The Chennai based Bafna Pharmaceuticals is contemplating acquisition of a pharmaceutical marketing company based in UK. Funds for the acquisition will be raised through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) soon.

According to B Mahaveer Bafna, managing director, the company is on final talks with the Rs 70 crore company in UK and the price of acquisition is quoted around Rs 100 crore. The company is planning to leverage Rs 120 crore from the UK company after acquisition, and the Rs 26 crore Bafna Pharmaceuticals will cross Rs 100 crore turnover with the acquisition process.

"We are planning to go public through filing IPO, to raise the money for acquisition, with the assistance of SBI Capital Markets Ltd (SBI Cap), Mumbai. The first phase of transaction will be completed within July 2006, though the process will be completed after IPO," told Bafna. He commented that the IPO plans are on progress with SBI Cap, though it is early to comment on.

Bafna's acquisition plans eyes the export market in Europe, with the products manufactured in its new modern tablets and capsule making facility at Grant Lyon village near RedHills in Chennai. The plant, at a built up area of 60,000 sq.ft in a 3.65-acre premise, with an outlay of Rs 40.75 crore is planned to launch by the month of August 2006, and the company expects MHRA approval within six months from commencement.

The non-betalactum facility in the plant, with an investment of Rs 20 crore is ready for launching and the betalactum facility of around Rs 20 crore is expected to be operational by August 2007. As Pharmabiz reported earlier, the plant occupies a production capacity of one million capsules and 2.5 million tablets per shift was estimated to complete with an expense outlay of Rs 10.27 crore.

The company has plans to proceed for a US FDA approval in the second stage after the operations launched at Europe. The company has recently attained export oriented unit (EOU) permission and has commenced export to Ukraine in April 2006.