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Last property of undivided Cadila put on the block

Vinod Mathew

AHMEDABAD, June 20

THE stage is set for enacting the final scene in the 30-year-old saga of the undivided Cadila Laboratories Ltd (CLL), the precursor to Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd (CPL) and Cadila Healthcare Ltd (CHL), that had its inception in 1967. The Ghodasar plant, t he erstwhile headquarters of CPL and CHL since

it opted to part ways in May 1995, has been put on the block for

an outright sale. The base price is indicated to be around Rs. 30 crores and the two companies are slated to share the proceeds from the sale in a 50:50 ratio.

The CLL is the only entity from the pre-1995 days to survive till date as all the other four companies of the undivided Cadila -- Cadila Exports Ltd, Cadila Chemicals Ltd, Cadila Veterinary Pvt Ltd and Cadila Antibiotics Ltd -- have been ``dissolved, without being wound up'', as per a Gujarat High Court Order of 1995. The CLL continues to exist legally even today as the Ghodasar property is registered in its name.

Indications are that the Cadila houses expecting a price of around Rs. 30 crores for the 31,000-sq. yard property, with 28,000 sq. yards of ready-to-use built-up space. The reigning real estate price in Ghodasar, some 12 km from Ahmedabad, is around Rs. 3,000-4,000 per sq. yard while the built-up space fetches between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 7,000 per sq. yard. The expectations of a higher price realisation hinge on the industrial permission enjoyed by the Ghodasar premises, situated near Ahmedabad.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr. I.A. Modi, Chairman, CPL, said, ``we would prefer to sell the factory and premises to a pharmaceutical company. There are many players in this sector who are graduating into the medium scale and may be looking at investing Rs. 30-40 crores in a larger plant. What is on offer at Ghodasar is ready-to-use factory premises of current good manufacturing practice grade and has a span that covers tablets, liquids, injectibles, capsules and ointments where betalactam and non-betal actam can be isolated.

The two companies were looking at the prospect of selling the Ghodasar plant to a pharmaceutical company. However, there was no compulsion to sell to any particular sector as the premises would go to the highest bidder, he said, adding that quite a few e nquiries had started coming in ever since the two Cadila houses advertised for the sale on June 15. This was no distress sale as both the houses were willing to wait for the `right offer', added Mr. Modi, who co-founded CLL along with Mr. Ramanbhai B. Pa tel, Chairman of CHL.

The Ghodasar factory, which housed 450 workers and accommodated about 300 office personnel, along with the modern facilities will now be a thing of the past. The fact that both CPL and CHL continued to function from the Ghodasar plant till December 31, 1 999 before shifting out to their respective new factories situated at Dholka and Bavla is an indication that Ghodasar may be ready for a fresh innings under a new banner.