The Fact Maker

CX Partners-backed Veeda Clinical Research gets Sebi nod for its Rs 832 crore IPO

Ahmedabad: Clinical research organisation Veeda Clinical Research Limited has received capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) nod to raise approximately Rs 832 crore.

The issue will consist of the issuance of fresh equity shares worth up to Rs 331.60 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 500 crore by promoters and existing shareholders.

Investors participating in OFS include CX Alternative Investment Fund aggregating up to Rs 8.08 crore, Rs 90.19 crore by Arabelle Financial Services Limited, Rs 259.77 crore by Bondway Investment Inc., Rs 0.04 crore by Stevey International Corporation and Rs 141.93 crore by Basil Private Limited.

The company intends to utilise net proceeds from the fresh issue for repayment of the debt, funding capital expenditure, Investing and funding further acquisition of subsidiary Bioneeds, funding working capital requirements and general corporate purpose.

The Ahmedabad-based company is backed by CX Partners, in June announced raising $16 million from PE firms Sabre Partners, and high networth individuals including Pranab Mody of JB Chemicals, Havells India family office, Nikhil Vora of Sixth Sense Ventures and Arjun Bhartia of Jubilant Group among others, according to a report by moneycontrol.

Veeda is one of the largest independent full service clinical research organization (“CRO”) in India as of March 31, 2020, on the basis of revenue, according to Frost & Sullivan report. It specializes in the focused segment of Bio Availability / Bio Equivalence (BA/BE) studies.

In addition to BA/BE tests, it offers a broad range of services across most aspects of the drug development and drug launch value chain throughout the global markets including North America, Europe and Asia.

Veeda also has a full suite of clinical trials including pre-clinical, early phase and late phase clinical trials, together with related services. In particular, we have expertise in PK studies as well as trials in generic molecules, NCEs, large molecules and biosimilars.

Furthermore, to support its capabilities and to offer top-notch clinical service for novel drugs, Veeda acquired a 50.1% stake in Bangalore-based Bioneeds India Private Limited, after it acquired a substantial minority stake in the company during March and July 2021.

As of March 2021, Veeda has conducted more than 3,500 trials and developed more than 1,000 bio-analytical methods spread across generics. It has also been able to complete over 85 global inspections.

Veeda’s revenue from operations stood at Rs 195.81 crore in fiscal 2021, while its annual profit for fiscal 2021 was Rs 63.29 crore.

The Indian clinical trials market is estimated at $ 0.96 Billion in 2021 and is expected to grow by about 12.7% to reach $ 1.75 Billion by 2026. The Indian clinical trials captures 2.4% of the global clinical trials market in 2021 and is expected to grow faster than the global market to capture about 3.1% of the market share by 2026.

SBI Capital Markets Limited, ICICI Securities Limited, JM Financial Limited, and Systematix Corporate Services Limited are the book running lead managers to the issue. Link Intime has been appointed as the registrar to issue.