BNP Paribas acquires Sharekhan

BNP Paribas is a French bank and financial services company with global headquarters in Paris. It was formed through the merger of BNP and Paribas in 2000. The Global financial services group has announced that it has acquired retail broking firm Sharekhan for more than Rs. 2,000 crore, one of the earliest brokerage houses in India.

The bank added that Sharekhan will join BNP Paribas personal investors division, which is engaged in retail brokerage and digital banking services with 1.7 Million clients in Europe. The deal has been under negotiation for close to six months and had seen interest from bulge bracket private equity firms like Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic. Domestic banks like IndusInd Bank Ltd too had expressed interest, but withdrew from the race.

Existing shareholder in Sharekhan include Citi Venture Capital International, Barings Asia Private Equity, IDFC and Samara Capital. Sharekhan is the first independent and third retail brokerage firm in India. Sharekhan will serve as a platform for the group strategy in India to offer a comprehensive range of products from pure brokerage to asset based investment services including mutual funds and savings products.

Sharekhan was incorporated in 1995 and started offering broking services to non-institutional clients in 2000. In 2007, CVCI, Samara Capital and IDFC Limited acquired about 75% stake in Sharekhan. The new investors acquired the stake owned by GA Global investments, HSBC Private Equity, and the Morakhias. In February 2008, Baring Private Equity Asia IV Mauritius Holdings bought 12% stake in Sharekhan.

Teva to Buy Allergan Generics

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Israel. It specializes in primarily in generic drugs. It is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world and one of the 15 largest pharmaceutical companies worldwide. The Industry has agreed to buy Allergan generic drugs business for $40.5 Billion.

Allergan generic business is generally seen as a better fit than Teva previous target Mylan because it will improve Teva distribution channels and because Allergan is strong in bio similar drugs. At the same time, Teva dropped its $40 Billion bid for Mylan, which hit a snag when a Dutch foundation linked to Mylan bought temporarily control of half the company in an attempt to block the takeover.

Allergan Generic is expected to contribute about $2.7 Billion in earnings before interest, taxes, and other items next year. Following the completion of the acquisition, Teva is expected to have pro forma sales of approximately $26 Billion worldwide and cash flow of about $6.5 Billion in 2016. Teva expects a double digit increase in its non-GAAP earnings per share in 2016 due to the acquisition.

Teva is Israel largest drug company and has long been a source of pride for Israelis. The company dates back to 1901, when its founders launched a small importer of medications. According to the company’s website, it began producing drugs in the 1930s. 

Lupin acquires Temmler Pharma

A day after announcing $880 Million acquisition in the US, drug maker Lupin will acquire specialty product portfolio from German company Temmler Pharma for an undisclosed amount. Temmler business has a strong strategic fit with Lupin Hormosan business in Germany and enables Lupin to bring an enhanced specialty CNS portfolio to German market.

Established in 1917, Temmler is a part of Aenova Group, a pharmaceutical contract manufacturer. Hormosan, also a German Pharma company was acquired by Lupin in 2008. Based in Marburg, Germany, Temmler has a specialty portfolio of 13 products including key Central Nervous System products and specialty products that address rare disease areas like Myasthenia Gravis, Huntington disease as well as fast growing dermatology products for anti-wart treatment.

This is Lupin sixth acquisition in last 18 months. In February 2014, Lupin had acquired Netherland based Nanomi for an undisclosed amount. A month later, it acquired control of Mexican company Grin. In May this year, it bought Brazilian company Medquimica Industria Farmaceutica.

Earlier this month, Lupin acquired ZAO Bio Biocom in Russia, again for an undisclosed amount. On Thursday, it announced acquisition of New Jersey based generic drugs firm Gavis for $880 Million. Gavis is the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian pharma company in US.

Lupin acquires US Generic firm Gavis

Mumbai based drug maker Lupin Ltd has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire New Jersey based privately held Gavis Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Novel Laboratories Inc. for $880 Million to expand in the US generic drug market. This is the biggest acquisition in the US by an Indian company. The acquisition is cash free and debt free.

Gavis brings to Lupin a highly skilled US based R&D organization, which would complement Lupin Coral Springs, Florida, inhalation R&D center and a New Jersey based manufacturing facility which will become Lupin first manufacturing site in the US. The acquisition enhances Lupin scale in the US generic market and also broadens its pipeline in dermatology, controlled substance products and other high valued and niche generics.

On 2^nd July, Lupin had acquired Russian company Biocom for an undisclosed amount. The company required sales of 861.2 Million Ruble in fiscal year 2014. In May 2015, Lupin entered into Brazilian pharmaceuticals market by acquiring Medquimica Industrial Pharmaceutical S.A Brazil for an undisclosed amount.

