Vera Labs plans pref issue

Vera Laboratories, a city-based bulk drug company, is planning to make a preferential issue of equity shares to the promoters by converting the share application money/unsecured loans already brought in by them. The board of directors of the company is scheduled to meet on January 7 to consider the same.

The company, which has a US FDA-approved manufacturing unit near Visakhapatnam, has been passing through a difficult phase over the last several years due to lower capacity utilisation and huge debt burden.

To tide over the situation, it has recently entered into a contract manufacturing agreement with Alpex International, a Nicholas Piramal group company.

The company hopes to improve the capacity utilisation over a period of time with the support from Alpex.