Billionaire Ajay Piramal expects pharma unit demerger by year-end

The proposed demerger of Piramal Enterprises Ltd.’s health care business is expected to be complete by December as billionaire Ajay Piramal seeks to simplify his conglomerate’s corporate structure and unlock value for shareholders.

“The demerger process is going on. We expect, with all regulatory approvals, it should be done somewhere in the October to December quarter of 2022,” Chairman Piramal told Bloomberg TV Friday. He added that weaning off dependence on China for drug ingredients was a “big challenge” and would take a few years despite a policy push from the federal government toward paring that reliance to avoid future supply chain disruptions.

The financial services flank within Piramal Enterprises -- the other main business within the company -- can see a “secular growth” of 15% as long as the underlying Indian economy continues to be robust, he said. When asked about succession planning at the group, Piramal said his daughter, Nandini, was already overseeing the health care business while his son, Anand, was in charge of the financial services and the unlisted realty unit.