Aurobindo Pharma's Rs 450-cr deal to acquire 51% in Cronus Pharma cancelled

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd on Friday said its Rs 450-crore deal to acquire 51 per cent stake in Cronus Pharma Specialities India Pvt Ltd (Cronus) has been cancelled.

On August 12, the company had announced that it had entered into definitive agreements to subscribe to fresh equity shares in Hyderabad-based Cronus, a generic veterinary pharmaceutical products firm engaged in development, manufacturing and sale of these items.

The company had entered into binding agreements with Cronus for acquisition of 51 per cent ownership by subscribing to 95,059,963 equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 34.18 per equity share aggregating to Rs 420 crore.

In a regulatory filing on Friday, Aurobindo Pharma said, "The board of directors in its meeting held today has approved the termination of the aforesaid agreements, and the parties have mutually agreed and terminated the said agreements."

It, however, did not disclose the reasons for the termination of the proposed deal.

At the time of the announcement of the deal, Aurobindo Pharma had said the acquisition would provide it a foothold in the USD 48 billion global animal health market. Cronus has 67 products in its pipeline, of which 22 have been filed and six have been approved by the Centre for Veterinary Medicine, USFDA.