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| Stake pill |
Mumbai, Dec. 14: Speculation is rife that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is eyeing a stake in Hyderabad-based Matrix Laboratories.
Matrix manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and sells oral dosage forms. On the other hand, Teva, fresh from the buyout of Ivax, is the world's largest generic drugmaker.
The Israeli company, which recently set up a corporate office at Faridabad in Haryana, has often been the subject of speculation regarding its interest in domestic pharmaceutical companies like Cipla and Aurobindo Pharma. However, the companies have denied such reports.
Yet, stock markets feel that Teva is still on the lookout for a sizeable stake in promising Indian pharmaceutical companies.
On Tuesday, the share price of Matrix flared up on rumours that Teva may pick up a stake in the company. After opening at Rs 221.50, the share shot up to an intra-day high of Rs 231 after which it ended at Rs 229.05, a 4 per cent gain over its last close.
Volumes in the counter also spiked with 7.01 lakh shares being transacted, resulting in a turnover of Rs 15.76 crore. On Monday, the Matrix counter saw 3567 trades with 3.72 lakh shares being transacted.
?There are unconfirmed reports that Teva may be interested in picking up a stake in the company,? said an analyst, adding that such a move would be beneficial for Teva given the broader product portfolio of Matrix.
?Moreover, Matrix, with its strength in APIs, could be a good sourcing point for Teva,? he added.
However, a senior official of Matrix said it was not the company?s policy to comment on rumours or speculation and added, ?We do not want to waste our time on this.?
Early this month, Matrix made its fifth acquisition, buying a 55 per cent stake in the Ahmedabad-based Concord Biotech for an undisclosed sum.
It had earlier acquired Belgium?s Docpharma for $263 million in one of the largest deals conducted by a domestic pharmaceutical company and followed this up by swallowing up stakes in a Chinese, Swiss and a South African company.