Investor: DR News
By Gordon Platt
Nectar Lifesciences, based in Chandigarh, India, makes active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), generic drugs and phytochemicals, such as mint derivatives, including menthol. In order to expand its generic pharmaceutical business and build new manufacturing plants, Nectar has sold a significant minority stake to private equity investor New Silk Route (NSR).
The pharmaceutical company allocated 26 million preferred shares to NSR, raising nearly $20 million. Nectar also issued 46 million global depositary receipts (GDRs), raising an additional $35 million. It appointed Deutsche Bank as depositary bank for its sponsored Regulation S GDR program. The GDRs are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
NSR Direct PE Mauritius became the single largest foreign investor in Nectar, with a 32% stake acquired through a combination of preferred shares and GDRs. Vivek Sett, NSR’s Mumbai-based partner, will join the board of Nectar. Sett joined NSR in 2007 and focuses on private equity opportunities on the Indian subcontinent.
In another recent assignment, Deutsche Bank was appointed depositary bank for the sponsored Level 1 American depositary receipt (ADR) program of Cielo, formerly VisaNet, which is responsible for acquiring merchants and managing the card-acceptance network for the Visa brand in Brazil.
According to industry group Abecs, Brazilian payments card transactions grew about 24% annually between 2005 and 2008, reaching more than $200 billion.
