Multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis AG is exiting its listed local arm Novartis India Ltd (NIL) as part of its strategy to sharpen its focus on high-margin, innovation-led medicines. This draws the curtain on its presence in India’s public markets for decades, and is the culmination of a strategic review announced two years ago.
Novartis AG, whose global Chief Executive Officer Vasant Narasimhan is of Indian origin, has agreed to sell its 70.68 per cent in NIL to a consortium of WaveRise Investments, ChrysCapital Fund X, and Two Infinity Partners.
India’s mass-market pharmaceutical business has long delivered steady revenues but limited strategic relevance to the Novartis group’s global priorities.
The stake price is about $159 million (₹1,446 crore), and this is part of a broader global restructuring. The transaction will result in a mandatory open offer to public shareholders under India’s takeover rules to acquire up to 26 per cent in NIL at ₹860.84 a share, valuing the offer at ₹552 crore. If the open offer is fully subscribed, the deal size could touch ₹1,998 crore. NIL shares jumped 20 per cent in Friday’s trade on the BSE to end at ₹996.5.
Two years ago, in February 2024, Novartis had announced a review of its India-listed unit almost right after it spun off Sandoz, its generics and biosimilars business, in a global strategic move. Novartis operates in India through NIL and Novartis Healthcare Pvt Ltd (NHPL). It does not have a manufacturing facility in the country. In Maharashtra, Sandoz had a facility, which was spun off in October 2023.
While NIL markets prescription drugs, generics, and over-the-counter medicines and has a focus on the transplant-immunology segment, NHPL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the group, includes the commercial arm of Novartis in India, the Novartis Corporate Centre in Hyderabad, and teams for research and development, which conduct clinical trials at more than 300 trial sites in the country. Sources indicated Amitabh Dube, country president and managing director, will continue to head Novartis in India.
“Aligned with our global strategy, we are expanding our innovative Cardio Renal Metabolic and Oncology portfolio, marked by recent launches and a strong pipeline of innovative medicines for India. NIL, an independent public company listed on BSE Limited, is separate from NHPL. The transfer of Novartis AG shareholding in NIL will not impact NHPL operations,” Novartis said in a statement on Friday.
Novartis added that it remained deeply committed to India, where it employs more than 9,000 associates.
Even before the strategic review began in 2024, Novartis India had moved to partner domestic distributors, signing agreements, including one with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, to market brands such as Voveran, its calcium portfolio, and Methergine in India
Upon completing the transaction, Novartis AG will cease to be a promoter while the acquirer group will take control of the company.
The filings make clear that the Indian entity will be required to change its name within 120 days of closing to remove all references to the Novartis group, signalling a clean break rather than a partial disengagement.
Chrys Capital’s investment in the sector includes that in Intas Pharma, Eris Lifesciences, Corona Remedies, and La Renon. It is not clear yet how Chrys Capital intends to grow NIL’s India portfolio, which includes brands like Voveran (pain), Simulect, Certican, Sandimmun, Neoral, and Myfortio (in transplant immunology), and Tegrital and Exelon in neurosciences.
Chrys Capital could not be reached for an immediate comment.
According to reports, the deal was negotiated over several months and positions ChrysCapital — one of India’s most active health care investors — to build a scaledup domestic pharma platform, using Novartis India as a base.
Reports said the acquirers saw scope to expand the product portfolio, pursue bolt-on acquisitions, and improve margins once the business was separated from the global parent’s strategic constraints.
For FY25, the firm posted revenues of ₹356.27 crore and net profits of ₹100.9 crore.
Nirali Shah, analyst with the Ashika group, said: “The asset didn’t lack economics, it lacked a strategic fit. A pure-play innovator holding a majority stake in a listed branded generics vehicle creates capital drag. After the Sandoz spin-off, that misalignment became untenable.”
The move also underscores a broader trend: Multinational drugmakers are no longer willing to maintain listed subsidiaries in emerging markets unless those units are central to their global research and development or supply chains. What private equity sees as under-optimised assets, Big Pharma increasingly sees them as a distraction.
From Cibaca to ChrysCapital: Novartis’ India journey
- Significant footprint in India since 1947 through Novartis Healthcare Pvt Ltd (NHPL) and Novartis India Limited
- Global Novartis formed in 1996 via merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz; lineage over 250 years
- Famous “Cibaca” brand linked to Ciba-Geigy lineage later sold to Colgate-Palmolive in 1994
- Novartis India lists on stock exchanges on November 8, 2000
- Built branded formulations portfolio across cardio, pain, neuro and other therapies
- Key brands include Voveran (pain), Simulect, Certican, Neoral (transplant immunology), Tegrital (Neuro)
- In 2013, the Supreme Court of India rejects Novartis’ bid to patent cancer drug Gleevec, a landmark ruling that upheld strict “anti-evergreening” law
- In Oct 2023, Novartis AG spins off Sandoz as part of global move, and separately listed; its Maharashtra plant moved out
- Novartis does not have a manufacturing under NIL/NHPL post-spin
- In February 2024, Novartis AG begins strategic review of 70.68% stake in listed Indian arm, foreshadowing structural change
- In May 2025, NHPL launches first-of-its-kind, zero-interest access plan for inclisiran (Sybrava) in India
- In September, Indian Patent Office revokes patent on Vymada, opening door to generics
- In Feb 2026, Novartis India enters pact to transfer majority stake in NIL to ChrysCapital, shifting focus to its wholly-owned entity, NHPL
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