Mankind Pharma Looks to Spend Rs 500 Cr to Buy Rivals

Mankind Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, one of India's top-ten drugmakers by sales, is willing to spend up to Rs 500 crore ($80.30 million) to buy local rivals and is keen on licensing deals with foreign firms, a top official at the firm said.

The company is also exploring buying established brands to expand its domestic footprint, managing director Sheetal Arora told Reuters in a phone interview.

In scouting for local companies with niche capabilities, New Delhi-based Mankind would be competing with nearly all the top Indian pharma players, who are keen to expand domestically. Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, India's second-largest drugmaker by sales, is also selectively exploring deals to expand in India.

Mankind's growth plans come as, according to Mr Arora, the drugmaker is seeing interest from new private equity investors, with private equity fund ChrysCapital Investment Advisors India looking to sell its stake. ChrysCapital held an 11.1 per cent stake in family-owned Mankind, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, but Mr Arora declined to specify.

"Lots of foreign companies are looking to launch products here, but India is a very complex market, so they need to tie up with companies that have strong marketing strength," Mr Arora said. That's where Mankind believes it is well-positioned.

"We want to tie-up with a multinational who wants to enter the Indian market ... maybe in lifestyle diseases, as we have very strong marketing muscle in India in diabetes," Mr Arora said.

Mankind sells more than a thousand products in India across 14 therapeutic areas ranging from pain and allergy to cardiology, neurology, diabetology, and women's health. Over the past year the company has also begun exporting to about a dozen countries, but the international business only makes up 1 per cent of sales so far.

Recently listed by the healthcare consultancy IMS among one of the fastest-growing companies in India by sales, Mankind is expecting its domestic revenue for the fiscal year 2016 to grow to Rs 4400 crore ($705.52 million) from about Rs 2500 crore the year earlier, Mr Arora said.

Mankind is one of the biggest players in the sexual health market in India, although the segment contributes only about 8 to 10 per cent to its total sales. Its popular Manforce condom brand has annual sales of Rs 300 crore, Mr Arora said.

ChrysCapital managing director Sanjiv Kaul did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

($1 = Rs 62.2700)