Why are Sun Pharma, Zenotech Lab shares trading higher today?

Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose nearly 1% in opening deals on Tuesday, in an otherwise weak broader market, following an acquisition news. The pharma major in an exchange filing on Monday said it has signed a share purchase agreement with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Company to acquire the latter's 11.28% stake in Zenotech Laboratories.

As per the deal, Sun Pharma will acquire Daiichi’s 68,86,500 equity shares, representing 11.28% shareholding in Zenotech Laboratories. Sun Pharma will pay ₹7.73 per share aggregating to ₹5.32 crore for the proposed transaction.

Zenotech, a subsidiary of Daiichi, is an India-based pharmaceutical company operating out of Hyderabad. Formed in 1989, the BSE-listed company is engaged in the business of manufacturing and supply of pharmaceutical products in the domestic market.

Boosted by the development, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries shares gained as much as 0.82% to hit a high of ₹921.95 on the BSE. In contrast, the BSE Sensex was quoting at 57,165, down 127 points, or 0.22%, at the time of reporting.

Sun Pharma shares have been gaining for the last three sessions and have risen 3.4% during the period. With a market capitalisation of ₹2.20 lakh crore, the largecap stock is trading 1.3% away from its 52 week high of ₹930.9 touched in the previous session. The stock hit a 52-week low of ₹572 on March 25, 2021.

The healthcare stock has gained 9% since the beginning of the calendar year 2022 and 55% over the past one year. In the last one month, it has climbed 8% and 3% in a week.

Reacting to the news, Zenotech Laboratories shares hit a 5% upper circuit at ₹53 apiece on the BSE. It has surged 5.9% in the past two sessions.

Sun Pharma said in the exchange filing that no regulatory approval is required for the deal, while the tentative time period for completion of the acquisition is 30 days which can be mutually extended by the parties.

“No governmental or regulatory approvals are required for the transaction from acquirer's perspective, except for compliances as mentioned in regulation 10(1)(a)(ii) of SEBI SAST Regulations for exemption,” Sun Pharma said in the exchange filing.

As per the company, the primary object of the transaction is to consolidate its holding in Zenotech. After the acquisition, Sun Pharma stake in the company would increase from 57.56% to 68.84%.