Shot in the arm

Mumbai, July 27: French drug maker Sanofi-aventis will acquire Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics for 550 million euros ($781 million).

Sanofi has pipped GlaxoSmithKline to pick up an 80 per cent stake in the Indian vaccine maker.

The deal, which is set to close before the end of the third quarter, shows the growing importance of Asia and other emerging economies in the global map.

Sanofi has struck three deals in emerging markets. For the latest transaction, it acquired the French subsidiary of Merieux Alliance — ShanH — which owns 80 per cent in Shantha Biotechnics.

Merieux — the eponymous company of billionaire Alain Mérieux — had acquired a majority stake in Shantha Biotechnics three years ago.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of the Sanofi group, will support Shantha in the development of affordable vaccines for the global markets.

Varaprasad Reddy, who founded Shantha Biotechnics in 1993, will continue to lead the company as the managing director.

In the current fiscal, sales of Shantha Biotechnics, which is an unlisted company, are expected to be around $90 million.

Christopher A. Viehbacher, CEO of Sanofi-aventis, said, “Shantha provides Sanofi Pasteur with a portfolio of new vaccines under development which complement Sanofi Pasteur’s current vaccines.”