Why rare-disease drugs could become India’s next pharma frontier

Mumbai: India's largest pharmaceutical company, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, is set to raise approximately 100 billion rupees ($1.04 billion) through a rupee-denominated debt sale, according to multiple sources. The primary purpose of this issuance is to fund a bridge loan acquired in order to complete the acquisition of US healthcare firm Organon & Co. Bridge loans are typically short-term loans taken prior to major acquisitions to provide immediate financing, which can later be replaced with more permanent funding sources such as bonds or additional loans.

This is Sun Pharma's second bridge loan issuance this year, following a near-$12 billion, 18-month loan taken earlier for Organon's acquisition. The syndication also attracted participation from the country's largest lender, State Bank of India. Sources, who wished to remain anonymous due to lack of authorization to speak to media, mentioned that Sun Pharma has not yet commented on the matter.

Bankers anticipate a record year for domestic corporate debt issuances in India, driven by higher US yields making dollar funding more expensive. As a result, companies are increasingly exploring domestic funding options. Sun Pharma's debt sale will consist of shorter-duration bonds with maturities of 2, 3, and 4 years, as indicated by the sources.

The timing of this move coincides with Indian companies actively seeking to secure borrowing costs before a potential interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India. In fact, about $3 billion worth of rupee debt issuances are scheduled to be offered over the upcoming days.