Mumbai: Piramal Enterprises chairman Ajay Piramal is considering a sale of his contract pharmaceutical operations, which could fetch around $1 billion. Piramal Enterprises is working with advisers to gauge interest in the business, known as Piramal Pharma Solutions, according to a Bloomberg report.
It has sent out preliminary marketing materials to potential buyers. Piramal Pharma Solutions is a contract development and manufacturing organisation, which provides services including drug discovery and commercial production to other health-care firms. The sale has attracted interest from private equity firms and US companies, the report added.
The business has about $70 million to $80 million of annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to the people. It could be valued at 12 to 15 times Ebitda in a sale.
Deliberations are at an early stage, and Piramal Enterprises could still decide against pursuing a deal, the people said. A representative for Piramal Enterprises said the company doesn’t comment on market speculation. In 2010, Piramal Enterprises sold its branded generic-medicine unit in India to Abbott Laboratories for $3.7 billion.