NEW DELHI: Advent International, one of the largest & most experienced global Private Equity (PE) investors, recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in ZCL Chemicals Ltd. (formerly Zandu Chemicals Ltd.), one the fastest growing manufacturers of specialty Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) & advanced intermediates in India. With this transaction, Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA), a private equity platform that previously managed a minority investment in ZCL, will exit their investment. "The transaction will be subject to customary closing conditions," said Advent International in a press statement.
“ZCL will be our third pharma investment in India and the second in the API space. ZCL is a high-growth business, led by a capable management team, which will further fortify our presence in the API market, a key sub-sector focus of ours,” said Shweta Jalan, Managing Director (MD) & Head of India at Advent International India (AII). Over the last 12 months, Advent has committed over $1.2 billion globally across the healthcare sector. The firm has also committed over $600 million in four Indian businesses over the same period in varied sectors such as healthcare, consumer and financial services, amongst others.
“We are impressed with ZCL’s differentiated product portfolio, strong pipeline and its high focus on quality & compliance. The acquisition of ZCL helps us get closer to our goal of creating a top five merchant API platform in India,” said Pankaj Patwari, Director at AII. “We are very pleased with this transaction and excited to partner with Advent. In the last 12 years we have established ZCL as one of the leading pure-play API companies in the country, and today marks an important milestone in these efforts. We are very excited for the future of ZCL, and strongly believe Advent’s global expertise in the pharma space, combined with ZCL’s strong capabilities in manufacturing and R&D and a culture of customer centricity, will ensure that we keep up our tradition of delivering immense customer value,” said Nihar Parikh, Executive Director, ZCL Chemicals. “ZCL was one of MSPEA's first investments in the healthcare & lifesciences sector in India, and we are happy with the progress the company has made in the last 4 years. Today, it is well-positioned to embark on the next phase of growth, with a strong product portfolio and focus on quality standards,” said Nirav Mehta, MD & Co-Head of Morgan Stanley Private Equity India.
