Japan. Daiichi Sankyo raises $3.2 billion from Sun Pharma stake sale: IFR
The trade -- a prenegotiated sale of 215 million shares in the open market -- comprised Daiichi Sankyo's 8.9 percent stake in India's biggest drugmaker by sales.
It was priced at 931.60 rupees apiece, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, a 10.7 percent discount to Sun Pharma's Monday closing of 1,043.80 rupees.
Sun Pharma shares saw their steepest fall in six years as a result, closing down 8.8 percent at 952.20 rupees.
Daiichi Sankyo bought India's Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2008, betting on growing global demand for generic drugs, but found itself saddled with a company battling complaints and sanctions from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Sun Pharma agreed to buy Ranbaxy from Daiichi Sankyo for $3.2 billion in April 2014,handing the Japanese group a stake in the merged entity. Selling that holding this week, Daiichi Sankyo cashed in on an 80 percent rise in Sun Pharma shares since the Ranbaxy deal was announced -- allowing Daiichi to reap almost exactly what it originally paid for Ranbaxy in rupee terms.
About 130 accounts participated in the Sun Pharma share sale, while the top ten investors were allocated nearly 60 percent of the book, IFR said. Goldman Sachs managed the sale.
Morgan Stanley said in a note that it expected Sun Pharma's share price to rise in absolute terms over the next 30 days, after Tuesday's drop made its short term valuation compelling. Other brokers cited reports that Sun Pharma or its founder Dilip Shanghvi were among the buyers for Daiichi's shares.
Sun Pharma was not immediately reachable for comment.
($1 = 62.8847 Indian rupees)
Source: Reuters
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