Aniket PujariMumbai: Global private equity firm Bain Capital is looking to divest its stake in listed pharmaceutical manufacturer Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd through a substantial block deal, according to two people with knowledge of the development.
The move comes after the lock-in period for selling the shares in the Pune-based company got over in February this year. As per Indian market regulations, a lock-in period for certain categories such as anchor investors and pre-listing investors is mandatory, during which period they are prohibited from selling their shares.
“Bain Capital is likely to sell stake worth over $200 million ( ₹1,700 crore) in the company. It has appointed investment bank Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. to help it with the deal,” one of the people cited above said, requesting anonymity.
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BC Investments IV Ltd., the vehicle through which Bain invested in the company, held around 8.68% stake (or 16.5 million shares) as on December 2024, as per the shareholding pattern available on exchanges. A back-of-the-envelope calculation based on the stock’s closing price on Friday shows that this amount roughly translates into ₹1,773.75 crore.
On Friday, Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd shares closed at ₹1,075 a share, 2.45% up on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Its total market capitalisation stood at ₹20,363.92 crore. Comparatively, Nifty’s pharma index was down 0.65% (137.7 points) on the same day, while the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 23,519.35, down 0.31% or 72.6 points.
To be sure, Bain Capital had sold nearly a third of its 13.07% stake in Emcure during the listing. Bain had acquired the stake in December 2013 for ₹700 crore from Blackstone Group. Back in 2006, Blackstone had invested nearly $50 million (about ₹310.60 crore) in Emcure.
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Emailed queries to spokespersons of Emcure Pharma, Bain Capital and Kotak Mahindra Group did not elicit any response.
Emcure’s evolution
Founded in 1981 by Satish Ramanlal Mehta, Pune-based Emcure Pharmaceuticals (Emcure Pharma) was listed on the Indian bourses on 10 July 2024. The company’s shares listed at ₹1,325.05 per share, a 31.45% premium over the issue price of ₹1,008.
Emcure Pharma develops and manufactures various pharmaceutical products across several major therapeutic areas. The company’s product portfolio comprises injectables, biotherapeutics, and orals. The research and development (R&D)-driven firm has targeted markets in over 70 countries, with a significant presence in Europe, Canada, and India.
Emcure reported a 30.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) jump in net profit to ₹156 crore for the quarter ended December 2024 (Q3FY25), up from ₹119.7 crore in the same period last fiscal year. Its revenues grew 17.7% y-o-y, climbing to ₹1,962.6 crore, as against ₹1,667.6 crore in Q3FY24.
Deals’ galore
Indian pharmaceutical and healthcare companies have attracted risk investors such as global and domestic private equity firms in recent times. In the past 12-18 months, there have been half a dozen transactions in the space where such investors from across the globe have picked up stakes ranging from minority to controlling in such firms.
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As per a joint report in March 2025 by global consulting firm Grant Thornton Bharat and the Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI)., India’s healthcare and pharma sector recorded 594 mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and private equity (PE) transactions worth more than $30 billion in deal value between 2022 and 2024, with the hospital sector emerging as a preferred investment destination.
