Sanofi India Limited announces sale and transfer of its Nutraceuticals' business to Universal Nutriscience

Sanofi India Limited (SIL) announced today that its Board of Directors have approved the sale and transfer of its Nutraceuticals' business to Universal Nutriscience Pvt. Ltd. This decision will help SIL focus strongly on its growth pillars, while allowing the Nutraceuticals business to have more opportunities for expansion in an organisation where it will have a better strategic fit.

Universal Nutriscience is a strategic partnership between Kedaara Capital (one of India's leading private equity firms) and Universal Medicare (one of the pioneers in Nutraceuticals), with a vision to become India's leading Nutraceuticals company.

Sanofi India Limited's (SIL) growth strategy is to ensure that patients have sustainable access to its medicines by developing new business models, leveraging technologies and simplifying the portfolio.

Speaking on the transaction, Rajaram Narayanan, Managing Director - Sanofi India Limited said, "Across the world, Sanofi regularly assesses the best ways in which to serve our customers. Following a strategic review of its portfolio, the company believes that the future potential of the Nutraceuticals range would be maximized in an organisation, which can provide deep category understanding and continuous innovation required to win in this specialized area. We have carefully selected Universal Nutriscience whose mission is to grow the business to provide more patients with increased access to the range of Nutraceuticals across India. Together, we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for the benefit of our employees, our customers and the patients of India."

Nishant Sharma, CIO & Managing Partner, Kedaara Capital on behalf of Universal Nutriscience said, "We are excited to be chosen by Sanofi India to acquire their Nutraceuticals portfolio. At Universal Nutriscience, our vision is to become India's leading Nutraceuticals company. We are committed to building a focused Nutraceuticals business backed by three decades of experience in R&D and manufacturing to provide end-to-end scientifically backed products and services. We will leverage the strong foundation of the business we are inheriting, including the established brand equity and experienced and knowledgeable team, to build a Nutraceuticals business that will be admired by consumers, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders in the eco-system."

The transaction is valued at INR 5,870 million. Subject to fulfilment of conditions, closing is anticipated within the next 3 months.

16 nutraceutical brands in the portfolio would be transferred to Universal Nutriscience as part of the transaction. These would include market-leading brands such as Seacod®, E-Cod®, CoQ®, Primosa®, and Collaflex®. All employees who are associated with this business, will also have a smooth transition to Universal Nutriscience.

Deloitte Corporate Finance acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Sanofi India Limited, on this transaction.

Shares of Sanofi India Ltd was last trading in BSE at Rs. 8110 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 7959.9. The total number of shares traded during the day was 4636 in over 1612 trades.

The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 8240.9 and intraday low of 7959. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 37696536.

Source : Equity Bulls

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