Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited (CiplaQCIL), a pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Uganda has announced its Initial Public Offer (IPO) by floating a total of 657,179,319 shares on to the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).
The total shares floated represent 18% of all the shares owned by the company. Cipla Ltd, the Indian pharmaceutical giant manufacturers will remain as the majority shareholders with 51% having floated 11% of its shares it holds in CiplaQuality Chemicals Industries.
Initially, it was owning 62% of the company while Quality Chemicals, who will remain with 31% shares was owning 38%. It means that Quality Chemicals has floated 7% of its 38% shareholding.
The Initial Public Offer (IPO) has kicked off with a market stimulating fee of Ush256.5 per offer share. The minimum shares to be sold to each individual are 1000 shares. It means that one needs to pay at least Shs256,500 to become a shareholder with CiplaQuality Chemicals Industries Ltd.
Authorized selling agents or vendors are Crested Capital, UAP Financial Services Ltd, African Alliance Uganda, Baroda Capital Markets, Dyer and Blair, Equity Stock Brokers and SBG Securities.
CiplaQuality Chemical Industries Executive Chairman Emmanuel Katongole talking about the IPO at Kampala Serena Hotel.
Nevin Bradford, the CiplaQuality Chemical Industries Ltd Chief Executive Officer said they intend to become a center of excellence in the manufacturing of quality, affordable and newer medicines that improve the quantity and quality of life.
“Our World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified products are approved by regulatory authorities in 19 countries including Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique, Ghana, Ethiopia, Angola, South Sudan, Cameroon and Ivory Coast among others,” said Bradford.
He added the CiplaQCIL is the only pharmaceutical manufacturer in Sub Saharan Africa supplying malaria medicines to the Global Fund.
Emmanuel Katongole, the Executive Chairman of CiplaQCIL said the IPO marks a great milestone for them to encourage and enable Ugandan investors to share in their success story after being under private ownership for over 13 years.
CiplaQuality Chemical Industries Ltd, that has a total turnover of $60 million, is the only company in Africa that manufactured triple-combination antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, he antimalarial drug Lumartem, containing artemisinin and lumefantrine and the Hepatitis B generic medicines Texavir and Zentair.
Katongole said in the last financial year alone, they supplied medicines to approximately 500,000 HIV infected people and malaria drugs capable of treating approximately 45 million malaria infections.
Credit: Busiweek
