and emerging markets presents immense growth potential and will add to the existing growth velocity of Mankind. Moreover, BSV’s business will be highly synergistic with our comprehensive product portfolio, expansive field force and doctor coverage,” Sheetal Arora, Chief Executive Officer and Whole-time Director, Mankind Pharma, said.
Mankind has a presence across acute and chronic therapeutic areas including anti-infectives, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, antidiabetic, neuro/CNS, VMN and respiratory, among others with a strategy to increase chronic presence going ahead. In the consumer healthcare business, the company operates in the condoms, pregnancy detection, emergency contraceptives, antacid powders, vitamin and mineral supplements and anti-acne preparations categories, among others, with several category-leading brands.
According to a report by moneycontrol.com in May, BSV evinced interest from a bunch of global private equity funds including KKR, EQT, Blackstone, Bain Capital, Carlyle, Partners Group, and Permira, apart from Mankind.
Acquisition talks of Bharat Serums & Vaccines Ltd come as India witnesses an unprecedented demand for healthcare amid an ageing population and rising disposable incomes.
Recent billion-dollar deals such as Temasek’s investment in Manipal Hospitals and Blackstone’s $1 billion acquisition of CARE Hospitals have spurred a host of new healthcare funds in the world’s most populous country.
More recently, Maiva Pharma, a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) for North America, said it has raised Rs 1,000 crore in primary and secondary funding from a fund managed by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and India Life Sciences Fund IV.