Orion, Avendus and Edelweiss Provide the Debt
The Orion facility, described by people familiar with the matter, covers roughly 43% of the purchase price. A Gujarat Themis spokesperson was not immediately able to comment, and Orion declined to comment. In a Sept 16 statement, the company said it had raised ₹585 crore ($61 million) through a private placement of secured five-year debentures with a 10% coupon and 18-month notes paying 17.75%. Funds managed by Avendus Capital and Edelweiss Alternatives bought the paper, according to sources, and Avendus said its fund was a lead investor. The proceeds are earmarked for the company's wholly owned Japanese subsidiary to finance the acquisition and for general corporate purposes. Gujarat Themis has also agreed to buy 13 anti-tuberculosis and anti-infective brands from Sanofi for €158 million in cash, with closing targeted by the end of December.
The two debt financings add up to $119 million, and a separate ₹750 crore equity raise closed on Aug. 28. The purchase price of about ₹1,300 crore is close to eight times Gujarat Themis's FY26 revenue of ₹166 crore and nearly 28 times its ₹47 crore profit after tax.
Pricing the Rupee Debt
The gap between the two rupee instruments is wide. The reporting does not say how the ₹585 crore is divided between them, so a blended cost of funds cannot be worked out. Nor is there any word on the rate, tenor or security on the Orion facility. Bloomberg placed the deal in a wider Asian pattern, noting that private lenders often move faster than banks. It cited Indonesia's Chandra Asri, which used KKR's insurance arm, Global Atlantic, to fund a $1 billion purchase of Esso-branded service stations in Singapore earlier this year. Why Gujarat Themis chose private credit has not been stated.
What Was Bought
Completion was announced on Sept 18, nearly four months after the May 22 signing. The shares were acquired from funds managed or advised by Japanese private equity firm T Capital Partners, after regulatory approvals. MicroBiopharm has three GMP-compliant plants, and Gujarat Themis cites a US FDA and Japanese PMDA inspection track record. Roughly 40% of its revenue comes from outside Japan, and its top six customers have been with it for over two decades. Its chief executive said the deal would pair MicroBiopharm's precision fermentation platforms with Gujarat Themis's large-scale manufacturing.
The Buyer's Position
Gujarat Themis, founded in 1981, says on its website that it was India's first company to begin commercial production of the anti-tuberculosis drug Rifampicin. Managing director Sachin Patel called the completion a milestone toward becoming a globally integrated fermentation-based CDMO.
The company expects the deal to add to earnings per share. The reporting does not say how much of the new debt's interest cost that projection assumes. MicroBiopharm's FY26 revenue was put at about ¥9.5 billion, an estimate given at signing. Bloomberg's report does not give a profit figure. With part of the rupee debt carrying a 17.75% coupon, the open question is how much profit the Japanese business needs to generate for that accretion to hold.