>Ranbaxy The Japanese MNC!!!

Ranbaxy Laboratories board of directors Monday approved a preferential allotment of shares warrants to Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd, leading to the Japanese drug firm acquiring a controlling 52.5% equity stake in the Indian drug maker.

Ranbaxy said it received INR35.85 billion ($736 million) from Daiichi Sankyo through the preferential allotment of shares and warrants. Daiichi Sankyo had offered to buy a controlling stake in Ranbaxy June 11, when Ranbaxy founders accepted an offer to sell a 34.8% stake to the Japanese company at INR737 a share.

The deal also involved an open offer to Ranbaxy shareholders at INR737 a share, which Daiichi Sankyo recently completed. Additionally, the deal included a preferential allotment of 46.26 million new shares and 23.83 million shares worth of new warrants to Daiichi Sankyo at INR737 a share. To date, Daiichi has acquired a 52.5% equity stake, comprising 220.69 million Ranbaxy shares - 92.52 million shares from the open offer, 46.26 million shares from the preferential allotment of shares, and 81.91 million shares from the company's founders.

"We (also) moved to transfer a substantial part of the (34.8%) founders' stake in Ranbaxy to Daiichi today. We expect to transfer the remaining 12%-13% stake in the next few days," Ranbaxy Chief Executive & Managing Director Malvinder Singh told Dow Jones Newswires. The deal will close once Ranbaxy's founding Singh family transfers this remaining stake to Daiichi.

Singh said Monday's stake transfer to Daiichi was done via an off-market transaction. Ranbaxy's founding family had to take the off-market route after it didn't get Indian regulatory approval for transferring the stake to Daiichi via block deals through the stock exchanges. "The substantial cash being infused by Daiichi Sankyo at this stage will be used to expand our business aggressively through the organic and inorganic routes," Singh said.

"We are delighted to announce the realization of the global alliance with Ranbaxy. Two strong presences in innovation and the fast growing business of nonproprietary pharmaceuticals united, this hybrid business model will boost Daiichi Sankyo to achieve our goal to become a world-class pharmaceutical innovator, a global pharma innovator," Daiichi Sankyo President & Chief Executive Takashi Shoda said in a joint statement.

"Ranbaxy will continue to operate as an independent and autonomous company and will closely cooperate with Daiichi Sankyo to explore and optimize the growth opportunities across the pharmaceutical value chain," the statement said.

Malvinder Singh will be appointed chairman of the board of directors in addition to his existing responsibilities as chief executive and managing director of Ranbaxy, the statement said, adding Singh will also become a member of the senior global management of Daiichi Sankyo.