Goldman Sachs invests in Aragen Life Sciences for significant minority stake

Goldman Sachs on Wednesday said it has made an investment in Aragen Life Sciences for a significant minority stake in the contract research organization. It, however, did not disclose the value of the investment.

Goldman Sachs's alternative investing arm Goldman Sachs Asset Management picked up shares in the company, which was earlier known as GVK Biosciences, from Chryscapital and other investors, as per an official statement.

A media report on Monday had said Chryscapital will be selling its 17 per cent and promoters will dilute 16 per cent to give one-third ownership of the company to Goldman, and the total company valuation was pegged at USD 1 billion.

"Aragen is well positioned to benefit from the secular trend of increased outsourcing by the life sciences industry. With a clear value creation plan in place, we look forward to closely working with the management and shareholders of Aragen," Rajat Sood, managing director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said.

He added that the firm is actively seeking to "invest and foster" leading national champions of India who are building companies of a global scale.

"We believe this new investment at this important juncture in our company's development underscores the tremendous opportunity ahead. Working with Goldman Sachs, we are well-positioned to address the opportunities in front of us to become a leading, global player with comprehensive end-to-end solutions for drug discovery and development," Manni Kantipudi, Aragen's chief executive said.

He said Chryscapital was invested in the company for more than five years and has had a successful exit.

Michael Bruun, another managing director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said the firm looks forward to leveraging its worldwide network and experience to help expand Aragen's portfolio of differentiated offerings and client base to accelerate growth.

Goldman Sachs has been an active investor in India and has invested USD 3.6 billion since 2006. Its other healthcare bets include Biocon Biologics, BPL Medical Technologies, CyteCare Hospitals, Max India and Nova Medical Centers, as per the statement.