Aurobindo Pharma shares traded higher on Monday amid a spike in volumes.
Aurobindo Pharma on Saturday said it has inked a binding agreement, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Agile Pharma BV Netherlands, to acquire Generis Farmaceutica SA from Magnum Capital Partners for a total consideration of 135 million euros.
Aurobindo Pharma shares traded higher today amid a spike in volumes. The stock was the top Nifty gainer, up over 4.3 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 722.30. At day's high, Aurobindo Pharma marked gains of over 8 per cent in three sessions.
Terming the development as "smart acquisition", SV Prasad, chairman of Chime Consulting, said it appears that Aurobindo Pharma "has not overpaid for the acquisition". It is a smart move from Aurobindo and among largecaps it is one of the attractively valued stocks, he said.
Generis produces and sells pharma products in Portugal.
The combined entity will benefit from a robust pipeline covering all major molecules coming off patent in the next five years, a top executive of Aurobindo Pharma said. Closing of the transaction, however, is conditional on obtaining necessary approvals from the Portuguese authorities.
The acquisition deal includes the Generis's manufacturing facility in Amadora, Portugal, which has a capacity to produce 1.2 billion tablets/capsules/sachets annually.
The Indian pharmaceuticals company also said on Saturday that it received approval of the US drug regulator - the US Food and Drug Administration - for its Levetiracetam injection, used in treatment of seizures with epilepsy.
The Hyderabad-based firm has been steadily expanding its European footprint since 2006. In 2014 it has acquired Actavis's commercial operations in seven Western European countries.
At 10:10 a.m., more than 1.5 lakh Aurobindo Pharma shares had changed hands compared with a two-week average of 1.25 lakh. Aurobindo Pharma shares were trading 2.22 per cent higher at Rs 708.10 apiece on the National Stock Exchange or NSE, whose benchmark Nifty index was down 0.06 per cent.
(With inputs from PTI)
