Sanofi Aventis's Piramal plans fall through

French pharma major Sanofi Aventis’s plans to acquire a majority stake in Mumbai-based Piramal Healthcare has fallen through due to
differences over valuation, two persons familiar with the development told ET .

"Sanofi Aventis had put a valuation of over Rs 300 per share for Piramal Healthcare. But, this price was not acceptable to the promoters," a merchant banker familiar with the development said. On Thursday, Piramal Healthcare’s scrip rose 4.15% to close at Rs 201.80, at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as against BSE Healthcare index which moved up 1.75%.

Sanofi Aventis is already among the top 15 companies in India and the proposed deal would have strengthened its presence in the country.

Besides Piramal Healthcare, Piramals also control Piramal Lifesciences, a separate public listed research firm, demerged out of Piramal Healthcare in 2008. This research arm was not part of the promoters’ plans to sell their pharma business