March 6, 2015
Mumbai: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd founder Dilip S. Shanghvi on Wednesday overtook Reliance Industries Ltd’s Mukesh Ambani as India’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
March 6, 2015
Mumbai: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd founder Dilip S. Shanghvi on Wednesday overtook Reliance Industries Ltd’s Mukesh Ambani as India’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Sun Pharma founder Dilip S. Shanghvi, a first generation entrepreneur, is also chairman and managing director of Sun Pharma Advanced Research Co Ltd, and chairman of the Shantilal Shanghvi Foundation. Photo: Bloomberg
Shanghvi has a net worth of $21.7 billion, while Ambani, who’s been India’s wealthiest man since the inception of the Bloomberg index in March 2012, has a $21.6 billion fortune.
Shanghvi, a first generation entrepreneur, is also chairman and managing director of Sun Pharma Advanced Research Co Ltd, and chairman of the Shantilal Shanghvi Foundation. He holds a B.Com degree from Kolkata University.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking. The index is a dynamic measure of the world’s wealthy based on changes in markets, the economy and Bloomberg reporting. Stakes in publicly traded companies are valued using the share’s most recent closing price. Valuations are converted to US dollars at current exchange rates.
“It comes as no surprise to see an enterprising Gujarati like Shanghvi top the charts. A self-made man, with high business acumen, vision, and an eye to spot a hidden gem or opportunity instantly,” said Amar Ambani, head of research at India Infoline Finance Ltd.
According to Bloomberg, the majority of Shanghvi’s wealth comes from his 60.8% stake in Sun Pharma. He also owns shares of Sun Pharma Advanced Research Co., Natco Pharma Ltd and Bio Light Israeli Life Sciences Investments Ltd.
In April, Shanghvi, 60, announced an all-stock deal to buy troubled Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, hoping to turn it around and bring it under Sun Pharma’s fold. The $3.2 billion deal with Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd is the second largest deal ever in the Indian pharmaceutical sector.
The acquisition, which is expected to close by end of this financial year, will make Sun Pharma the largest Indian generic drug maker and the fifth biggest in the world.
Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical have surged 75.25% this fiscal year against 4.58% decline in Reliance Industries while the benchmark Sensex index gained 31.24%.
Before concluding the Ranbaxy deal, Sun Pharma had made 13 acquisitions between the late 1990s and 2012, starting with the purchase in 1997 of Detroit-based Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. Not all of these were easy.
In 2010, it acquired a 66% stake in Israel-based Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd after a four-year legal battle with its founders—the Levitt family—in a move that more than doubled its revenue in the US to $1.1 billion from $484 million.
It offered to buy the balance 34% stake as well, but decided to drop the plan when some hedge fund investors did not agree with the valuations.
Most recently, on Tuesday, Sun Pharmaceutical, India’s largest drug maker, signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) to purchase its opiates business in Australia for an undisclosed amount.
GSK Opiates, including related manufacturing sites in Latrobe (Tasmania) and Port Fairy (Victoria) and its portfolio products, along with inventory, will be transferred to a subsidiary of Sun Pharma
Shanghvi’s personal investment vehicle Dilip Shanghvi Family and Associates (DSA) is also hitting the headlines for investing in select assets.
Last month, Suzlon Energy Ltd, the world’s fifth largest wind turbine manufacturer, signed a definitive agreement with DSA for an equity investment of `1,800 crore.
Courtesy: LiveMint