Lupin had strengthened its position in Latin American market last year by acquiring Laboratories Grin SA, the fourth largest pharmaceutical company in Mexico in the eye care segment, with sales of $28 Million in 2013. 

Mindtree Acquires Bluefin Solutions, Relational Solutions

Digital seems to be the flavor of the season. After similar moves by large peers, mid-sized Information Technology Company Mindtree has announced two acquisitions in the space, spending Rs 425 crore to shore up its digital business.

The company will acquire British Technology Consultancy Bluefin Solutions and US based analytics firm Relational Solutions. For Bluefin Solutions, Mindtree will pay Rs 423 crore. The UK headquartered company presently has a revenue run-rate of Rs 287 crore. The acquisition will help Mindtree gain about 50 clients in US and UK. Bluefin currently employs 170 consultants.

Relational Solutions is a provider of analytics for consumer packaged goods retail execution; Mindtree will pay Rs 63 crore in cash. The Ohio headquartered company had reported revenue of $3.2 Million in previous calendar. This buy will help Mindtree acquire analytics capabilities to offer insights on movement of goods such as beverages or chocolate for manufacturers. 

NewsHunt acquires BuyT

India’s local language mobile platform NewsHunt has acquired Rocket Science Innovations Private Limited, the parent company of the ecommerce recommendation platform BuyT ContentLink. BuyT will run as a standalone unit. It will continue its existing line of business enabling commerce for NewsHunt users.

Founded in 2012, ContentLink enables the information flow from a merchant/service provider to the consumer. The platform has integrated content with commerce by making product recommendation available at the point of consumer research on leading publisher platform. The platform parses real-time all major commerce sites in India for product updates and on the other end, analyzes context and user behavior on content pages and offers a rich ecommerce experience.

The New-Delhi based startup will be focusing on building the next generation platform for NewsHunt which plans to integrate shopping and commerce options for local language users on the NewsHunt platform. BuyT main focus is on mcommerce and they have also launched their app SDK.

NewsHunt claims to have over 20 Million monthly active users and over 2.5 Billion page views monthly. The company has created a vibrant marketplace for publishers with over 15 Million local language eBooks downloaded in the past 6 months. Almost two years, the company had launched iPayy, a micro transaction platform based on carrier billing. The platform has access to 700M subscribers across 5 major telcos in India and currently used by 700 digital goods merchants.

Facebook Oculus buys Pebbles Interfaces

Facebook owned virtual reality startup Oculus has confirmed that it is acquiring Pebbles Interfaces, a computer vision and depth sensing Technology Company based in Israel. Founded in 2010, Pebbles Interfaces develops advanced motion sensors that recreate physical objects within the digital realm, irrespective of the angle or range.

It also claims to have no latency, which would be a major boost for Oculus and its Virtual Reality headset. Pebbles Interfaces has built technology that uses custom optics, sensor systems and algorithms to monitor hand movement. Over time, technology breakthroughs in sensors will unlock new human interaction methods in VR and revolutionize the way people communicate in virtual worlds.

Following a $450,000 seed round raised in 2011, Pebbles Interfaces closed a chunky $11 Million round in 2013, which included big investors such as SanDisk. In a separate announcement, Pebbles Interfaces explains why it agreed to join Oculus, saying that it is at the forefront of the shift virtual reality has made in recent times, and it will help advance our vision of building immersive experiences and revolutionizing digital human interaction.

Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 Billion in March 2014. In June 2014, Oculus acquired Carbon Design Group, a Seattle based company that helped Microsoft design the Xbox 360 Controller, Kinect motion sensing camera. Two weeks later, Oculus acquired game networking engine RakNet and swiftly made it open source. Last year, Oculus acquired Nimble VR and 13^th Lab before going to snap up computer vision startup Surreal Vision in May.

Zee Entertainment acquire Sarthak TV

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, a leading media and entertainment company, has acquired Odisha based Sarthak Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., the owners of ‘Sarthak TV’, a general entertainment channel at a consideration of Rs 115 crore. With this acquisition, Zee strengthens its regional offering with the objective of growing rapidly in Odisha. 

Sarthak TV airs highly a mix of reality and non-fiction shows besides fiction programming. The other regional channels from the ZEEL bouquet are Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies, Zee Bangla, Zee Bangla Cinema, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, and Zee Tamizh. Being the oldest and market leading network in India, ZEEL would provide the perfect platform for Sarthak to grow in future.

Mumbai based ZEE is one of the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programme, with extensive library housing more than 120,000 hours of original television content. Moreover, with rights to more than 3,500 more titles, ZEE houses the world largest Hindi movie library. Through its strong presence worldwide, ZEE reaches over more than 959 Million viewers across 169 countries.

