New Delhi, Ahmedabad-based Torrent Pharmaceuticals has sought fair trade regulator CCI’s clearance to acquire a majority stake in in J B Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals in a Rs 19,500-crore deal.

After the completion of the deal, Torrent Pharmaceuticals will become India’s second most valued pharma company.

The development came after Torrent Pharmaceuticals in June this year announced the acquisition of a majority stake in J B Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals in a Rs 19,500-crore deal.

“The proposed combination relates to acquisition of shareholding by the acquirer (Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd) in the target (J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd) and the subsequent amalgamation of the target with the acquirer,” according to a notice filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Torrent Pharmaceuticals is the flagship company of the Torrent group and is engaged in the business of manufacturing and sale of pharmaceutical formulations (FDFs) across therapeutic segments.

J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals is engaged in business of manufacturing and marketing of diverse range of FDFs and APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) and also provides CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation) services as well. The parties (Torrent Pharma and J B Chemicals) said that their activities exhibit horizontal overlaps in certain relevant markets for the manufacturing and sale of FDFs in India. In June, Torrent said it will acquire 46.39 per cent stake from promoters Tau Investment Holdings Pte Ltd, an affiliate of global investment firm KKR, for about Rs 11,917 crore. It would additionally buy another 2.80 per cent from certain employees of JB Chemicals at the same acquisition price of Rs 1,600 per share (totaling Rs 719 crore).

Post this, it would make an open offer for buying 26 per cent from open market, as per listing norms, at a price of Rs 1,639.18 per share (totaling Rs 6,842.8 crore).

This will be the second biggest deal in the pharma sector ever, behind Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ 2015 acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories. Post share purchase, JB Pharma will merge into Torrent.

In 2020, KKR had bought a 65 per cent stake in JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals. In March this year, KKR divested a 5.8 per cent stake in JB Pharma for Rs 1,460 crore through open market transactions.

Established in 1976, JB Pharma produces a range of pharmaceuticals in areas such as gastroenterology, dermatology and diabetes, etc.

Torrent Pharma, with annual revenues of more than Rs 11,500 crore, is the flagship company of the Torrent Group, with group revenues of Rs 45,000 crore.

In April 2014, Sun Pharma had announced it would acquire troubled rival Ranbaxy in an all-stock transaction worth USD 4 billion that includes USD 800 million debt. The merger was ‘consummated’ following receipt of requisite approvals a year later in March 2015.

In another big deal, Mankind Pharma last year completed the transaction to acquire Bharat Serums and Vaccines for a consideration of Rs 13,768 crore.

Mumbai: Hema CIPEF (I), an affiliate of the US-based Capital Group, is likely to sell a 0.9% stake in Mankind Pharma on Wednesday through block deals, according to the term sheet issued by bankers IIFL Securities and Kotak Securities. Hema CIPEF is offering to sell 37 lakh shares at a floor price of Rs 2,061 per share, which is a 2% discount to Tuesday’s closing price of Rs 2,102.50 on the NSE. The deal at the floor price is valued at Rs 763 crore.

Capital Group held a 2.22% stake in the company as on March 31, 2024. In December last year, Capital Group divested a 3.14% stake in Mankind Pharma.

Mankind Pharma launched its maiden public offer in April of last year. The Rs 4,326-crore initial share sale of Mankind Pharma was subscribed 15.32 times. The IPO was listed on May 5 of last year at a premium of 31% and has rallied 48% since then.

Notwithstanding a lone setback on June 4, Indian markets traded strongly this week ending it with a 3.6% uptick over the previous week. The week was laden with top action where over three dozen companies from large, mid and smallcap segments witnessed prominent block deals worth Rs 7,640 crore on screen, which included both buying and selling actions.

In the largecap segment, 15 companies witnessed significant block deals on the screen worth Rs 3,788 crore, led by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) with 6 block counts, totalling to Rs 696 crore. The next in line were State Bank of India (SBI, Rs 458 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 281 crore), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (279 crore), Mankind Pharma (Rs 277 crore), Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 220 crore) and ITC (Rs 217 crore).

