Govt clears Rs 5,168-cr Mylan deal for Strides Arcolabs arm

The government on Tuesday cleared Rs 5,168-crore deal of the US-based Mylan Inc for acquiring Bangalore-based pharma firm Agila Specialties, a subsidiary of pharma firm Strides Arcolab.

 The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) held here, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters.
 Agila, a public company based in Bangalore is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of high quality generic injectable products.

The FIPB had taken up the proposal in its July 5 meeting, but kept decision in abeyance pending finalisation of policy on FDI in brownfield pharma projects involving transfer of control. Since the investment proposal was of over Rs 1,200 crore, it came up before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for final approval.

The acquisition, however, is subject to certain conditions. After the completion of acquisition process, Mylan has to maintain the investment level in research and development in value terms for five years at absolute quantitative level at the time of induction of FDI, sources said. In February this year, Mylan had announced that it would acquire entire issues and outstanding share capital of Agila Specialties.