New Delhi
Major pharma player, Piramal Enterprises Ltd's Consumer Products Division on Wednesday announced acquisition of five brands from Organon India Pvt Ltd and MSD BV for Rs 92 crore to beef up its offerings in the over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare segment.
"The acquisition includes mainly the brands Naturolax, Lactobacil and Farizym, which PEL intends to continue in the Gastro-Intestinal (GI) segment through the over-the-counter (OTC) route. The brands hold a rich legacy in India and have a high consumer pull," Piramal Enterprises Ltd said in a BSE filing. The acquisition of five trademark rights is for India.
"In line with our strategy, we aim to be a top-three player in the OTC market by 2020 and the addition of this portfolio of brands will help us move swiftly towards that objective," Piramal Enterprises' Executive Director Nandini Piramal said. Other brands in Piramal's portfolio include Saridon, Ipill, Lacto Calamine, Tetmosol and Caladryl. Recently the company acquired babycare brand Little's. Piramal Enterprises COO - Consumer Products Division Kedar Rajadnye added: "We expect these brands to leverage the strong sales and distribution capability that we have built over the years and help us improve our profitability margins as there will be higher fixed cost absorption."
The company said the Indian OTC market is approximately Rs 15,000 crore in size growing at 13-14 percent. On BSE, the stock was trading at Rs 953, up 1.03 percent, at 1155 hours. On December 23, 2015, Piramal Enterprises closed at Rs 952.85, up Rs 9.60, or 1.02 percent.
The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1043.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 792.80. The latest book value of the company is Rs 663.34 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.44.
