New Zealand billionaire backs Indiabulls Pharma

Billionaire investor-turned-philanthropist Richard Chandler has picked up a stake of about 9% in the one-year old Indiabulls Pharmaceuticals for Rs 155 crore, valuing the company at about Rs 1,800 crore. Set up in mid-2016, it’s a privately held company that was wholly owned by Indiabulls group chairman Sameer Gehlaut.

Chandler bought the stake through Singapore based Clermont Group that currently has large minority stakes in Axis Bank, Indiabulls Real Estate and Ujjivan Financial Services, together valued at nearly Rs 4,000 crore now. The New Zealand-born Chandler was recently in the news for his philanthropic initiative named Co-Impact, which has Bill & Melinda Gates, Jeff Skoll (of eBay fame) and The Rockefeller Foundation as his core-partners. Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini have also joined Chandler’s initiative through Ek-Step Foundation, co-founded by the couple.

This investment by Chandler would provide some growth capital to the company’s ambitions of becoming a leading provider of healthcare products and services in India, Indiabulls Pharmaceuticals CEO Nikhil Chari said. Incorporated in 2016, the company currently has nearly 300 products under its stable, some of which have been introduced in India for the first time to meet patients’ needs. The company “is aiming to reshape the Indian pharmaceutical industry landscape by providing next-generation therapies to patients at affordable prices”, Chari said.