New Delhi, April 14 -- Everstone Capital, a Singapore-headquartered private equity firm that invests in India and Southeast Asia, has committed to invest $270 million (about Rs 2,513 crore) in Gujarat-based Apothecon Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd and its US-based sister concern Navinta.
Everstone picked up a "substantial stake" in the entities, together known as Apothecon Group, the PE firm said in a statement.
Everstone's European partner, Waymade, also participated in the transaction via its investment vehicle, Waymade Capital. Apothecon's founding promoters will continue with a "meaningful stake" in the business, Everstone said, without elaborating.
The investment comes at a time when Everstone is reaching out to limited partners for its fifth PE fund. The fund aims to raise $800 million and brought on board International Finance Corporation as a returning LP last year.
Apothecon is a speciality formulations business with in-house formulations and captive manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and has a commercial presence across the US.
The PE firm said it would help Apothecon in accelerating and augmenting the company's product pipeline, expanding commercial reach across new geographies, and pursuing complementary acquisitions.
"Apothecon Group specialises in complex formulations with a demonstrated track record of launching differentiated products. With its own manufacturing facilities, the company has built a resilient and self-reliant business model, serving its core markets including the US and Europe, and beyond," said Atul Kapur, co-founder and chief investment officer at Everstone Group.
Apothecon was founded in 2003 by Dr. Mahendra Patel, former chief scientific officer at Sandoz and co-founder of Invamed (later acquired by Sandoz), and Joe Renner (former COO of Sandoz and chairman of Zydus USA). Patel will continue as chairman of the company after Everstone's investment.
The group offers a large product portfolio including injectables, oral solids and other dosage forms. It operates manufacturing and R&D facilities in Vadodara and Hyderabad in India, and New Jersey and Florida in the US.
"Their (Everstone) investment will help us expand our manufacturing footprint and accelerate R&D across complex chemistries and dosage forms, further strengthening our pipeline and global reach," said Dr Patel.
Everstone has backed several businesses in the past including Rubicon Research, Slayback Pharma, Softgel Healthcare, Integris Medtech, Sahyadri Hospitals, and OmniActive Health, among others. It acquired a majority stake in SaaS firm Wingify in January last year. In January this year, it struck a bolt-on deal to acquire AB Tasty and merge the Paris-based company with Wingify.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.