Advent International may sell majority stake in Bharat Serums & Vaccines

Global PE major in initial talks with Indian as well as foreign investors

US-based private equity (PE) major Advent International is looking to sell its entire stake in Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV) -- a biopharmaceutical leader in women’s health care, assisted reproductive treatment, critical care, and emergency medicine -- at a total enterprise valuation of up to $2 billion (about Rs 16,672 crore), banking sources told Business Standard.

Advent has initiated talks with several Indian players as well as other PE firms for the sale, the sources said.

Advent declined to comment on the issue, but an insider confirmed that BSV had been put on the block. An email sent to BSV on Friday did not elicit any response till the time of going to press.

In February 2020, Advent acquired a 74 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based company, providing a complete exit to private equity investors OrbiMed Asia and Kotak PE and a partial exit to the promoter Daftary family. Following approval from the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Advent has bought the remaining 26 per cent stake from the Daftary family in the current financial year.

BSV is projected to hit earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of Rs 500 crore by the end of FY24 and Rs 650 crore by the end of FY25.

The company’s consolidated revenue grew 15 per cent in FY23 to Rs 1,435 crore due to significant traction in the women’s health and assisted reproductive segments, with the two verticals growing by 42 per cent and 230 per cent, respectively.

Investments by PE firms have slowed down in the ongoing calendar year due to several reasons, including high valuations of Indian companies. Several private equities and company owners are planning to sell their stake to take advantage of the high valuations.

In September, Advent had made another big-ticket investment by acquiring a 50.1 per cent stake in Suven Pharma at an agreed price of Rs 495 a share, and is now making an open offer to buy an additional 26 per cent stake. The PE firm is focused on the health care sector and plans to use Suven Pharma to help it become a leading company in the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) space globally.

Bankers said health care, financial services and consumer retail have become the hot destinations for investment by PE firms.

With Inputs from Sohini Das