Cipla inks investment pact with FIL Capital Investments

Cipla today said it has inked an investment agreement with FIL Capital Investments (Mauritius) II Limited for its consumer healthcare business.
"Cipla Health Ltd and FIL Capital Investments (Mauritius) II Limited have on November 27, 2015 signed an investment agreement", Cipla said in a regulatory filing.
The investment is subject to approvals from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Competition Commission of India, and the transfer of Cipla's consumer healthcare business to Cipla Health Ltd, it added.
The company however did not disclose the financial details of the agreement.
In July, Cipla's board had approved an investment by Fidelity Growth Partners India and US-based Fidelity Biosciences, through FIL Capital Investments (Mauritius) II or its affiliates in its recently launched consumer healthcare business.

Through the consumer healthcare business, Cipla has entered the over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare market in India.

Earlier, the Mumbai-based company's board had approved divestment of its consumer healthcare business to Cipla Health, a wholly-owned subsidiary, by way of a slump sale for a consideration of Rs 10.5 crore.
Cipla is targeting 10-12 per cent growth in the domestic
market in next two to three years, its newly elected Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Umang Vohra said.
The company will be targeting its three main markets - India, US and South Africa - for growth. Increased R&D as well as better product mix is expected to aid the growth, he said.

Cipla's first quarter results for 2016-17, have shown continued momentum in key markets accompanies by improvement in base business margins.
This is a result of our conscious decision to focus on and deepen our presence in priority markets, which include India, South Africa and USA, Hamied added.
The company will continue to see the impact of currency volatility in emerging markets. The company has improved the quality of its earnings on account of focused efforts on product mix and cost containment measures resulting in better operating margins.
However, a lot more need to be done in terms of growth and profitability, he added.