Ascent sold to Watson for $375m

Australia’s fifth largest generic pharmaceutical manufacturer, Ascent Pharmahealth, has been sold by its Bangalore-based parent Strides Arcolab to speciality pharmaceutical company Watson Pharmaceuticals for a sum of $375 million.

Strides offloaded its 94% shareholding, with the remaining 6% being sold off by Ascent CEO and founder Dennis Bastas.

The deal allows Strides to pay down US$250 million of its outstanding debt and to focus on its other core business, Agila.

“The sale of Ascent is a value enhancing and forward-looking initiative for Strides,” said Executive Vice Chairman and Group CEO of Strides, Arun Kumar.

“We have been clear about our intention to focus on our highly attractive steriles segment, which we expect to be our growth engine going forward. The transaction further facilitates the execution of this strategy and unlocks significant value for the Group. Furthermore, the proceeds from the transaction considerably strengthens our balance sheet.”

The deal involved significant due diligence, including a 1000 page report being produced in little over a week.