Sun Pharma completes Taro merger, acquires all outstanding shares

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Monday announced the successful completion of the merger of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries with its subsidiary. As part of this merger, Sun Pharma acquired all outstanding ordinary shares of Taro other than the shares already held by Sun Pharma or its affiliates. The total deal value is $347.73 million.

On June 24, 2024, the Registrar of Companies in Israel issued a merger certificate. As a result of the merger, Taro will be delisted from the NYSE and it becomes a privately held company 100 per cent (from 78.5 per cent earlier) owned by Sun Pharma.

Sun Pharma has been the majority shareholder of Taro since 2010. Taro had net sales of $629 million in FY2023-24 and cash of $1.3 billion (as of March 31, 2024).

Dilip Shanghvi, chairman and managing director of Sun Pharma, said, “We are pleased with the successful completion of Taro merger process. This milestone marks a significant step forward for both organisations, allowing us to effectively leverage each other's strengths and capabilities. Together, we are excited about starting this new chapter and creating a more robust, successful future for the combined entity.”

New York headquartered Taro has operations in the US, Canada, Israel, and Japan with manufacturing facilities in Canada (Brampton) and Israel (Haifa). Primarily focused on dermatology, Taro produces a wide range of prescription and over-the-counter products. Its product portfolio includes the well-known Proactiv line of products used to treat acne.

On May 26, 2023, Sun Pharma issued a letter to the board of directors of Taro with a proposal containing a non-binding indication of interest to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares in Taro, other than any shares already held by the company or its affiliates (for a purchase price of $38 per ordinary share). Based on Sun’s expression of interest, the Taro board constituted a special committee of its independent directors to evaluate Sun’s proposal. After negotiations, on December 10, 2023, the special committee of Taro board confirmed its in-principle agreement for a revised purchase price of $43 per share and began negotiating the merger agreement. On January 17, 2024, Sun and Taro signed the merger agreement, which would be subject to approval of Taro shareholders. On May 23, 2024, Taro announced that its shareholders approved the merger agreement with Sun.