Bharat Biotech, the company that recently announced a breakthrough in developing Zika vaccine, has received interest from global private equity firms. The Carlyle Group and TGP capital management are said to be looking to buy out stakes of the company, which is likely to be valued at Rs 4,070 crore (about $600 million).
Additionally, Advent International and Singapore governement's investment company Temasek Holdings are the two other companies also looking to buy stakes in Bharti Biotech, The Economic Times quoted sources as saying. In the domestic market, ICICI ventures, International Finance corp and Shubhkam Ventures will reportedly exit their 10-year investment in Bharti Biotech.
"The existing PE companies are bullish on the company's performance and of the view that this is the right time to exit to get valuation and at the same time new investors will also get good returns due to its products portfolio," a senior lawyer who was involved in the transaction told the publication on condition of anonymity.
The Zika virus is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that spreads through the bite of the Aedes mosquito. The recent outbreak in South America, which has resulted in birth defects such as microcephaly, has been declared as "public health emergency" of international concern by the World Health Organisation.
Hyderabad-based biotechnology firm Bharti Biotech, which was founded in 1966 by Dr Krishna Ella, claimed significant progress on its vaccine for the Zika virus last week, another report of the Economic Times stated.
The company is a qualified manufacturer of the Hepatitis-B vaccine, which is supplied to UNICEF. It holds 50 patents and has delivered more than three billion vaccine doses in more than 65 countries.
