Mankind Pharma and Baidyanath Ayurveda are among the companies that have submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) to acquire 100% of government-owned Ayurveda company Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation (IMPCL), according to sources in the know.
Other bidders include a private equity fund and an asset reconstruction company, as per the sources cited earlier.
Patanjali Ayurveda, which was widely expected to participate in the bidding process, denied submitting an EoI when contacted by ET.
“Multiple EoIs received for the strategic disinvestment of IMPCL. The transaction will now move to the second stage,” Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, tweeted on October 30.
The company had ₹250 crore of top line and a profit margin of around 25% in FY22.
The government company that was established in the 1970s to promote Indian systems of medicine is a major supplier to dispensaries and clinics run under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
The government circulated a global invitation for EoI for the proposed strategic disinvestment of 100% of its equity shareholding in IMPCL in September.
The company falls under the administrative control of the Ayush ministry. Ayush is an abbreviation for Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy.
Mankind Pharma and Baidyanath did not comment when contacted.
The sale process is structured in two stages.
In the first stage, the interested bidders submit EoIs, which will then be evaluated for their eligibility on account of net worth and corporate structure requirements listed in the information documents supplied by the government.
Once the eligible EoIs are shortlisted, the bidders will proceed to the second stage. In this stage, they will be allowed to conduct due diligence on the company including carrying out site visits.
After due diligence, a request for proposal (RFP) will be shared with those bidders that want to submit financial bids. The bidders will simultaneously have to undergo security clearance from the ministry of home affairs. The cleared bidders will then be allowed to submit financial bids in a sealed cover. The government will undertake an independent valuation of the company and arrive at a reserve price. Once the reserve price is declared, the financial bids will be opened and the highest bidder will be declared the winner.
IMPCL was established in 1978 with an objective to manufacture and market genuine as well as efficacious Indian system of medicines.
The company currently manufactures 656 classical Ayurvedic, 332 unani and 71 proprietary Ayurvedic medicines for a varied spectrum of diseases. It supplies Ayurvedic and unani medicines to all the states under the National Ayush Mission (NAM) and 6,000 centres of Jan Aushadhi Kendras, which are fair price government-owned medical stores.
IMPCL is located in the valley of Uttarakhand hills in Jim Corbett National Park corridor. The company’s registered office and factory is situated at Mohan in Almora district of Uttarakhand.
