Torrent Pharma shares up

MUMBAI, Feb 2 (Business Standard): On Monday, Shares of Gujarat-based Torrent Pharma went up by 4.5% at Rs 1,150, from closing price of Rs 1100.95, intraday on BSE following US Federal Trade Commission (USFTC) order in Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy merger.

Last week, US FTC had ordered Sun Pharma to divest its interest in a generic anti-bacterial medicine (Minocycline tablets) to Torrent Pharma.

The financial details of the deal is not yet ascertained. Torrent Pharma shares were closed at Rs 1123.95, up by 2.09 per cent or Rs 23 on BSE.

The USFTC has given a conditional nod to Sun for the proposed $4-billion merger with Ranbaxy. Earlier, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had granted a conditional approval to the merger in December 2014. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana is expected to announce its verdict on the Sun-Ranbaxy merger this month.

Minocycline tablets are used to treat bacterial infections including pneumonia and other respiratory tract infections, acne, and skin, genital and urinary tract infections.

According to the order by the FTC, Sun and Ranbaxy must sell Ranbaxy's generic Minocycline capsule assets to Torrent to enable Torrent to achieve regulatory approval for a change in ingredient suppliers for its Minocycline tablets as quickly as Ranbaxy would have been able to do in the absence of the deal.

A Sun Pharma statement said, "The FTC accepted a proposed consent agreement pursuant to which, Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy have agreed to divest Ranbaxy's interests in generic minocycline tablets and capsules to an external third party."