Mankind Pharma plans $1 billion IPO, hires bankers

Mankind Pharma, the drug maker known for Manforce Condoms and Prega News, plans to enter the capital market by the end of this year. The Delhi-based pharmaceuticals company has hired JM Morgan, Citi, Jefferies, Axis, IIFL and Kotak as investment bankers for a $900 million-1 billion (₹7,600 crore) IPO, said two people aware of the development, making it one of the biggest by an Indian drugmaker.

In the proposed offer for sale, existing investors ChrysCapital will sell about 1% stake, Capital International will sell another 6% while the promoter Juneja family will sell 3%. The offer will value the company at about $8-9 billion (₹61,000 crore), said the people cited above. The ChrysCapital-backed consortium of GIC of Singapore and CPP Investments, owns 10% of Mankind, while Capital International owns another 11% stake.

A ChrysCapital spokesperson declined to comment. Ramesh Juneja, chairman and founder of Mankind Pharma, didn't respond to queries.

Mankind's top over-the-counter (OTC) brands include pregnancy testing kit Prega News, emergency contraception Unwanted-21, AcneStar anti-bacterial gel, Ringout anti-fungal powder, Gas-O-Fast, Kaloree 1 artificial sweetener, Heal-O-Kind anti-bacterial ointment, Adiction Deodarant and KabzEnd.

The firm posted revenue of about ₹8,000 crore and ebitda of ₹2,200 crore in FY22.

This will be one of the largest IPOs by a domestic drug manufacturer after the ₹6,480-crore IPO of Gland Pharma in 2020. Macleods Pharmaceuticals has also filed to raise ₹5,000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO), while Pune-based Emcure Pharma is launching a ₹4,500-crore IPO.

Started in 1995 by brothers Ramesh and Rajeev Juneja, Mankind operates in 34 overseas markets with 14,000 employees. It focuses on the cardiovascular, antibiotics, gastrointestinal, anti-allergic, anti-fungal, orthopaedic and gynaecological segments.

Its top prescription drugs include hypertension tablets Amlokind and Telmikind, antibiotic tablets Cefakind and Moxikind-CV, vitamin tablet Nurokind, anti-ulcer tablet Rabekind and anti-bacterial tablet Zenflox.

Mankind recently expanded its domestic footprint by buying out the formulation brands of Panacea Biotec for India and Nepal for Rs 1,872 crore, helping it to enter new therapeutic areas--oncology and transplants.

Capital International bought into Mankind in 2015 by acquiring the 11% stake held by ChrysCapital for $200 million. ChrysCapital made a comeback in 2018, heading the consortium that included Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation and Canada’s CPP Investments, by purchasing a 10% stake for about $350 million, valuing the company at $3.5 billion.

Several PE-backed pharmaceutical companies have entered the IPO market in the recent past, allowing investors to exit.

The leading pharmaceutical and healthcare IPOs that have hit the market include Eris Lifesciences, which raised Rs 1,740-crore, Glenmark LifeSciences (Rs 1,500 crore), Alkem Labs (Rs 1,350 crore) and Laurus Labs (Rs 1,330 crore).