Singapore based P.E major buys out Indian Calibre Chemicals for US$100 million

SINGAPORE – Private equity major Everstone has announced acquisition of a controlling stake in Calibre Chemicals, which is a specialty ingredients player focused on the pharmaceutical, nutritional and personal care segments, for a reported US$100 million (around Rs 730 crore).

The city-based, privately-held Calibre was established in 1984 and manufactures a range of specialty chemicals falling into two product lines–mineral derivatives (iodine, selenium, cobalt) and peroxygens (persulphates, perchlorates).

Calibre also offers various packaging solutions including paper cartons, HDPE drums, LDPE bags, steel drums and fiber drums apart from manufacturing various custom chemicals at its Sarigam plant in Gujarat.

It caters to several growing end-industries like pharma, nutrition, and personal care and has customers in over 75 countries spanning the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia and nets two-thirds of its revenue from exports. It also has a wholly-owned subsidiary in Belgium.

Sameer Sain, co-founder and chief executive of Everstone Group, said Calibre has a whole suite of specialty ingredient products with strong growth potential catering to both domestic and global markets. We believe our operational expertise and experience will help Calibre realize its global goals.

Ranjit Bhavnani, founder-chairman and managing director of Calibre, said, the investment from Everstone endorses the growth trajectory that Calibre is on, and they aim to push the envelope with this investment.

Everstone’s pharma portfolio companies include complex generic and specialty pharma products manufacturer Slayback Pharma, domestic pharma distribution platform, API Holdings, amongst others. In 2019, it had successfully exited from Rubicon Research.

The Everstone Group has assets in excess of US$6 billion across private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, and venture capital and offices in India, New York, Singapore, London, Mauritius, and the UAE.

This deal has been inked shortly after Calibre’s to competitors Scott Kaisha were baought out by Serum Institute of India. Serum bought 50% stake in the packaging venture to secure to quality pharmaceutical packaging materials.

The joint venture between Germany’s specialty glass company SCHOTT AG and Indian group Kaisha, manufactures pharma packaging products such as vials, syringes, ampoules and cartridges used to package life-saving medications.

On the packaging end, SCHOTT has delivered vials for more than 2 billion vaccine doses through 2021. The company is providing glass vials globally to key vaccine manufacturers.