Lupin led the way.
By Sreekanth A Nair
Domestic mergers and acquisitions in India in 2015 were lesser compared to last year. As per available data, more than $ 31 billion worth deals have taken place in the 11 months of this year, which is lower than $34.62 billion deals in the previous year.
But cross-border deal values have increased by 26 percent on a year-to-year basis, with 11 deals worth over $500 million and 27 deals over $100 million.
Many Indian companies, especially from pharmaceutical and IT sector have substantially expanded their presence in the US through acquisitions. Here are the top five acquisitions by Indian companies in the US.
- Lupin Ltd acquired Gavis Pharmaceuticals for $880 million
In the largest acquisition by any Indian pharmaceuticals company in the US, Indian pharmaceutical company Lupin Ltd. announced the acquisition of the New Jersey-based generic drugs firm GAVIS for $880 million, in July.
In terms of market share, Lupin is the sixth largest pharmacy company in the US. Almost 45 percent of its revenue also comes from the US economy.
- Cipla bought InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $550 million
Cipla, the global pharmaceutical company based in India, bought two US-based companies, InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc. The deal was worth $550 million and was to be settled in an all cash transaction.
With the acquisition of InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, Cipla can penetrate into the US market with 40 approved ANDAs, 32 marketed products, and 30 pipeline products which are expected to be approved over the next four years.
The acquisition of Exelan Pharmaceuticals will enable it to enter the government and institutional market in the US through Exelan’s expertise in the field.
- Wipro acquired Viteos for $130 million
Wipro, the third largest IT company in India, announced its decision to buy US-based back-office outsourcing firm Viteos Group for $130 million in an all cash deal on December 22.
Somerset, New Jersey-based Viteos has a market presence across the US, Europe and Asia. The annual turnover of the company is around $26.5 million. Top hedge funds in the US are the customers of Viteos, which will pave the way for Wipro to enter the financial sector in the country.
- Infosys acquired Noah Consulting for $70 million
The Indian IT major acquired Noah Consulting which provides information management consulting services in the oil and gas sector. The $70 million all-cash deal made it the third acquisition of the company in 2015.
Noah Consulting has presence in the US and Canada and an employee base of around 120. The Houston-based company offers solutions for the oil and gas, energy trading, power, and natural resources industries to create value from their assets.
- Sun Pharmaceutical bought Insite Vision for $48 million
In November, drug giant Sun Pharmaceutical took over the US-based eye care firm Insite Vision for $48 million. With the completion of the deal, Insite Vision has become an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Pharma.
Insite Vision has developed many medicines for ophthalmic treatment. It has filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration for BromSite (0.075% bromfenac) which helps in the treatment of inflammation and prevention of pain related with cataract surgery. It has also a plan to file one more NDA in 2017.