Others were, namely Infosys, Adani Power, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Dabur India, GAIL (India), Bharat Electronics (BEL) and Interglobe Aviation (Indigo) with block deals between Rs 203 crore and Rs 142 crore.

The data has been compiled by brokerage firm Nuvama and pertains to deals done this week between 8:45 am and 3:30 pm.

Source: Nuvama

In the midcap segment, a dozen companies witnessed prominent block deals on the screen worth Rs 2,819 crore. The leader in the pack was Thermax with a deal size of Rs 825 crore followed by PB Fintech (Policybazaar, Rs 427 crore), Whirlpool India (Rs 283 crore) and Sun TV Network (Rs 202 crore). The others were AIA Engineering, Alkem Laboratories, Bharat Dynamics, Star Health Insurance, NHPC, L&T Technology Services (LTTS), Vodafone Idea and REC which saw deals between Rs 195 crore and 94 crore.

Source: Nuvama

As for the smallcap stocks, block deals worth Rs 1,033 crore were struck in 12 companies. The number one spot went to RBL Bank (Rs 204 crore) followed by Cochin Shipyard (Rs 187 crore) and Heritage Foods (Rs 116 crore). The others were Suzlon Energy, Bajaj Electrical, Kalyan Jewellers, Anupam Rasayan, Sterling & Wilson, Dodla Dairy, Apollo Pipes, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and Radico Khaitan, which saw deals between Rs 96 crore and 43 crore.

Source: Nuvama

Nuvama also reported prominent bulk, block and insider deals in 18 stocks with details of buyers and sellers. Among them were PB Fintech where Tencent Europe sold shares worth Rs 416 crore. While Wf Asian Small cap bought Rs 160-crore shares in MCX. In Bajaj Electricals, Norges Bank sold shares worth Rs 930 crore while HDFC MF bought shares in equal measure.

The other stocks which saw prominent bulk, block and insider deals include NCC, Hinduja Global Solutions, Bhagiradha Chemicals, Apollo Pipes, Anupam Rasayan India, Ponni Sugars and Tinna Rubber.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Rating agency CARE Ratings has upgraded various facilities/instruments of PNB Housing Finance to CARE AA+ (Stable) from CARE AA (Positive), the company informed in its filing to the exchanges on Saturday.

The instruments in which the ratings have been revised upwards include long-term bank facilities, long-term/short-term bank facilities, bonds, long-term instruments, non-convertible debentures (NCDs), tier II bonds, fixed deposits and commercial papers.

The upgrade in ratings assigned to PNB Housing Finance (PNBHFL) derives strengths from its improving asset quality as reflected in the GNPA ratio of 1.73% as of December 31, 2023, as against 8% as of March 31, 2022, the filing said. Further, the revision of rating continues to factor in PNBHFL’s strong market position as the third-largest housing finance company (HFC) in the country on loan asset basis as on December 31, 2023, along with a well-diversified resource profile, the filing claimed.

“The ratings continue to take into consideration the brand linkages with Punjab National Bank (PNB) (rated at CARE AAA; Stable); the promoter of PNBHFL and the consistent support derived from the promoters,” the filing said further.

The PNB Housing Finance has been a market laggard in 2024, so far with negative returns of over 20% as against Nifty which has delivered 2.7% returns during this period. However, the stock’s returns of nearly 48% over the past 12 months tower over 30% upside seen in Nifty in the same period.

Owing to the recent correction, the stock has slipped below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs). Momentum indicators RSI and MFI as reported by Trendlyne show that the stock is trading in a medium range. While the former stands at 38.3, the latter is hovering near the 34 mark. A number above 70 is considered to be overbought while below 30 is seen to be oversold. On Thursday, PNB Housing Finance shares closed at Rs 627.65 on the NSE, falling by Rs 2.70 or 0.43% over the previous closing price. On Friday markets were closed for trading on account of Good Friday. Also Read: Rs 16,600-cr worth block deals take place this week; Mankind Pharma, Shriram Finance see significant action

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

MUMBAI – Three private equity firms are planning to sell stakes worth Rs 3,000-4,000 crore in Mankind Pharma through block deals on Tuesday, according to news reports.

