India's Lupin buys Brazil's Medquimica as part of M&A growth plan

Continuing to spread its wings, India's Lupin now has a toehold in the Brazil market by buying Medquímica Indústria Farmacêutica, producer of branded, generic and over-the-counter drugs.

The acquisition was the latest in what Managing Director Nilesh Gupta said would be several it planned to make, only in part to gain a presence in new markets such as Brazil and Russia.

He said Lupin was also looking for other mergers or acquisitions.

Gupta made the remarks to The Hindu while announcing the company's fourth-quarter results. He said he planned to take a cautious approach to selecting an acquisition target and was working to make an acquisition this year.

Almost simultaneously, the Brazil acquisition was announced, so it was not clear if that would serve as this year's acquisition or another was in the works.

The financial arrangements of buying Medquimica were not disclosed, but the company reported net revenues last year of nearly $31 million. The Brazil pharma market is pegged at $25.9 billion, the world's sixth largest.

- here are stories from Livemint and The Hindu