IFC to acquire minority stake in Hyderabad's Ocimum BioSolutions

New Delhi, Nov 15 (UNI) International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group will invest 6.5 million dollars in equity for a minority stake and debt in Hyderabad-based life sciences research and development enabling company Ocimum BioSolutions, to support the company's expansion.

Funds raised from this transaction will be used for financing the company's growth.

''IFC's support to Ocimum Biosolutions will provide the company its much needed growth capital to establish an internationally competitive contract research outsourcing company and promote the discovery of new drugs at lower costs. We will also help the company improve its corporate governance standards,'' IFC Director (South Asia) Iyad Malas said.

IFC will support the company's expansion and invest in research and development infrastructure in India by recruiting and training scientists to perform drug research aimed at improving human health.

''We are very happy to have IFC as a partner in our growth.

These are exciting times for Ocimum and to have IFC as an investor brings a lot of confidence to our clients and partners,'' Ocimum Biosolutions Founder and CEO Anuradha Acharya said.

This is Ocimum Biosolution's first round of fund-raising from private equity investors. The company is contemplating another round of fund-raising in the next 18-24 months.

It recently acquired a manufacturer of oligos based in Europe and is scouting for more targets in the European market.

Ocimum Biosolutions focuses on three main areas, biology-related information technology, microarrays and contract research services.

The US operations of the company focus on custom contract research in the molecular biology area, while the Indian operations provide bioIT services and leverage India's low-cost advantage in information technology space.

It has recently received the IT Innovation award by Nasscom.

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