Wockhardt to sell Wallis unit

Pharma major to consolidate its European operations.

Wockhardt, the Habib Khorakiwalla-controlled Rs 980 crore pharmaceutical major, has put Wallis' manufacturing plants in the UK on the block.

The company has also merged its two subsidiaries in the UK "" Wallis Laboratories and CP Pharmaceuticals under Wockhardt UK Ltd. The move is a part of a restructuring initiative taken by the company to consolidate its European operations. After the restructuring, the consolidated revenue of Wockhardt UK Ltd is around £50 million.

Wockhardt acquired Luton-based Wallis in 1998 for $ 5 million, while it acquired Wrexham based CP Pharmaceuticals in July 2003 for Rs 83 crore in an all cash deal.

Habil Khorakiwala, chairman of Wockhardt, said, "We are in talks with buyers to sell Wallis' unit. The manufacturing operations of Wallis have been partly integrated with CP Pharmaceuticals and a part of it has been shifted to India."

The restructuring of the company's UK operations has resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in manpower, Khorakiwala added. CP Pharmaceuticals and Wallis originally had 450 and 120 employees, respectively.

UK accounts for around 65 per cent of Wockhardt's total international business.

The acquisition of the two companies catapulted Wochhardt into the top 10 generic companies' league and it became the largest Indian pharmaceutical company in the UK.

The drug maker not long ago announced the acquisition of the businesses (excluding the manufacturing facilities) of Esparma, the German pharmaceuticals company, for Rs 49 crore ($11 million).

The company's overall international business accounts for 57 per cent of its total turnover.