India’s Strides Pharma Science said on Wednesday that its associate company, OneSource Specialty Pharma had raised an equity commitment of ₹801 crore from a pool of domestic and international institutional investors in a pre-listing funding round.
OneSource, the CDMO arm of Strides, has raised assurance on fund infusion from a long list of investors after Strides Pharma Science made the statement. The subscription agreements are at the pre-money equity valuation of $1.65 billion in the share-holding agreement as the investors are confident of the firm’s prospects.
This fund-raising plan aligns with a larger scheme of arrangement announced in September 2023. The company clarified that the investment is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals.
Arun Kumar, one of the co-founders of the Strides Group, said: “This fundraise will enable us to accelerate growth plans, right-size the debt book, and commit significant new capital expenditure for a strong order book across our three platforms. The capital will further deepen the operational capabilities of OneSource, further entrenching its presence in this very competitive CDMO market.”.
OneSource was set up in the last September. The step brought Stelis’ Biologics CDMO, SteriScience’s Complex Injectables, and Strides’s Soft Gelatine under one umbrella through a scheme of arrangement. Under this structure, Strides shareholders will receive, for every two shares of Strides, based on a swap ratio of 1:2, one share in OneSource.
OneSource is currently seeking final approval for the scheme with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai Bench, and its listing of equity shares is expected to happen by March 2025, subject to receipt of necessary regulatory clearances.
The shares of the drugmaker were trading up 2.93 percent at ₹1,611.60 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange, reflecting positive investor sentiment surrounding the prospects of the company. This commitment is an enormous leap in the strategic growth and expansion plans by Strides, putting OneSource in a perfectly poised position to shine out in the landscape of evolving pharmaceuticals.
