Sun Pharma chief expects Ranbaxy deal to be closed by mid-Feb

Drug major Sun Pharma's top executive Dilip S Shanghvi expects the USD 4-billion Ranbaxy deal to be concluded by middle of next month while stating that the key challenge before the combined entity would be to rebuild the confidence of health regulators.

"I think Punjab and Haryana High Court will hear the issue of merger on February 2. Once we get the approval (from the court), then it will take a few more days. We need to meet certain company laws. So, hopefully by middle of February we should be able to close the deal," Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip S Shanghvi told reporters here.

"Of course... I think more than anything else the ability to regain the confidence and trust of the regulator is the most important challenge for us," he said when asked about the USFDA ban on Ranbaxy facilities.

The FDA has imposed a ban on the drugs produced at Ranbaxy's plants in India to the US. Later the company faced overseas troubles in Europe where it has been barred from exporting certain antibiotics produced at its Dewas plant to Germany for non-compliance to 'good manufacturing practices' norms by German health regulator.

"If this merger happens by February then we will announce result of the combined entity for fourth quarter," Shanghvi said on the sidelines of release of a book by founder of Dr Reddy's Laboratories Late Dr K Anji Reddy 'An Unfinished Agenda: My Life in the Pharmaceutical Industry'.

In April last year, Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy had announced that they entered into definitive agreements pursuant to which Sun Pharma will acquire 100 per cent of Ranbaxy in an all-stock transaction in a USD 4-billion deal.

Sun Pharma had earlier said it would try to leverage Ranbaxy's strong presence in some of the geographies where it was not present.

Recently in a joint statement, the two firms had said that

they have received the CCI order where acquisition of Ranbaxy by Sun Pharma has been approved "subject to compliance with certain conditions".

The country's competition regulator, which has ordered Ranbaxy to sell six products and Sun Pharma to divest one, had said it would also appoint a monitoring committee to oversee compliance to the conditions put forth by it to ensure that the merger does not hit competition.