Chinese pharmaceutical major Fosun Pharma has pared its holding in Gland Pharma by selling a 4.5 per cent stake for Rs 2,121 crore through separate block deals on BSE.
Fosun Pharma Industrial Pte Ltd, one of the promoters of Gland Pharma, offloaded 75,05,500 shares in 11 tranches, representing a 4.55 per cent stake in the Hyderabad-based pharma company.
Fosun Pharma holding falls below 50 per cent
The transactions were executed on Friday at an average price of Rs 2,826.60 apiece, taking the combined transaction value to Rs 2,121.50 crore.
The stake sale brought Fosun Pharma’s shareholding in Gland Pharma below the 50 per cent mark to 47.22 per cent from 51.77 per cent.
The shares found buyers among a clutch of domestic mutual funds, insurance companies and foreign investors, which collectively acquired an equal number of shares at the same price.
Mutual funds, insurers emerge as key buyers
Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund emerged as the biggest buyer, picking up 27.93 lakh shares, amounting to nearly 1.7 per cent for Rs 789.47 crore.
Axis Mutual Fund purchased 13.57 lakh shares for Rs 383.57 crore, while ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund acquired 10.39 lakh shares worth Rs 293.68 crore.
Other investors participating in the transaction included Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, Mirae Asset MF, Sundaram MF, SBI Life Insurance Company, HDFC Standard Life Insurance, and Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company.
Paris-based financial services firm Societe Generale and private institutional investment fund NRSGVCC also bought Gland Pharma’s shares.
Shares of Gland Pharma ended nearly 1 per cent higher at Rs 2,932.40 apiece on the BSE.
Gland Pharma reports higher profit, revenue
Gland Pharma reported a 47 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 317 crore in the April-June quarter from Rs 215 crore in the year-ago period.
Its revenue from operations rose 19.5 per cent to Rs 1,800 crore during the quarter from Rs 1,506 crore a year earlier.
This is also the second major stake sale by Fosun Pharma in Gland Pharma in a little over two years. In June 2024, Fosun Pharma had divested a 6 per cent stake in the company for Rs 1,754 crore.
Fosun Pharma acquired Gland Pharma stake in 2017
Fosun Pharma Industrial Pte is a subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, which acquired about 74 per cent in Gland Pharma in October 2017 at a valuation of not more than USD 1.09 billion.
Established in 1978, Gland Pharma develops and manufactures generic injectables and serves nearly 90 countries across five continents.