Dr. Reddy’s Bids on OctoPlus

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories has made an offer of $36 million to acquire OctoPlus, a service-based specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in the Netherlands. The offer price represents a premium of 30% above the closing price of OctoPlus as of October 19, 2012.

This deal will help expand the expertise and scientific capabilities of Dr. Reddy’s. G V Prasad, the company’s vice chairman and chief executive officer, commented, “As we globalize our R&D efforts, we are looking forward to build a research base in Leiden (Netherlands). The acquisition helps us ramp up our technology capabilities in drug delivery.”

Dr. Reddy’s currently holds an irrevocable commitment from shareholders representing more than half of OctoPlus’s issued and outstanding shares. Further, the executive board and the supervisory board of OctoPlus have unanimously recommended the offer to the remaining shareholders. If the tender offer goes according to plan, the deal should close by the end of the current fiscal year.