Zydus Wellness rises 5% on buying Kraft Heinz's India portfolio

Shares of Zydus Wellness climbed as much as 5 per cent to Rs 1,319.35 per share in intra-day trade on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after reports suggested that Kraft Heinz Co agreed to sell a portfolio of India businesses, including children’s milk drink Complan, to Zydus Wellness for around Rs 45-46 billion.

An announcement is likely as soon as this week, according to the report. Click here to read the report

At 10:06 am, the stock was trading at Rs 1,287.80, up 2.54 per cent from the previous close. A total of 12,672 shares exchanged hands on the counter.

Zydus Wellness is the personal care arm of drugmaker Cadila Healthcare. It has been in talks with Kraft Heinz for the Indian assets, which include brands Complan, Glucon-D and Nycil, for sometime now.

Zydus was not open to inheriting the tax liabilities of the Italian holding company that houses the Indian business of Kraft Heinz. It only wanted to acquire the Indian assets. A source confirmed that Kraft agreed to its condition and Zydus would not absorb the tax liabilities.

Zydus is looking to raise private equity funding to cover about half of the purchase price, one of the people said.

Beverage maker Coca-Cola, too, was keen for the assets and was open to absorb the tax liabilities of the Italian holding company. Tata Group, India's biggest conglomerate, and consumer-goods manufacturer Dabur India were also among suitors for the Kraft Heinz businesses, people familiar with the matter had said in August.