Morepen EGM approves Rs 433 crores investment from Corinth and promoters

Morepen Laboratories, a manufacturer of APIs, home diagnostics, formulations and OTC products, yesterday approved incoming investment of Rs 433 crores in the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the company. The members approved the issue and allotment of 58.50 million equity shares for cash to Corinth Investment Holdings AG, Switzerland at Rs 41.60 per share aggregating to Rs 243.36 crores.

Shareholders also approved 50 million fully convertible warrants a promoter group company Liquid Holdings at Rs 38 per warrant/ share aggregating up to Rs. 190 crores for cash to be converted into equity within 18 months, within the limits prescribed in SEBI (SAST) Regulations for the acquisition of share/ voting rights in a financial year. The issue price of aforesaid securities is derived as per pricing formula prescribed by SEBI in SEBI (ICDR) Regulations.

The meeting of the shareholders of Morepen Laboratories was held on May 20. This EGM was the next step for inclusion of Corinth Group, a global private investment Group, headquartered in Switzerland, which announced and extended $32.50 million in Morepen Laboratories, out of a total $100 million investment in the promoter group.

Sushil Suri, Chairman and MD, Morepen Labs said, “The investment by Corinth further bolsters our position as a market leader in Indian healthcare, it also endorses our approach in the self-diagnostic tools category along with the scale and potential of the API market. It is a testing time for life sciences and pharma companies in these challenging times and are all geared to enhance our capacities and also expand our markets”.

Sir Christopher Pissarides, Chairman of Corinth Group’s Advisory Board and Nobel Prize laureate (2010) in Economies, said, “The investment into Morepen follows from our increased focus on emerging markets and in particular the health and pharma industry. India is a key global market with significant growth opportunity, and we look forward to working with management to help the business develop while catering to a rapidly growing sector.”

Speaking about the opportunities that the Indian market presents, Andreas Matsas, CEO of the Corinth Capital Fund said, “We are bullish about the Indian market and have already started the process of setting up a dedicated full-service office in Delhi, India, through a wholly-owned subsidiary which will be functional in May 2021. We are actively working towards setting up an AIF, in line with Indian regulatory requirements, to cater to the Indian market. Our investment into Morepen Group establishes Corinth’s long-term commitment to the Indian market, — with ongoing investments of another $200 million in the agri and logistics sector undergoing due diligence.”

The Total Fund Infusion in Morepen Laboratories, including investor funds and promoter’s equity would be used in:

• The expansion/scaling up of the company’s R&D centre/facilities to meet the significantly enhanced active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) demand, market size of $40 billion, that Morepen has in the pipeline for the next three years.

• Setting up a new USFDA standard API plant to meet the significant ramp-up in scale and pipeline the company is working on.

• Establishing a facility for finished dosages as per USFDA standards at Morepen’s pharma complex in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, to cater to markets such as the US and Japan.

• Investment into diagnostics facilities including the manufacture of critical inputs/components/enzymes to meet regulated market standards.

• Investment in new products and brands under the Dr Morepen umbrella

• Investment in Personal Care/Skin Care brands ‘Gubb’ and ‘Happier’, as well as to leverage Pan India pharmacy/retail chain network to significantly scale up distribution.