INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - MARCH 2006
THE MONTH THAT WAS

RANBAXY PICKS BELGIAN CO

Ranbaxy on Thursday announced its third overseas acquisition this week — Ethimed NV, in Belgium. The company, however, did not disclose the financial details of its latest acquisition. Ethimed, an established generics company in the Belgium market with a significant customer network, has over 20 product registrations. The company is ranked No. 10 among generic companies in Belgium.

Earlier this week, Ranbaxy had announced acquisition of Terapia SA in Romania and the unbranded generic business of GSK in Italy. Terapia, the leading independent generic company in Romania, was acquired for $324 million, Ranbaxy's largest overseas acquisition so far.

A company statement said Ranbaxy intended to manage its operations in the Benelux territories through Ethimed in Belgium. The acquisition follows similar strategic moves by Ranbaxy previously in the larger European markets and will allow the company to anticipate local market dynamics and capitalise on the changing business landscape in the Benelux countries, the statement added.tttt The latest acquisition is also funded by Ranbaxy out of its recently raised $440 million foreign currency convertible bond (FCCB) issue.

Belgium is the seventh largest pharmaceutical market in Europe and along with the Netherlands (the sixth largest market) and Luxembourg has a combined market size to the tune of $7.6 billion.

Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Burema, president (Europe, CIS, Africa & Latin America) of Ranbaxy, said: “Ethimed offers Ranbaxy a ready and robust distribution network to exploit new product opportunities in the future. It also provides the company a strong base from where we can manage and expand our operations in the Benelux countries. We see this acquisition as strategic to our business in Europe.”

The Belgium market is largely a branded, high-priced market with increasing generic penetration. The acquisition positions Ranbaxy favourably to capture a significant portion of this expanding market, say analysts.

Ranbaxy is already present in most of the European countries. The latest acquisition in Belgium would help it further strengthen its presence in the lucrative European market, say analysts.