Aurobindo Pharma Limited has signed a binding offer to acquire commercial operations in seven Western European countries from Actavis plc .

Closing of the transaction is conditional on certain antitrust approvals and completion of employee consultation processes.

"Aurobindo expects to acquire personnel, commercial infrastructure, products, marketing authorizations and dossier license rights in seven European countries. Actavis and Aurobindo will be entering into a long term commercial and supply arrangement in order to support the ongoing growth plans of these businesses. The acquisition expands Aurobindo's front-end operations into five segments (generics, prescription products, over-the-counter products, hospital products and generics tenders) with approximately 1200 products and an additional pipeline of over 200 products," the company has said in a release to the exchange.

Management estimates the net sales for the acquired businesses would be around EUR 320 million in 2013 with a growth rate of over 10% year-on-year. Although these businesses are currently loss-making, Aurobindo expects them to return to profitability in combination with its vertically integrated platform and existing commercial infrastructure. The acquisition will make Aurobindo one of the leading Indian pharmaceutical companies in Europe. Since 2006 Aurobindo has been steadily expanding its European footprint through an increasing presence in UK, Spain and Germany. The acquisition will enable Aurobindo to achieve critical mass in Western Europe with a top 10 position in several key markets.

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