Unichem Laboratories Ltd., a leading manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients, was in focus on Monday after news emerged that Slovenian pharma company Krka, d.d., Novo Mesto was in discussions with the company to buy out its promoter’s stake.

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An Economic Times report claimed, quoting people aware of the development, said that the Slovenian pharmaceutical company is in discussions to acquire the promoter’s stake in Unichem Labs.

CNBC-TV18 has not verified this report independently.

Notably, promoters Prakash Amrut Mody and family own a 50.93 percent stake in Mumbai-based Unichem Laboratories as of the December quarter.

Acquisition of this stake by Krka, d.d., Novo Mesto would also trigger an open offer to enable it to acquire an additional 26 percent stake in Unichem Labs, the ET report mentioned.

An open offer primarily is an offer made by the acquirer to the shareholders of the target company inviting them to tender their shares at a particular price. The primary purpose of an open offer is to provide an exit option to the shareholders of the target company on account of a change in control in the firm.

According to the report, Krka is eyeing the acquisition to get a strong foothold in the US and Latin American markets as Unichem Labs has a strong presence in the cardiology, diabetes, neurology, and anti-infective segments, among others.

Reacting to the development, shares of Unichem Laboratories surged as much as 8.6 percent in opening trade on Monday.

In 2017, Unichem sold its branded business in India and Nepal to Torrent Pharma for Rs 3,600 crore. The company had then said that it planned to use the funds to invest in its international business by focusing on research and development in biosimilars, new chemical entities, and complex generics.

CNBC-TV18 also reported in November 2022 that a major European multinational pharma company was eyeing the entire promoter shareholding of Unichem Laboratories. The talks between this particular pharma major and the promoters were at an advanced stage.

Unichem management had told CNBC-TV18 that the news is nothing but market speculation, and the firm does not want to comment on the same.

Shares of Unichem Laboratories are trading 7.51 percent higher at Rs 319.80.

(Edited by : Rukmani Krishna)