Carlyle Group to acquire animal healthcare company, Sequent

Mumbai: Private equity major, The Carlyle Group, is acquiring animal healthcare company, SeQuent Scientific, and will make an open offer to the existing shareholders.

The existing promoters of SeQuent Scientific Limited today announced that CA Harbor Investments, an affiliated entity of CAP V Mauritius Limited and The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire an equity stake of up to 74% in the company for Rs 86 per share.

This is among the first few deals in the private equity space during the ongoing lockdown.

Pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)'s Takeover Regulations, the proposed transaction will trigger a mandatory open offer by CA Harbor Investments and CAP V Mauritius Limited for the purchase of up to 26% equity shares of SeQuent from public shareholders to be identified in the open offer documents.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Following the completion of this transaction, CA Harbor Investments will become the new promoter of SeQuent.

Headquartered in Mumbai, SeQuent is the largest Indian pure-play animal healthcare company with global operations. SeQuent provides animal health Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), formulations, and analytical services in over 100 countries, with more than 1,700 employees and manufacturing operations in India, Spain, Turkey, Germany and Brazil.

The Carlyle Group has a well-established history of investing in the healthcare sector, both in India and globally. Its investments in the Indian healthcare sector include Medanta Medicity Hospital, a leading hospital in the National Capital Region of Delhi, and Metropolis Healthcare, which operates a chain of diagnostic centers and laboratories.

The Carlyle Group is a long-standing global investment firm in India, making investments in India since 2000. Carlyle has invested more than $2.5 billion in India as of March 31, 2020. Its other notable investments include SBI Life, SBI Card, HDFC, India Infoline, Delhivery and PNB Housing Finance.

J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisor while Nishith Desai Associates acted as legal advisor to SeQuent and its promoters. Nomura acted as exclusive financial advisor while AZB & Partners and White & Case acted as legal counsels to CA Harbor Investments and Carlyle. Nomura will be acting as the manager to the public tender offer.

Arun Kumar, on behalf of the current promoter group of SeQuent, said, "We are pleased to have achieved this strategic outcome for SeQuent and its investors through this divestment. We are confident that Carlyle's global network and resources will be a catalyst for SeQuent's next stage of growth and innovation".

Neeraj Bharadwaj, Managing Director of the Carlyle Asia Partners team, said, "SeQuent is led by an experienced management team, and has built strong API and formulation businesses that are poised for continued growth in the evolving animal health industry. We will draw on our global network, industry knowledge and operating expertise in healthcare to advise SeQuent on its business expansion strategy, enhance its operations, and help the company drive sales and product innovation."