Japanese drug manufacturer Daiichi Sankyo, which holds the majority stake in Ranbaxy laboratories in its statement, said that they expect the $4 billion merger deal between Ranbaxy and Sun Pharmaceuticals to close by end of 2014.”The merger is expected to close by the end of December 2014, pending shareholder, court and regulatory approvals and other customary conditions,” Daiichi Sankyo said in a statement.
Daiichi had acquired a majority stake in Ranbaxy laboratories in 2008 for around Rs 22,000 crore. Earlier this week, Sun Pharma had announced to acquire Ranbaxy laboratories in an all stock transaction with a total equity value of $ 3.2 billion, along with debt of $ 800 million taking the overall deal value to $ 4 billion. Daiichi Sankyo is currently in the process of determining the impact of this transaction on earnings, it added. According to the company’s estimates the merger deal would get approval from Indian securities exchanges by June end.Further, the company expects the extraordinary meetings of shareholders at Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy at the end of August, followed by the completion of merger “with approval from high courts in India and other regulatory agencies.”