Oberoi Realty is set to acquire GSK Pharmaceuticals’ 60-acre land parcel at Thane, near Mumbai in a Rs 555-crore deal. This translates to a price of Rs 9.25 crore per acre.
GSK Pharma’s board approved the land sale transaction in its meeting on Friday. “The proposed sale of land is subject to statutory and regulatory approvals from concerned authorities and the signing of definitive documents between the company and Oberoi Realty in this regard,” GSK Pharma said in a stock exchange filing.
The company’s chairman Deepak Parekh had, in July, indicated that the sale transaction would be concluded by December.
The 60-acre plot housed the company’s manufacturing plant that was set up in 1961. It was used to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). In 2012, the drugmaker shut down the plant as it was more economical to outsource APIs instead of manufacturing them. Over 300 employees were subsequently given a voluntary retirement.
GSK Pharma has been looking to sell the Thane land parcel since 2014 but has been unable to conclude the sale until now because of certain complexities. Among the issues acting as a hurdle was the grant of government approvals such as the one required for land use change. The land use of the parcel is industrial in government record and would need to be changed to residential. Media reports said that company scrapped the bid twice since 2014.
In 2015, Cabot Corporation- a specialty chemicals manufacturer- sold a 30-acre plot in Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai to K Raheja Corporation for around Rs 210 crore.
In the same year, drugmaker Pfizer sold its Thane plant to Vidhi Research and Development for Rs 178 crore.
Source: Business-Standard 