Sun Pharma expects Ranbaxy business to be profitable in short term

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi has said he expects Ranbaxy Laboratories to become profitable in the short term.

The drugmaker said it will buy Ranbaxy in a $3.2 billion all-share deal, creating the world's fifth-largest generic drug maker from two firms struggling with quality issues in the lucrative United States market.

Shanghvi said Ranbaxy's underlying business has "robust growth", and profitability potential, based on which the price Sun Pharma is paying for the deal is "justified".

Sun Pharma plans to focus on remediation of compliance issues that have resulted in bans at multiple Ranbaxy plants, he told analysts on a conference call.

Shanghvi also said Sun would continue to look for acquisition opportunities even after the Ranbaxy acquisition.

(Reuters)