Millipore completes acquisition of the remaining 60% ownership of its joint-venture in India

Millipore Corporation (NYSE:MIL), a leading provider of technologies, tools and services for the global life science industry, today announced it has acquired the remaining 60 percent ownership of its joint-venture in India, Millipore India Pvt. Ltd. The new subsidiary will enable Millipore to invest in initiatives that will drive growth and expand its leadership in India’s thriving life science market.

“India has experienced unprecedented levels of investment and expansion in the country’s biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and life science research industries,” said Martin Madaus, Chairman & CEO of Millipore. “By establishing direct operations in the country, we will be able to more effectively execute our strategy and leverage our unique capabilities to accelerate growth and support our growing customer base in this dynamic market.”

India represents a critical part of Millipore’s strategy to increase its growth by expanding its presence in B.R.I.C.S. (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Singapore) countries. Today, there are more than 80 plants in India approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to manufacture drugs and the country accounts for almost 25 percent of the global generic drug market. Additionally, the Indian government has invested $1.7 billion to grow the country’s life science and biotechnology industries and several Indian companies have emerged as global competitors in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Based in Bangalore, Millipore India is primarily a sales, service, and manufacturing organization that currently employs approximately 300 people and has additional offices in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Delhi. The joint venture’s revenues are split evenly between Millipore’s Bioprocess and Bioscience divisions.

The acquisition will have minimal impact on Millipore’s 2009 earnings per share but is expected to be accretive in future years due to the elimination of the non-controlling interest. The transaction will not affect Millipore’s reported revenues and operating costs since the joint venture has been consolidated into Millipore’s financial statements since 2006.

Source: Millipore Corporation