The stock which closed at Rs 239.5 on October 1 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has been moving up since late September. The scrip closed at Rs 169.60 on September 22, moved up further to close at Rs 183.75 the next day and touched Rs 246.25 a week later.

Volumes have also been on the rise, touching 1,76,000 on September 30, though this fell to 99,100 on the next day. The Lupin Chemicals scrip too has moved up from Rs 22.95 on September 21 (it touched a high of Rs 34.45) to close at Rs 30.55 on October 1. Analysts expect the group to consolidate its operations into a single entity.

Lupin Labs director (corporate development) Kavita Gupta said: "It is therecognition of the company's potential brought about by the restructuring and the stock is being re-rated."

Marketmen say that Lupin Labs is expected to emerge much leaner, backed by improved operational efficiencies, post-revamp. Besides, the group is rumoured to be close to sealing a mega property deal in Mumbai.

Interestingly, an analyst with a leading foreign brokerage firm said that Lupin may also be on course to finalising a private placement, though no official word could be got.

The Rs 716 crore Lupin Labs has initiated a major restructuring exercise aimed at "leveraging the company's intrinsic strengths". The revamp would address products, markets and people issues at various levels and is aimed at improving organisational efficiencies. Escalating interest and wage bills would also be monitored.

The exercise will, broadly speaking, involve -- higher thrust on markets like the US, Canada, Brazil, Europe, besides the domestic market; working on a full-fledged strategy to globalise Lupin'sstrong anti-TB portfolio (including new dosage regimens); and a greater thrust in the area of cephalosporins and cardiovasculars. The global market for cephalosporins is valued at around US $ 10 billion and the Lupin top brass believes that the company's greatest growth in the coming years will be based on the strengths developed in this product group.

Kavita Gupta had earlier said that the revamp would include a review of management processes, assessing people at senior levels and matching goals, besides better transparency and accountability. These measures are expected to see a 25 per cent improvement in operational efficiencies over a period.