CCI gives thumbs-up to Temasek's 10.16% stake buy in Intas

Fair trade regulator CCI has cleared Singapore government investment arm Temasek Holding's proposed acquisition of 10.16 per cent stake in Indian firm Intas Pharmaceuticals, saying the deal will not raise anti-competition concerns.

Under the proposed deal, Dunearn Investments (Mauritius) Pte. Ltd-a indirect subsidiary of Temasek-would acquire the stake from Mozart Ltd-a wholly owned subsidiary of ChrysCapital III LLC.

In an order released today, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said "that the proposed combination is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effort on competition in India".

The Commission said that "there are no horizontal overlaps between the products and services of Intas and the rest of the Temasek group".

"...Temasek has some minority investment in the companies engaged in the pharmaceutical and health sector in India including Medreich Ltd, a pharmaceutical company in India," CCI said.

Among others, CCI said that "in respect of the overlapping products of Intas and Medreich Ltd, the combined market share is of minimal nature".

"Further, as stated in the notice neither Temasek nor any of its subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures has any significant vertical linkage with any of the business activities of Intas or its subsidiaries in India," CCI added.

Intas, incorporated in India, is a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company with global operations.