Chrys Capital, Capital Group and Everbridge Partners are looking to sell 5-6% stake in the pharmaceutical major.

Kotak Mahindra Capital is one of the advisors to the deal, and the private equity investors are offering a discount of upto 7% from the current price. The floor price has been set at Rs 1,785.65 a share. On Monday, shares of the drug major nearly 2% down at Rs 1,918.75 on the BSE.

Mankind Pharma shares have gained a sharp 30% in the last six months. In May, the stock made its debut on the bourses, and the company’s IPO was one of the biggest in the pharmaceutical sector after Gland Pharma’s in 2020.

Amid caution in global equities after Fitch’s downgrade of the United States’ credit rating, Indian equity markets opened in the red for the second straight session on Thursday, dragged by banking, financial and IT stocks.

The BSE Sensex was trading 285 points or 0.43% lower at 65,497. Nifty50 was trading at 19,442, down 84 points or 0.43% at around 9.17 am.

Among Sensex stocks, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, HUL, Airtel, ICICI Bank, and L&T opened with cuts, while only Sun Pharma, NTPC, HDFC Bank, and Tata Motors opened with gains.

Shares of Mankind Pharma opened 9% higher after the company reported a 66% rise in first-quarter profit, boosted by sales growth.

Whereas, shares of IndiGo fell 4% despite the firm reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,091 crore for the quarter that ended June, compared with a loss of Rs 1,064 crore in the year-ago period.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal plunged 0.41%, and Nifty IT fell 0.30%. Nifty FMCG, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Financial Services also opened lower. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.18%, and Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 0.29%.

Experts Take
“GDP growth in the US is strong and inflation is coming down. 80% of US companies have posted better than expected quarterly results. The Fitch downgrade doesn’t alter this significant macro construct. The sentimental impact of the rating downgrade will likely fade away soon,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

The valuations in India continue to be rich from the short-term perspective, but fair for long-term investors. Weakness in the market may be used to slowly accumulate high-quality stocks which have corrected, Vijayakumar added.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said, “As long as the down gap at 19,705 is not filled, bullish action may get postponed. On down moves, the 19,202-19,303 band could provide support.”

Global Markets
Asian markets edged lower on Thursday, following a slide in Wall Street equities overnight, after Fitch cut the US top-tier credit rating to AA+ from AAA-, citing fiscal deterioration.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.04%, while China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.2%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.45%. Meanwhile, in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.98%, the S&P 500 lost 1.38%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.17%.

FII/DII Trade
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Rs 1,878 crore worth of shares on a net basis on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded Rs 2.23 crore of equities, as per provisional NSE data.

Crude Oil
Oil prices rose slightly in early Asian trading on Thursday, as markets weighed bullish US inventory data on Wednesday and a likely extension of OPEC+ output cuts against the fallout of Fitch’s downgrade of the US government’s top credit.

Brent crude futures rose 6 cents, or 0.07%, to $83.26 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 2 cents, or 0.02%, to $79.51 a barrel.

Rupee Weakens
The Indian rupee fell 5 paise to $82.72 against the US dollar in early trade, on the back of a selloff in US equities following the downgrade of the US credit rating.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Benchmark equity indices ended lower on Wednesday after three days of gain amid profit-taking ahead of the June inflation print, which came in higher owing to high food prices.
Fag-end selling pulled down 30-share BSE Sensex by 223.94 points or 0.34% to settle at 65,393.90.Nifty closed below 19,400 levels, with a cut of 55 points or 0.28%. Meanwhile, broader markets outperformed their headline peers. Among top Nifty gainers were stocks like ONGC, Eicher Motors, JSW Steel, Nestle and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:

