Hyderabad, November 14, 2006
Ocimum Biosolutions today announced that International Finance Corporation,
the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will invest $ 6.5 million
in equity, for a minority stake and debt in the company. Funds raised from
this transaction will be used for financing the company’s growth.
Commenting on the announcement, Anuradha Acharya, Founder & CEO of
Ocimum Biosolutions, says, “We are very happy to have IFC as a partner
in our growth. These are exciting times for Ocimum, and to have IFC as
an investor brings a lot of confidence to our clients and partners.”
Iyad Malas, IFC’s Director for South Asia, said, “IFC’s support to Ocimum
Biosolutions will provide the company its much needed growth capital to
establish an internationally competitive contract research outsourcing
company and promote the discovery of new drugs at lower costs. We will
also help the company improve its corporate governance standards.”
This is Ocimum Biosolution’s first round of fund-raising from private
equity investors. The company is contemplating another round of fund-raising
in the next 18 to24 months. It recently acquired a manufacturer of oligos
based in Europe and is scouting for more targets in the European market.
IFC will support the company’s expansion and invest in research and development
infrastructure in India by recruiting and training scientists to perform
drug research aimed at improving human health.
About International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World
Bank Group, is the largest multilateral provider of financing for private
enterprise in developing countries. IFC finances private sector investments,
mobilizes capital in international financial markets, facilitates trade,
helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides
technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments. From its
founding in 1956 through FY06, IFC has committed more than $56 billion
of its own funds for private sector investments in the developing world
and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies
in 140 developing countries. With the support of funding from donors, it
has also provided more than $1 billion in technical assistance and advisory
services. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
About Ocimum Biosolutions
Ocimum Biosolutions is a life sciences research and development enabling
company with three main focus areas, “bioIT” (biology-related information
technology), microarrays, and contract research services. The U.S. operations
of the company focus on custom contract research in the molecular biology
area, while the Indian operations provide bioIT services and leverage India’s
low-cost advantage in information technology space. The company enjoys
a strong brand image in the market and has worked with some of the best
research organizations in the world, including IIT Kharagpur, National
Research Council of Canada, Agriculture and Agri Foods, NIH, and Dow Agro
Sciences.
Ocimum Biosolutions has adopted a strategy to ramp up its business quickly
and has demonstrated its capability to execute this strategy in the past.
As a part of its strategy, Ocimum Biosolutions acquired a division of MWG
Biotech, Germany in 2005. The company has received a host of awards and
recognitions. The company has recently received the IT Innovation award
by NASSCOM, presented by president of India. Red Herring magazine picked
Ocimum as one of the eight companies to watch in India and included it
in Red Herring’s Asia 100. Deloitte ranked the company as fourth-fastest
growing technology company in India and 55th-fastest growing technology
company in the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, please visit:
www.ocimumbio.com.
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