Moving closer towards completion of their USD 4 billion merger deal, Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy have received clearance from the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB).
The Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy transaction would create the country's largest pharmaceutical company.
Finance Ministry today said Sun Pharma has got FIPB approval for issuing equity shares to the non-resident shareholders and those holding global depository receipts of Ranbaxy pursuant to the merger of Ranbaxy into Sun Pharma.
As per their agreement, Ranbaxy shareholders will get 0.8 share of Sun Pharma for each share of Ranbaxy.
The mega-deal, announced in April, is still awaiting approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
The combined entity would have operations in 65 countries, 47 manufacturing facilities across 5 continents, and a significant platform of speciality and generic products marketed globally. The deal is also the first one where the CCI sought public comments.
Recent big-ticket acquisitions in the Indian pharma sector include Mylan Laboratories acquiring Agila Specialities from Strides Arcolab for USD 1.75 billion in 2013 and Torrent Pharma buying the formulations business of Elder Pharma in India and Nepal for Rs 2,000 crore.
