MC EXCLUSIVE Private equity fund True North exploring sale of controlling stake in pharma firm Integrace

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Eight years after picking up a controlling stake in Mumbai based pharmaceutical firm Integrace, top home-grown private equity fund True North is evaluating a potential complete exit, multiple industry sources in the know told Moneycontrol.

The orthopedic and gynecology focused domestic formulation player is also backed by Singapore's Temasek which holds a significant minority stake.
"Preliminary discussions have begun with a few, select private equity funds for the possible sale of a majority stake, but no final decision has been taken yet by True North on the exit plans. They are evaluating the situation and the interest levels currently," said one of the persons above.

According to an October 2024 report by India Ratings & Research, True North holds 55.83 per cent stake in Integrace, while Temasek holds 43.91 per cent stake via an entity named V-Science Investments Pte Limited.

A second person added, "Many players want to start a domestic formulations platform and Integrace is a firm with a diversified portfolio and good governance. There are not many assets like this in the market and a controlling position, rather than a minority one, is of interest to several parties."

Two other persons confirmed that True North was weighing a full exit but had not initiated any formal auction process yet.

All the four persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

Email queries sent to True North and Integrace remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article. Multiple reminders have been sent and this article will be updated as soon as we hear from the firms.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Temasek said, "Temasek does not comment on market speculation. We thus decline to comment."

Four years back, in October 2021, True North signed definitive documents for Temasek to invest Rs 540 crore through a mix of primary and secondary for a stake in Integrace. Reports pegged the valuation of the firm at around Rs 1,200 crore back then.

To be sure, private equity firms which join hands for the same asset and become joint venture partners of sorts, can hike their stake if deemed fit and exercise the option of giving an exit to the other fund by buying it out.

Integrace: M&A Action

Since investing in Intregrace in 2018, True North has opted for inorganic growth and stitched deals to scale up the business.

On January 21, 2020, the private equity firm via Integrace agreed to acquire Glenmark Pharma's gynaecology business in India and Nepal.

Later in September 2021, Zydus Healthcare, an arm of Cadila Healthcare struck a deal with Integrace to sell two brands viz. Mifegest and Cytolog.

Mifesgest is used for medical abortion as a safe and non-surgical option to end early pregnancy while Cytolog is used in medical abortion and post-delivery bleeding according to healthcare platform 1mg.

According to the website of Integrace which is led by CEO Kedar Rajadnye, the firm is "a therapy-focused healthcare company providing novel solutions in the management of musculoskeletal disorders, pain management and women health."

Closer look at Integrace

"Integrace is one of the established players in India with 100 per cent of revenue deriving from the domestic market. It is present in the orthopaedic and pain management (OPM) and gynaecology (gynae) segments in the Indian pharma market (IPM). The OPM segment contributed 74 per cent to the company’s total revenue in FY24 (FY23: 70 per cent), followed by the gynae segment 23 per cent (26% in FY23). Furthermore, the firm generated revenue from its e-commerce business (started in FY22) of around 3 per cent in FY24 (FY23: 5 per cent)," the October 2024 report by India Ratings & Research said.
"Ind-Ra expects IPM to grow 8%-9% yoy in size during FY25, on account of an increase in drug prices (4 per cent-5 per cent), incremental sales from added field force, higher growth in chronic therapies and a likely favourable seasonality," the report said.

Integrace posted revenues and ebidta of Rs 247.3 crore and Rs 44.26 crore respectively in FY24, the report added.

Domestic formulations M&A in India Inc

In recent years, other deals in the segment include Torrent Pharma acquiring Curatio Healthcare for Rs 2,000 crore, Mankind Pharma purchasing Panacea Biotech's brands, Eris Lifesciences acquiring Oaknet Healthcare to bolters its presence in the chronic therapy segment, Emcure Pharma acquiring Zuventus Healthcare and Aurobindo Pharma buying the domestic formulation business of Verita Healthcare.

On June 29, 2025, Torrent Pharmaceuticals and global investment firm KKR announced that Torrent has entered into definitive agreements to acquire controlling stake in J B Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals from KKR at an equity valuation of Rs 25,689 crores (on fully diluted basis), followed by a merger of the two entities.

Moneycontrol had reported that a deal was imminent a day before the official announcement.

True North: unlocking value in 2025

2025 has been a very active year so far for True North which has unlocked value in other sectors beyond pharma including financial services, and cement, with a potential transaction also brewing in the IT services space.

On March 2025, Moneycontrol was the first to report that controlling stake is up for grabs at Infinity Fincorp Solutions with lead investor True North gearing up to exit the Mumbai-based NBFC, which specialises in providing small ticket loans against property.
Later on July 10, the newsbreak was confirmed as an investment of around $230 million in Infinity was finalised by Partners Group with participation from existing shareholder Jungle Ventures.

Shifting focus to the BFSI sector, True North and other entities launched a block trade to sell part stake in Niva Bupa Health Insurance and raise up to $126 mn , Moneycontrol reported.
Then in early September, True North sold a 50 per cent stake in listed cement firm Shree Digvijay Cement to India Resurgence Fund, a Bain-Piramal JV, triggering an open offer.

Finally, on September 18, Moneycontrol was the first to report that Asia-Pacific focused PAG, US investment giant Carlyle and London based Apax Partners are among the private equity firms which have progressed to the next round in the ongoing sale of a majority stake in digital engineering and innovation services firm Accion Labs, which is backed by TA Associates and True North.FAQs

When was True North established?

True North traces its origins to 1999, when it was originally named India Value Fund Advisors ( IVFA). In 2017, it was rebranded to True North

What was True North's first majority investment?

Trinethra Retail in 2004