Zandu shareholders approve merger with Emami

Shareholders of Zandu Pharmaceutical has approved its merger with cosmetics major Emami, at a court-convened meeting on 11 September, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Zandu said it received around 99.18 per cent of the votes polled at the shareholders' meeting.

Zandu said the proposal received 6,11,528 valid votes of the 6,16,549 shareholder votes while 321 out of the 333 ballot forms turned out to be valid.

"A majority of the shareholders of Zandu Pharmaceutical Works holding more than 75 per cent of the value of shares present and voting have passed the resolution approving the scheme of arrangement," the filing added.

Kolkata-based Emami is planning a makeover in bid to avoid the overlap of products of both Emami and Zandu in certain areas like pain balms and the general tonic `Chyawanprash' to avert a clash of brands. (See: Emami to merge Zandu's FMCG business, hive off realty arm)

Emami is likely to demerge Zandu's real estate business and list it under Emami Infrastructure once the process of amalgamation of the two companies is complete.

The Emami group is also planning to expand its hospital business by building on its two hospitals in Kolkata with a current capacity of around 550 beds. The Rs2,200-crore group is also likely tap hit the market at a later time.