Nicholas Piramal buys out Boots in JV

New Delhi, Oct 3: Pharma major Nicholas Piramal India Ltd has acquired the balance 51 per cent stake held by The Boots Company Plc in the joint venture company, Boots Piramal Healthcare Pvt Ltd and will get Rs 17.8 crore from the transaction.

The acquisition follows Reckitt Benckiser's global acquisition of Alliance Boots' OTC (over-the-counter) healthcare business. The Boots Company Plc is a subsidiary of Alliance Boots.

''As part of this arrangement, Alliance Boots/Reckitt Benckiser have paid Nicholas Piramal a one-time sum of Rs 17.8 crore,'' a company statement said.

This was because Nicholas Piramal has taken over the company as a going concern with all its liabilities and Reckitt Benckiser has decided to take the Boots Company brands, including Strepsils and Clearasil out of the joint venture.

Boots Piramal Healthcare Pvt Ltd, a 49:51 JV between the company and Alliance Boots, will now become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nicholas Piramal and the name of the company will be changed to remove the word 'Boots' from its name.

The JV is a focused marketing company, which markets the OTC brands of Alliance Boots and Nicholas Piramal in the Indian market.

The commercialisation of the former Boots OTC brands in India will now be taken over by Reckitt Beckiser (India) Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Plc, UK.

The company also plans to launch OTC brands in new therapy areas, as well as transition some of its Rx brands to OTC through leveraging its sales and marketing team.

Also, the joint venture is being terminated in two years instead of the ten-year agreement. The company had reported a turnover of Rs 65 crore in the year ended March 2006.

Apart from Strepsils and Clearasil, the other leading brands under the company's portfolio include Saridon, Lacto Calamine and Polycrol.

UNI