Nectar Lifesciences, a Rs 725 crore plus leading integrated pharma entity, has raised Rs 252 crore through preferential allotment of equity shares and Global Depository Receipts (GDR). Consequent to the preferential and GDR issue, the paid up capital of the company has increased to Rs 22.61 crore comprising 22,42,60,970 equity shares of the face value of Re 1 each. The funds raised through this issue will be deployed towards expansion of the generic pharmaceutical business, including construction of new manufacturing plants, filling of regulatory approvals, R&D, and other associate expenditures apart from strategic alliances and acquisitions.

Nectar has approved the allotment of 2.60 crore equity shares at a price of Rs 35 per share of face value of Re 1 each on preferential basis to NSR Direct PE Mauritius, LLC raising Rs 91 crore. Further, Nectar has issued 4.6 crore GDR, each representing 1 equity share of Re 1 each in the share capital of the company. The issue price per GDR was US$ 0.76 and worked out to total of Rs 161 crore (based on exchange rate as on February 26, 2010). NSR will be the single largest non-promoter (foreign) investor in the company. Nectar has appointed Vivek Sett as a nominee director from NSR on the Board of the company.

Commenting on Dinesh Dua, CEO and director of Nectar, said, "We are delighted to have a global high quality investor like NSR on board with us. The capital raised will help us implement our strategic business plans of expanding our generic pharma business along with construction of new manufacturing facilities which is expected to drive accelerated growth in the future. Over the past few years we have created a strong platform that can harness our capabilities in the international new generation cephalosporin markets while entering into high margin non-cephalosporin therapeutic segments like anti-diabetes, oncology, anti-HIV and CVS segments either through greenfields or acquisitions."

NSR is associated with New Silk Route Partners; a high quality global investor and a leading growth capital firm with over US$ 1.4 billion under management and is dedicated to private-equity investments in India, South Asia, Middle East and other emerging economies of Asia. NSR is one of the leading India centric global PE fund operating out of US which has highly distinguished professionals as co-founders.

Aryan Goyal, executive director of Nectar, said, "Our company has hailed association of NSR as a landmark achievement which is likely to add tremendous value to Nectar march into highly attractive formulations markets of US, Europe and Japan which will leapfrog Nectar into the big league in the next five years."