Wockhardt buys out Ireland's Pinewood for $150 mn

New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) Wockhardt Ltd today announced the acquisition of Pinewood Laboratories Ltd, Ireland's leading branded generic pharma company, for an all-cash-deal of 150 million dollars on an enterprise value basis.

The acquisition will give the company an entry and leadership in the last genericising market of Ireland. As almost half of Pinewood's sales are reported in the UK, the acquisition will reinforce Wockhardt's position in the UK where it is already the largest generic company from India and the second largest player in hospital sales.

''This acquisition gives us a larger footprint in Europe spread over UK, Ireland and Germany. The European business will now exceed 200 million dollars, accounting for almost half of Wockhardt's total sales,'' company's Chairman Habil Khorakiwala said.

Pinewood reported sales of over 70 million dollars for the year ended June 2006.

The take over will also offer enormous opportunities to unlock value to the company's enlarged customer base in the UK and Ireland by offering them a wider range of products, Mr Khorakiwala said.

The deal is a strategic fit for Wockhardt's UK subsidiary as Pinewood's liquids and creams business complements its strengths in injectable and solid dosages.

Pinewood is the company's fourth European acquisition, after Wallis, CP Pharmaceuticals (both in UK) and Esparma in Germany. UK and Germany are Europe's leading generic markets.

UNI CS PV DS1713