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Anju Ghangurde
Mumbai, July 6: Mumbai-Based Noel Pharmaceuticals is believed to be scouting for buyers for a clutch of key brands, essentially in the anti-diarrhoeals and anti-spasmodics segments, as part of an attempt to improve the company's growth prospects.
Industry sources say that the Rs 20-crore Noel Pharma is also open to the idea of roping in a strategic partner but would prefer to dispose of certain slow-moving brands. Company officials, however, told The Financial Express that ``For the time being, the proposed sale of brands has been put on hold,'' even while denying any attempt to rope in an alliance partner. Details on the brands on the block, their contribution to turnover, etc, could not be got.
Noel Pharma, with sales of Rs 20.33 crore in 19997-98, registered a profit after tax of Rs 4.61 lakh for the period. The company has two facilities --- one in Gujarat and another at Prabhadevi in Mumbai --- and key brands include Widee injection and Proteodase, though details on these could not beascertained.
Industry sources add that if the proposed brand sales materialise, it could tantamount, over a period, into the sale of the company, though most prospective suitors are wary of an additional labour that could come as part of a deal. Moreover, multinational companies also look at the status of the brands in terms of infringement of global patents before considering any deal.
Experts also say that the sale prospects of Noel Pharma's brands could be affected by their relatively low ``noise level'' and visibility in the marketplace. However, the upside of acquiring an unlisted company/brands from such a company is fewer complications in terms complying with regulations on the legal front. The current year has seen a host of companies entering the brand sale market, though actual deals have been few due to either poor appetite for the hawked formulations or price blocks.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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