Date:12/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/12/stories/2006051203390900.htm

Back Dishman Pharma close to formalising another acquisition in Switzerland

P.T. Jyothi Datta
Deeptha Rajkumar

Sitting on a $50-m kitty, plans multiple acquisitions overseas

Mumbai , May 11

The Ahmedabad-based Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals Ltd is said to be close to formalising an acquisition in Switzerland.

The proposed acquisition, when executed, will be Dishman's second in Switzerland. The target is reportedly a profit-making company as large as Dishman, operating in the CRAMS (contract research and manufacturing) space, an industry source told Business Line.

It is an open secret in the pharmaceutical industry that the estimated Rs 157-crore Dishman Pharma, like its counterparts, is actively scouting for overseas acquisitions. In fact, the company's top brass had recently indicated to analysts that the company has plans for multiple acquisitions overseas. The company is sitting on a kitty of $50 million. When contacted, company officials were not available for comment.

In February, Dishman had acquired I03S of Bern in Switzerland, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dishman Switzerland Ltd. The company is in the consultancy and ozone research segment and the cost of acquisition was less than $2 million. In April 2005, the company had executed another deal in the UK, when it acquired the Manchester-based contract research company, Synprotec Ltd. The acquisition was done through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dishman Europe Ltd. The cost of acquisition was less than Ł2 million, the company Web site said.

The company's growth is on the back of the CRAMS model and the company had captured maximum growth, an analyst observed. Dishman also has a long-term supply contract with Solvay Pharma, a Belgium company.

But the string of recent acquisitions will help spur further growth, he said.

The company is expected to clock a turnover of Rs 240 crore for the financial year 2006, besides a 52 per cent growth in profits at Rs 14 crore in the fourth quarter alone, an analyst said.

The stock of Dishman Pharma closed at Rs 229.55, up 0.04 per cent, on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Week on week, the stock has registered an almost 13 per cent gain.