“The range-bound movement in the Indian indices was influenced by the likelihood of subdued IT earnings. While optimism about moderation in US inflation supported the broad index. Further, an uptick in domestic food inflation on the back of mandi prices trending above MSP and muted Kharif sowing forced the investors to be cautious. Monsoon progress and the Kharif sowing trend in July are the keys to the future inflation trend,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

“Despite a bearish signal, the overall trend remains positive as long as the price stays above the support level at 19,300. It is a level (19300) where Put writers have maintained heavy positions, meaning that if the price drops below this level, it could indicate further downward movement. Below 19300 Nifty may fall down towards 19000-18900. On the upside, there is resistance at 19500, suggesting that the price may struggle to move beyond this level. A decisive move above 19500 might lead the writers to unwind their positions,” Rupak De, Senior Technical analyst at LKP Securities, said.

That said, here’s a look at what some key indicators are suggesting for Thursday’s action:US stocks
Wall Street rallied on Wednesday, led by gains in rate-sensitive megacap growth stocks after data showed inflation cooled further in June and boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve was nearing the end of its monetary tightening cycle.

U.S. consumer prices rose modestly in June and logged their smallest annual increase in more than two years as inflation continued to subside.

At 09:46 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 282.05 points, or 0.82%, at 34,543.47, the S&P 500 was up 40.07 points, or 0.90%, at 4,479.33, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 161.15 points, or 1.17%, at 13,921.85.

Megacap growth and technology stocks such as Microsoft , Amazon.com and Tesla added between 1.2% and 1.6%.

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors advanced, led by gains in consumer discretionary stocks that added 1.1% in early trading.

European shares
European shares extended gains on Wednesday as further evidence of easing consumer inflation in the United States boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve could end its market-punishing interest rate hikes soon.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose as much as 1.3% after the inflation data and was last up around 1% by 13:01 GMT, extending gains to the fourth straight day.

Tech View: Long negative candle
A long negative candle was formed on the daily chart, which is indicating a lack of strength in the market to surpass the crucial overhead resistance of 19500. The Nifty remained in a broader high low range of 19500-19300 levels as of now. As per its range movement, the market is placed at the immediate support of 19300 levels.

Stocks showing bullish bias
Momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed bullish trade on the counters of Engineers India, Elgi Equipments, NALCO, HUDCO and Coffee Day Enterprises, among others.

The MACD is known for signaling trend reversals in traded securities or indices. When the MACD crosses above the signal line, it gives a bullish signal, indicating that the price of the security may see an upward movement and vice versa.

Stocks signaling weakness ahead
The MACD showed bearish signs on the counters of NTPC, DLF, Bombay Dyeing, Wockhardt and L&T among others.

Bearish crossover on the MACD on these counters indicated that they have just begun their downward journey.

Most active stocks in value terms
HDFC (Rs 11567 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 5832 crore), LTIMindtree (Rs 2440 crore), RIL( Rs 2405 crore) and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (Rs 2293 crore) were among the most active stocks on NSE in value terms. Higher activity on a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with highest trading turnovers in the day.
Most active stocks in volume terms

Suzlon Energy (Shares traded: 20.19 crore), Reliance Power (Shares traded: 20.12 crore), YES Bank (Shares traded: 13.12 crore), Delta Corp (Shares traded: 8.21 crore) and Zomato (Shares traded: 6.42 crore) among the most traded stocks in the session on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, BSE, NCC, JB Chemicals and Mankind Pharma, among others, witnessed strong buying interest from market participants as they scaled their fresh 52-week highs, signaling bullish sentiment.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
Shares of Pentagon Rubber, Cell Point and Jet Airways among others stocks that hit their 52-week lows, signaling bearish sentiment on the counters.

Sentiment meter favours bears
Overall, market breadth favoured bears as 1,697 stocks ended in the green, while 1,774 names settled in the red.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)