Aurobindo Pharma acquires Veritaz formulation business for Rs 171 crore

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd on Monday said it has acquired the domestic formulation business of Veritaz for a consideration of Rs 171 crore on debt-free cash-free basis.

This acquisition vehicle will greatly help Aurobindo as a launch pad for marketing biosimilar and other products in India, the company said in a statement.

The transaction comes into effect from April 1, 2022 and is expected to close by May 2022, it added.

"With this acquisition we strongly believe that with Aurobindo's ability to build a product portfolio, and with the existing and expanding distribution network of Veritaz, we will be able to create a significant footprint in the domestic pharma market over the next few years," Aurobindo Pharma Managing Director K Nithyananda Reddy said.

Veritaz had a turnover of Rs 133 crore for the nine-month period ended December 2021 and it had a turnover of Rs 127 crore for the full year FY21. It has around 40 brands across the acute and critical care segments with a total number of 180 trademarks registered in its name. Its largest brands are Fepanil and Merogram.

Currently, the company caters to anti-infective and pain-management therapeutic areas and has a pipeline of products to enter into other segments, the statement added.