The firm had consolidated revenues of Rs 1,339.9 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, recording a growth of 23 percent compared with the same quarter last year. Its net profit jumped to Rs 242.3 crore, up 15 percent from Rs 210 crore at the same time in the corresponding year. 

Practo acquires Genii

Online doctor discovery platform Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd. has acquired Mumbai based product outsourcing firm Genii to strengthen its technology infrastructure. The acquisition comes amid Practo gearing up to enter the enterprise segment, with the launch of new products for hospitals and diagnostic centres.

Genii, founded in 2011 had raised $100,000 from angel investors. Practo will look for multiple acquisitions in the next 12 months to accelerate growth. It will look at acquisitions for innovative products and technology, talent and increasing customer base. At present, Practo generates revenue from Practo ray, a doctor facing practice management software sold as subscription based software as a service product.

The company does not charge doctors and patients for listing and booking appointments on its consumer facing platform Practo.com but hosts advertisements from hospitals and clinics on the website. Founded in 2008, Practo has so far raised $34 Million from Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners and InnoVen Capital. Genii, is the second company acquired by Practo. In April, the company had acquired FitHo, a web and app-based fitness management platform, to enter the preventive healthcare segment.

Practo plans to expand to 10 countries across South East Asia, West Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe by the end of the year. The firm claims to have on board about 5000 doctors in Singapore and about 11,000 doctors in Philippines. Other prominent firms in this segment are Lybrate, Ziffi, Qikwell, and Helping Doc. Lybrate Inc. announced that the company has raised $10 Million from Tiger Global and Nexus Venture Partners.

Wipro to acquire Designit

In line with its strategy to equip itself tapping the opportunities in the digital space, Wipro, India’s third largest IT services company will acquire Designit, a Denmark based global strategic design firm for a consideration of around Euro 85 Million. The acquisition is expected to strengthen the capability of Wipro Digital, the digital business unit of the company which it set up in March this year.

Founded in 1991, Designit is considered one of the world’s largest privately held firms with an employee base of around 300 and design studios across nine cities globally. The company which reported revenues of Euro 27 Million provides strategic design, user experience and interaction design services to many global brands in segments such as Healthcare, banking, automotive and retail. Some of its global clientele includes companies such as Cisco, Harman, Brussels Airlines, Vodafone, Jabra, Danske Bank and Telefonica.

With the change in the technology buying behavior by global enterprises, the vendors who were offering traditional IT outsourcing services are seen aggressively looking at newer areas like social, mobility, big data and analytics and cloud wherein they are trying to position themselves as end-to-end digital partners. Strengthening the design capability holds key in these areas as it impacts the consumer experiences in a big way.

Wipro has been one of the most acquisitive IT services companies in India. The company has so far acquired around nine companies through the largest one so has been Infocrossing which it bought in August 2007 for about $600 Million. 

PayPal bought Money Transfer service Xoom

PayPal has made a few significant acquisitions since 2013, including purchasing Paydiant and Braintree. Now, PayPal said it would buy digital money transfer provider Xoom Corp. for $890 Million as it muscles into a growing international remittance market and expand in countries like Mexico, India and China ahead of a spinoff from eBay Inc.

Xoom, which has 1.3 Million customers and a presence in 37 countries, allow users to transfer money via desktop, mobile phones and tablets. The acquisition would allow Xoom to expand into new markets with less execution risk. Xoom will operate as a separate service within PayPal after the completion of the deal.

PayPal faces increasing competition from rivals like Stripe and Square, which is popular with smaller businesses and Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay. Online commerce foe Amazon Inc. is also beginning to explore in store payments. The company is slated to separate from eBay this month and list as an Independent company.

PayPal has been pushing hard into mobile, where customers are more frequently making everyday purchases. The company has touted its peer-to-peer money transferring division Venmo, used primarily by smartphone touting millennial, and earlier this year bought app developer Paydiant.

Marksans Pharma Buys Time-Cap Laboratories

Drug Maker Marksans Pharma had acquired US based Time-Cap Laboratories for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was done through its wholly owned subsidiary Marksans Pharma. With the move, the company is strategically increasing its presence in the US Market, the largest pharmaceutical market in the world.

Marksans is engaged in research and development, manufacturing and marketing of generic drugs. New York based Time-cap manufactures solid dosage generic drugs, including private label over the counter medications, prescriptions drugs and nutritional supplements. Its average annual revenue over the last four years is over $30 Million and it achieved an annual adjusted EBITDA of approx. $4 Million.

The company currently has no debt. The company manufactures over 50 unique products from its New York facility, including tablets, caplets, capsules, and pellets. Time-cap offers Marksans an ideal platform to expand its operation in the US. The strategic acquisition helps Marksans to expand its manufacturing capabilities along with product portfolio and penetration in the US. Shares of Marksans rose over 6% after the company reached an agreement with its bondholders.