Ranbaxy close to $100 mn Russian buy

The company is also on the prowl in Canada in a bid to strengthen its global footprint.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, India's largest pharmaceutical company by sales, is in advanced stages of negotiations to acquire Russian generic drugs maker Akrikhin for an anticipated $100 million.

The company is also on the prowl in Canada in a bid to strengthen its global footprint. In the $5-billion Russian drug market, growing at roughly 8 per cent, Moscow-based Akrikhin is one of the top five pharma companies, with over 140 products in its portfolio.

Besides getting a foothold in the Russian market "" which accounted for $33 million in sales for Ranbaxy in 2005 "" the Indian company stands to gain from Akrikhin's drug supplies to the Russian government. This accounts for 20 per cent of Akrikhin's turnover.

As for Canada, Ranbaxy is still scanning a few potential acquisition targets in its $-20 billion market, and is yet to zero in on any one company. Ranbaxy had commenced operations in Canada last year with a wholly owned subsidiary.

When contacted, Ranbaxy's Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Malvinder M Singh declined to comment on targets in the two countries.