Daiichi completes Ranbaxy buy, seeks "to realize sustainable growth"

Daiichi, in a statement, said it has bought 63.9 percent stake in the Indian pharmaceutical company through purchase of promoters' stake, private placement of new shares and an open public offer.

The two companies had agreed on the takeover in June before a stock market meltdown and Ranbaxy's run in with the US drug regulator threatened to jeopardize the deal.

In September, the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) banned the import of more than 30 of Ranbaxy's generic drugs - including generic versions of the popular antibiotic Cipro and the cholesterol pill Zocor - over concerns about alleged "deficiencies in manufacturing processes" at two of its Indian plants. Regulators in other countries, such as Canada, were quick to follow with probes of their own, leading to the prices of Ranbaxy's shares plunged by over 50 percent to around Rs.250 per share as concerns rose about its earning potential in the US market, which accounts for at least a quarter of its total sales. However, Daiichi said there would be no change to the purchase price (Rs.737 per share) as originally agreed, though it warned it could book a valuation loss on its interest in Ranbaxy.

A spokesman for Daiichi said the company officially became a subsidiary of Daiichi from October 20 and Ranbaxy's promoters, the Singh family, has ceased to be promoters of the Indian drug company.

However, Ranbaxy will retain its name and its CEO Malvinder Mohan Singh will continue to run it as an independent and autonomous company, the spokesman said.