Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical bids for sterile injectables maker Gland

China’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical has made it official. It wants to expand its sterile manufacturing capabilities and has made a bid for India’s Gland Pharma.

The Chinese conglomerate gave no details in its announcement Monday, Reuters said, simply saying it has made a non-binding bid for the Indian sterile injectables specialist and its four manufacturing sites. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical is a unit of conglomerate Fosun Group, whose top executive, Chairman Guo Guangchang, has fashioned himself after investor Warren Buffett.

Gland has for some time been seen as a prime target for the many companies hoping to get into or bolster their credentials in the rapidly growing sterile injectables arena. It recently put itself on the market, with its owners hoping to get $1.5 billion for its business. Last week, The Economic Times said that U.S.-based Baxter International ($BAX) was the likely buyer in a three-way competition with Fosun and global investment fund Advent International. Until now, none of the three had acknowledged they were interested in buying Gland.

A Baxter spokesman today declined to comment on the reports the company is negotiating with Gland. Last month, Baxter CEO José Almeida told analysts the company was looking for manageable M&A deals and that sterile injectables was an area he is focused on.

Drugmakers from across the world see sterile injectables as a growth area and have been snapping up companies, large and small, that have those capabilities. Pfizer ($PFE) last year purchased global injectables leader Hospira for $15 billion. Mylan ($MYL) laid out $1.6 billion for India’s Agila Specialties in 2013. On the smaller side, Swedish CMO Recipharm is spending about $105 million to get a majority stake in Indian sterile injectables maker Nitin Lifesciences. 

- read the Reuters story

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