Aurobindo Pharma divests stake in Chinese subsidiary

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has decided to divest its holdings from its wholly owned loss making Chinese subsidiary, Aurobindo Tongling (Datong) Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, China. However, Aurbindo will retain its stake in its stake in its captive ingredients manufacturing business, Aurobindo (Datong) Bio-Pharma Company Ltd, China.

The Indian company and Aurobindo (Datong) Bio-Pharma Company are the shareholders of Aurobindo Tongling (Datong) Pharmaceutical Company Ltd (ATDPL), which manufactures pharmaceutical products for the Chinese market.

The Chinese company has been incurring losses since the last three years. Aurobindo Tongling incurred a net loss of Rs6.55 crore on sales of Rs131 crore for the year ended March 31, 2006.

The divestment decision was taken at the meeting of Aurobindo Pharmaceutical's board of directors yesterday. The board also decided to take a stake in Hyderabad-based Senor Organics Pvt Ltd, a profit making, small pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Senor Organics, which manufactures APIs and intermediates, has its manufacturing unit in the Medak district of Andhra Pradesh, adjacent to one of Aurbindo Pharma''s units. In the last financial year it had sales of Rs2.8 crore.

Senor''s operations will be integrated into Aurbindo Pharmaceuticals.