Solrex Pharma ups stake in Orchid Chem to 11.4%: Srcs

Ranbaxy has been making moves on Orchid Chemicals . It has quietly picked up 11.4% stake in Orchid through Solrex Pharma , a group company.

It has been a rollercoaster ride for Orchid Chemicals. In the last one month, Orchid has been a takeover target for the country's largest pharmaceutical group Ranbaxy.

In March, Orchid's promoters liquidated over 7% stake in the market due to margin calls that took the promoter stake down to just 17%. This made Orchid very vulnerable for a take-over. And that's when Solrex Pharmaceuticals, a Ranbaxy promoter group company, entered the scene.

It has been quietly consolidating its stake in Orchid since the last week of March. Solrex has, in the past week, acquired 8.06% in Orchid Chemicals through open market transactions. The accumulation by Solrex started when the stock of Orchid Chemicals ranged between Rs 161 and Rs 175.

The closing price as on Monday was Rs 207.

Ranbaxy's senior management and promoters were not reachable for comments. Orchid said they have been intrigued at the stake consolidation.
It is not clear whether this stake in Orchid is just an investment by Ranbaxy's treasury or whether it will eventually want a majority stake, as it did in the case of Zenotech.

Market sources say Ranbaxy promoters may possibly pick up more stake in Orchid through Solrex and finally take it to around 15%. Whatever the speculation, it is certain that Orchid has swallowed the right pill to grab more attention.