Goldman Sachs invests in Aragen Life Sciences

Aragen Life Sciences, formerly known as GVK Biosciences announced that Goldman Sachs, an active investor in India, has taken a significant minority stake in the company by acquiring shares previously held by ChrysCapital and other existing shareholders.

Aragen is a provider of outsourced discovery, development, and manufacturing services across both large and small molecule platforms with a worldwide customer base that spans the US, Europe, and Japan.

“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. For more than five years, ChrysCapital has been a trusted investment partner. Following their successful exit, we are pleased to now enter a new phase in our continued evolution,” said Manni Kantipudi, CEO of Aragen Life Sciences.

“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. Goldman Sachs is actively seeking to invest and foster leading, national champions of India who are building companies of a global scale,” said Rajat Sood, an MD at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

“As an experienced global investor in the healthcare sector and India, we look forward to leveraging our worldwide network and experience to help expand Aragen’s portfolio of differentiated offerings and client base to accelerate the company’s growth.” said Michael Bruun, an MD at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Goldman Sachs is an active investor in India, deploying more than $3.6 billion in capital since 2006. Previous investments in Indian healthcare include Biocon Biologics, BPL Medical Technologies, CyteCare Hospitals, Max India and Nova Medical Centers.

Jefferies, Dimensions, and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co advised company, existing shareholders and ChrysCapital. Trilegal, Herbert Smith Freehills, and Deloitte advised Goldman Sachs.