Glenmark Pharma has entered into a definitive agreement with Indian conglomerate Nirma Limited to divest 75% stake in its API subsidiary, Glenmark Life Sciences (GLS).
The Mumbai-based generic drugmaker currently owns 82.84% in GLS, and will own just 7.84% stake after the divestment.
Glenmark says the deal aligns with the company's strategic intent of "moving up the value chain" to become an innovative/brand led organization, with continuous focus on core therapeutic areas of dermatology, respiratory and oncology.
Ahmedabad-based Nirma — who makes everything from detergents to building materials — will pay approximately $681 million in the deal, which represents its foray into pharma APIs. GLS develops and manufactures select high-value, non-commoditized APIs in chronic therapeutic areas, working with 16 of the 20 largest generic companies globally.
GLS will continue to operate as an independent API company under the new ownership of Nirma.
