Fosun To Pare 5% Stake In Gland Pharma For $172 Million

(Bloomberg) -- Fosun Pharma Industrial Pte. will cut its stake in India’s Gland Pharma Ltd. through block deals after being unable to offload it in one go.

The company will sell 5% in the drugmaker for about $172 million through block trade, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg News. It has offered 8.2 million shares with the floor price set at 1,750 rupees apiece, a 4.9% discount to the last close.

Fosun Pharma, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., holds about 58% of Gland Pharma, which has a market value of 303 billion rupees ($3.6 billion). 

It will carry out more block sales in the coming months to shore up its balance sheet unless buyout firms make an offer, according to people familiar with the matter. Fosun Pharma’s high valuation expectations for Gland Pharma have been a hurdle to a potential sale to private equity firms, they said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

A representative for Fosun Pharma declined to comment, while a representative for Gland Pharma didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

Gland Pharma specializes in injectable drugs such as antibiotics, oncology and cardiology treatments and has a presence in about 60 countries, including Australia, Canada, India and the US, according to its website.

Fosun Pharma acquired a 74% stake in Gland Pharma for about $1.1 billion in 2017 from a group including KKR & Co. The business was listed three years later in Mumbai. The Hyderabad-based company’s shares have climbed 82% over the past 12 months, but they are down more than 55% from a 2021 peak. 

--With assistance from Lulu Shen and Swati Gupta.

(Updates with latest details on the sale.)

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