According to a company filing on August 20, Aurobindo Pharma, a major player in the active pharmaceutical ingredient and generic market, clarified in a statement that reports of a buyout of Zentiva, a generic drugmaker based in Prague, are “premature” and that no legally binding agreement has been reached. According to sources close to the situation, The Economic Times said earlier today that the pharmaceutical business is in the lead to buy Zentiva from Advent International for $5–5.5 billion, or Rs 43,500–47,900 crore. Shortly after the announcement was made public, Aurobindo Pharma’s stock rose from its initial lows, albeit it was still down 3% during the trading day. The benchmark Nifty 50 index has slightly improved by 2% in 2025, but Aurobindo Pharma’s stock has fallen 21% so far. Regarding the transaction mentioned in the aforementioned article(s), the Board of Directors of the Company has not yet reached a legally binding agreement or made a decision. As a result, the aforementioned news article is speculative and shouldn’t be trusted, according to the corporate filing.
In order to increase shareholder value, Aurobindo Pharma stated that it “regularly explores” a range of strategic options, such as possible alliances and acquisitions. “In the event of any definitive development requiring disclosure under the SEBI Listing Regulations, the Company will promptly make the necessary and timely announcements to the stock exchanges in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements,” said Aurobindo Pharma. This would have been the biggest acquisition by an Indian pharmaceutical business worldwide at the aforementioned deal pricing, outpacing both Sun Pharma’s acquisition of Daiichi Sankyo’s stake in Ranbaxy and Biocon Biologics’ acquisition of the US-based Viatris. To increase its manufacturing presence in the US, Aurobindo Pharma’s wholly-owned US subsidiary agreed in July to pay over Rs 2,185 crore to buy Lannett Company LLC, a complex generics business. The management’s objective of diversifying the product line to better serve the US generics market is in line with these initiatives. Many pharmaceutical companies saw acquisitions as a means of increasing US manufacturing in order to circumvent the proposed tariffs on drugmakers by US President Trump, which would force them to lower their costs and move their manufacturing to the US. The US accounts for about half of Aurobindo Pharma’s annual sales.
In a recent interview with CNBC International, Trump stated, “We’ll be putting a small tariff on pharmaceuticals initially, but in one year – one and a half years, maximum – it’s going to go to 150% and then it’s going to go to 250% because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.”
