Indian pharmaceuticals major Cipla Ltd on Friday said that its board had approved a proposal to raise up to Rs3,000 crore through sale of equity shares or equity linked instruments, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
“Raising funds up to Rs3,000 crore by issue of equity shares or American depository receipts or global depository receipts or foreign currency convertible bonds or other securities / financial instruments convertible into equity shares, whether denominated in Indian Rupee and/or foreign currency(ies), through a public issue or a private placement in accordance with the provisions of the applicable law,” the company said in the filing.
The fundraising is subject to necessary permissions, sanctions and approvals (including shareholders’ approval and such other statutory approvals as may be required) and the provisions of the laws, Cipla said
The fundraising plans come at a time when the pharma stocks have outperformed the broader market, despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cipla’s stock has gained 19% since the start of the year to close at Rs570.2 on Friday, on the BSE.
Cipla was recently picked as one the five generic companies with which Gilead Sciences Inc has signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements to manufacture remdesivir for distribution in 127 countries, including India.
The US Food and Drug Administration had on 1 May granted remdesivir, an investigational antiviral therapy developed by Gilead, the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to treat Covid-19, helping facilitate broader use of the intravenous injection to treat hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19 disease.
Cipla has also approached the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for a non-exclusive license to produce an antibody testing kit developed by the National Institute of Virology in Pune, ICMR said on Thursday.
