FDC owners in talks to exit; plan to sell their 67% stake

MUMBAI: The Chandavarkar family, the promoters of pharma firm FDC, plan to sell their 67% stake in the company, people close to the company said.

FDC, with a market cap of Rs 1,621 crore, has a strong portfolio of anti-infective drugs. Its brand Zifi is one of the top 20 anti-infective brands in the country. The company has been growing at an average of 8% in 2012, compared to the industry growth of 16%.


Carlyle and FDC did not respond to email queries sent by ET.

The buyout action in the pharma space has taken off in the past six months, after the lull of last year, spurred by some big-ticket investments in mid- and small-sized companies in the sector.
South African drug major Adcock Ingram's buyout of Mumbai-based Cosme Pharma for Rs 450 crore, and the recent tie-up of Claris Lifesciences with Japan's Otsuka and Mitsui Pharma for Rs 1,313 crore has revived the M&A action in the sector this year.

FDC makes the popular brand Electral and had sales of Rs 774 crore. Buyout fund Carlyle had shown interest in buying the company and had even valued it at about Rs 3,800 crore. But it is not known if a transaction will take place with the private equity fund.

"The promoters of FDC have been wanting to exit for a long time. So if the valuations are in line with other M&As in this space, they will sell out," said Ranjit Kapadia, vice-president of Centrum Capital.