New Delhi, July 30 -- Healthcare-focused private equity firm InvAscent is investing in the bulk-drugs subsidiary of a Mumbai-listed company to support the unit's organic expansion and help it make an acquisition.
The PE firm, which is investing out of its fourth fund that marked its final close last year after collecting $304 million, is making an initial investment of up to Rs 243 crore ($25.3 million) in RPG Active Pharma Ltd.
RPG Active Pharma is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of drugmaker RPG Life Sciences Ltd. The PE firm's investment will give it a stake of about 40% in the unit.
As part of the multi-step transaction, RPG Life is transferring its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) business to the subsidiary for Rs 33.55 crore. APIs are bulk drugs that are used to make finished medicinal products.
RPG Life said in a stock market disclosure that the company and the PE firm will invest a total of as much as Rs 700 crore in RPG Active Pharma in tranches. It didn't disclose the breakup of the investment and the timelines.
RPG Active Pharma will use the proceeds to strengthen its manufacturing infrastructure, expand its product portfolio, enhance process development capabilities, and pursue organic and inorganic growth opportunities.
Further, RPG Active Pharma has struck a deal to acquire Actis Generics Pvt Ltd, a Visakhapatnam-based API maker, for Rs 80 crore. This will help the unit to expand its manufacturing base, broaden its operating platform and support its growth objectives. Actis was started in 2014 and manufactures bulk-drug intermediates. It clocked revenue of Rs 48.25 crore for FY25, down from Rs 70 crore and Rs 65.6 crore in the previous two years.
RPG Active Pharma was incorporated in December 2025, so doesn't have any revenue for FY26. However, revenue of RPG Life's API business was Rs 95.06 crore for FY26, the company said, adding that bulk drugs comprised around 13.5% of its total revenue.
InvAscent's 40% stake in RPG Active Pharma values the company at around Rs 607 crore. This indicates that the PE firm valued RPG Active Pharma a little more than 4x the combined revenue of Actis Generics and RPG Life's API business for FY26, back-of-the-envelope calculations show.
InvAscent's investment and the Actis acquisition are intended to establish RPG Active Pharma as a focused API manufacturer, RPG Life said.
"The proposed acquisition of Actis Generics further strengthens this business and supports our ambition to build a high-quality API business with expanded manufacturing capabilities, a broader product portfolio and the ability to create sustainable value for all stakeholders," said Ashok Nair, managing director, RPG Life Sciences.
Law firm Khaitan & Co acted as the legal counsel and structuring advisor to the RPG group for the investment. Investment bank o3 Capital acted as an exclusive financial advisor.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.