Pune-based vaccine major Serum Institute of India and its owner-promoted company, Adurjee & Bros Pvt Ltd, have increased their stake in Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals to 10.35 per cent by acquiring another 3.59 per cent stake with an investment of close to Rs 70 crore.
A stock exchange disclosure today said Adurjee and the associates bought 2.5 million shares of Orchid through open market transactions. Chakan Investment Pvt Ltd and Fortune Intercontinental Pvt Ltd are the other two entities acting in concert with Adurjee & Bros.
The Cyrus Poonawala-led Serum Group had taken a 7.22 per cent stake in the company in May last year. In the March-April period in 2008, Ranbaxy-controlled Solrex had bought a 14.7 per cent stake in the Chennai-based pharma company through creeping acquisitions.
Orchid promoter K Raghavendra Rao and family have close to a 28 per cent stake in it. At the quarter ending June 30, Serum Institute had a 3.37 per cent stake, Adurjee Brothers 2.34 per cent and Chakan Investment has 1.55 per cent.
Other major shareholders of Orchid are its group firm Rexcel Pharmaceuticals (13.73 per cent), DSP Merrill Lynch (4.97 per cent) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (4.59 per cent).
Share prices of Orchid touched Rs163.30 at the close of trading today on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 0.15 per cent higher than the Rs163.05 per cent at close of trading yesterday.