RSIPL will complement facilities in Hamburg and the U.K.
Evotec is purchasing a 70% stake in India-based drug discovery services company Research Support International (RSIPL) for €2.8 million (about $4.02 million) in cash. The deal also gives Evotec a call option for the future purchase of the remaining 30 percent in the event of a change-of-control.
RSIPL was established in 2004 as a wholly owned subsidiary of DIL (formerly Duphar-Interfran; www.dil.net) and currently has about 160 employees. Completion of the transaction will see RSIPL operate as Evotec India.
The new site will complement the company’s existing facilities in Hamburg and Abingdon, U.K. Evotec says that the Indian company will provide both important capacity expansion and complementary drug discovery and chemistry capabilities to its existing discovery platform in a cost-effective location.
During May Evotec paid £0.5 million ($0.84 million) in cash for Summit’s zebrafish screening business including operations in Abingdon and Singapore. The company says that despite this and the €2.8 million payout for the RSIPL stake, it should still have over €65 million ($93.41 million) in liquid funds by the end of 2009.
