Wanbury mulls Rs 400-cr buys in CRAMS in ‘FY09

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Mumbai-based pharma firm Wanbury Ltd is betting big on contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) with proposed acquisitions worth about Rs 400 crore this financial year. The company is learnt to have started initial discussions with a couple of companies in the European Union as part of the proposed buyouts.

Wanbury, which is the largest producer of metformin (an ingredient for diabetic drugs) in the world, is targeting a sales turnover of $100 million from the CRAMS business by 2011. The company has opened an office in Switzerland as part of expanding its CRAMS contracts in the EU. It is expecting to end the year with at least 40 projects in Europe alone.

Ashok Shinkar , director, corporate finance, Wanbury, told FE , “We are mainly aiming multiple buyouts of the manufacturing facilities with an aggregate value of about Rs 400 crore. The manufacturing facilities which we are targeting will be bought out along with the rights of ingredients that are produced there.” On funding the acquisition, he said, “We will explore various ways such as private equity investments, but it’s premature to say about it.”

Wanbury, which bought the Spanish formulations company Cantabria for Rs 250 crore last year, is also eyeing outlicensing deals in various EU countries for the proposed formulations the company wants to launch in Europe, KRN Moorthy, its deputy MD, said.