Indian share markets, bonds and the rupee continued to trade positively after data showed inflation held steady, instead of accelerating as expected. Gains were largely seen in bank stocks, metal stocks and realty stocks.
The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 264 points and the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 75 points. Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.2% & the BSE Small Cap index is up by 0.5%. The rupee is trading at 65.10 to the US$.
Pharma stocks are trading on an optimistic note with Ajanta Pharma share price and IPCA labs share price leading the gains.
As per an article in a leading financial daily, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries will acquire an additional 8.3% stake in its arm Ranbaxy Malaysia for MYR 2.8 million (US$ 678,000).
Ranbaxy Malaysia Sdn Bhd. is a subsidiary of the company, and the total shareholding of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, along with its wholly owned subsidiary is 71.2%, prior to this proposed purchase of shares.
With this, Sun Pharma’s stake in the company will increase to 79.5%.
Post completion of this purchase of shares, the total holding of the company along with its wholly owned subsidiary will increase from 71.2% to 79.5% in Ranbaxy Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
Interestingly, the Indian pharma majors have been on an acquisition spree over the past few years. The value of M&As that took place in 2016 were at US$ 69.75 billion. This even beats the previous record of US$ 66.96 billion set in 2007.
However, at the end of the day, whether the company is able to derive value from the acquisitions and augment the overall performance will be the key thing to watch out for.
Sun Pharma share price was trading down by 0.9% on the BSE.
Indian pharma companies catering to the US markets are breathing a sigh of relief. After being adversely affected by import bans and the suspension of new drug approvals from manufacturing facilities in the past three years, there has been a sharp pick-up in new drug approvals in FY17.
