Mauritius company plans to buy off Cipla Quality Chemicals
Cipla Quality Chemicals Ltd headquarters in Kampala, Uganda. PHOTO/ FILE
What you need to know:
- Ugandan ownership of Cipla Quality Chemical Industries will increase, the company will retain access to technology and technical support relevant to its operations.
Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited says business will remain as usual and they will explain details of the transaction if Capital Markets Authority and Uganda Securities Exchange allows them to sell 51.18 percent of their shares to the Authority.
In an interview with this publication in Wednesday morning, Mr Ajay Pal, the chief executive officer of Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited, said if approved, the company will sell all its shares to Africa Capitalworks but there will be no change in business because “Cipla Quality Chemicals is still a profitable business, its market is expanding and they beginning to manufacture new drugs at the end of the year.”
“It is an expression of interest by Africa Capital Works SSA 3. This is more of a special transaction, not a takeover of the company. It remains limited to taking ahareholding from Cipla Quality Chemicals, we shall give more details once Capital Markets Authority and Uganda Securities Exchange approve the sale of shares,” he said.
He explained that the factory, which is renowned for manufacturing Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, exports them to 12 African countries. The factory also manufactures malaria drugs, Erythromycin, drugs for hypertension, drugs for erectile dysfunction and six to seven new products are said to be coming on the market before end of this year once approved by the National Drug Authority.
In today’s Daily Monitor, the company placed a “Cautionary Announcement” to the shareholders and the public announcing Africa Capitalworks SSA 3’s intentions to buy the shares and how it will affect the company’s shareholding structure if approved. The announcement also states that the Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Board of Directors is aware that the company applied to Capital Markets Authority for approval of the transaction.
According to the notice of intention, the transaction is a strategic investment and change of control is expected to create further growth opportunities for the company.
Ugandan ownership of Cipla Quality Chemical Industries will increase, the company will retain access to technology and technical support relevant to its operations.
The Ugandan founders Emmanuel Katongole, Ferderick Kitaka Mutebi and George Baguma will each hold 2.79 percent of shares in Cipla Quality Chemical Industries and they will each acquire 1.50 percent interest in the company, which is listed in the stock exchange. The company’s current shareholders include Meditab Holdings Ltd (51.05 percent) and AMISTAD (11.51 percent).
Other shareholders are Capitalworks SSA 1 (11.15 percent), government employees pension fund (8.54 percent), NSSF Uganda (7.38 percen, Cipla (EU) (0.13 percent) and Yiga Joseph (0.11 percent).
