Decision on merger with Biocon Biologics soon

Biocon successfully raised ₹4,500 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) last week, seeing strong interest from both Indian and global investors. It is also considering a merger of Biocon Biologics with Biocon to tap into business and scientific synergies rather than listing Biocon Biologics. In a virtual interaction with Sohini Das, Siddharth Mittal, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of Biocon outlined his plans. Edited excerpts:

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Your QIP was successful. What do you plan to do with the proceeds?

There was very strong investor demand. The Board had approved raising up to ₹4,500 crore in one, two or more tranches. The demand was so strong that we decided to complete the entire thing in one round. This allows us to increase our stake in Biocon Biologics from 72 per cent on a fully diluted basis to 79 per cent.

The most important thing is investor confidence in our strategy and in our long-term vision of the business and growth plans. We have private equity (PE) obligations of around $550 million coming up where we have an exit obligation by the end of this financial year. A large part of the proceeds from the QIP will be used to retire those PE obligations.

Is there any change of plan around Biocon Biologics' initial public offering (IPO)?