The government has received multiple expressions of interest for strategic sale of Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (IMPCL).

"Multiple Expressions of Interest (EoIs) received for the strategic disinvestment of Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (IMPCL). The transaction will now move to the second stage," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The second stage would involve due diligence and subsequent issue of RFPs (request for proposals) for financial bids.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had on August 31 invited EoIs from interested bidders for disinvestment of IMPCL. The last date for putting in preliminary bids was October 30.

The government of India holds a 98.11 per cent stake in IMPCL, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Ayush. The remaining 1.89 per cent is held by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd (KMVNL), an undertaking of the Uttarakhand government.

KMVNL also intends to sell its entire holding in IMPCL in the strategic sale process.

IMPCL manufactures 656 classical ayurvedic, 332 unani and 71 proprietary ayurvedic medicines for a varied spectrum of diseases.

It supplies ayurveda and unani medicines to all the states under the National Ayush Mission (NAM) and 6,000 centres of Jan Aushadhi Kendras. The price/ rate of IMPCL products are fixed by the cental government.

"Liberalized pricing policy post disinvestment combined with already laid down distribution network & payment collection mechanism may enable the company to compete with other market players more efficiently that may lead to increased sales and profitability," DIPAM had said while inviting EoI.

As of March 31, 2022, the company had a paid-up share capital of Rs 51.98 crore. The total campus area of IMPCL is 35.81 acres in Almora, Uttarakhand.

IMPCL is a profit-making organisation since its inception. The profit before tax (PBT) of IMPCL was Rs 42.77 lakh during FY20, which rose to Rs 45.41 crore in FY22.