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CHANGE OF PLANS EXPANSION

Vedanta revises demerger proposal, retains base Lonza adding new capsule manufacturing lines

metals undertaking at Haryana site

Mumbai-listed mining conglome- the ongoing search for alternative aven- parts of the demerger scheme. All terms, Lonza, the Swiss pharma CDMO, tional lines due to start operations in Health Ingredients, said, “Hard gela-
rate Vedanta Ltd. said it had revised its ues for restarting the copper business in including the share entitlement ratio, has announced capacity expansions Q3 2025, the additional manufactur- tine capsules represent an important
demerger proposal and decided to retain Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, an integral remain unchanged. Vedanta’s Chairman at its sites in Rewari, Haryana and ing capacity aims to enhance Lonza’s pharmaceutical dosage form that is
the base metals undertaking within the part of the Base Metals undertaking, as Mr. Anil Agarwal had earlier said the pro- Suzhou (China). The expansions include Capsules & Health Ingredients (CHI) well tolerated by patients and consu-
parent fi rm. the reason behind the development. posed demerger of the company’s diverse additional hard gelatine capsule (HGC) business offering to meet regional mers thanks to the ease of swallowing
verticals, which represent more than 15 lines to support the manufacture of market demand and drive technology and better taste and odour masking.
In a regulatory fi ling, Vedanta said The non-implementation of the commodities, will see it progress from high-quality hard gelatine capsules, upgrades. Thanks to their favourable dissolution
the decision was taken following deli- demerger of the Base Metals undertaking asset managers to asset owners. including essential and specialised rates, these capsules are valuable for
berations with stakeholders, including and its retention in Vedanta will not capsules for the pharmaceutical and The highly automated state-of-the- developers of medicines and nutraceu-
lenders, regarding the scheme and impact the overall value creation for After receiving a nod from lenders, nutraceutical industries. art manufacturing lines support the ticals. With the additional lines at our
approval by the board of directors in a shareholders. the diversifi ed natural resources company production of capsules of various sizes sites in India and China, we are scaling
recent meeting. moved to the NCLT, seeking a demerger HGCs represent highly functional and colours, and operate under strin- our offering and capacity to enable the
“A demerger of the Vedanta Base and had expressed hopes of completing and versatile capsules that can support gent raw material and product control success of our customer’s innovative
The company had earlier said its Metals undertaking may be considered the process by the end of this fi scal year. various applications across the pharma- standards. solutions and medicines in APAC. By
existing businesses would be structured at a stage when the Base Metals busi- Vedanta had received approval from ceutical and nutraceutical markets enhancing our manufacturing capabili-
into six independent companies after the ness evolves and matures to realise the 75% of secured creditors for its proposed by encapsulating liquid or solid fi lls. Commenting on the development, ties, we aim to provide even greater
demerger: Vedanta Aluminium, Vedanta full value potential of such demerger for business demerger. With lines at Rewari and Suzhou sites Ms. Aanchal Tomar, APAC Regional fl exibility and reliability in meeting the
Oil & Gas, Vedanta Power, Vedanta shareholders,” the fi ling said. operational since Q4 2024 and addi- Business Unit Head, Lonza Capsules & needs of our partners.”
Steel and Ferrous Materials, Vedanta The demerger will help simplify
Base Metals, and Vedanta Ltd. The shareholders will continue to the company’s corporate structure by
benefi t from unlocking value in the Base creating independent businesses. More-
“Lenders believe the scheme would Metals business as part of residual Vedanta over, it will offer global investors direct
be more favourable for unlocking value while also receiving equivalent shares investment opportunities in pure-play
and overall optimal balancing of debt in the resulting companies. The share- companies linked to the country’s
allocation across residual Vedanta and holders’ benefi cial interests in the overall impressive growth. The demerger will
resulting companies if the Vedanta Base value of Vedanta and resulting companies allow the individual units to pursue
Metals undertaking is retained in re- will remain unaffected, it said. strategic agendas more freely and better
sidual Vedanta itself,” the company said align with customers, investment cycles,
in the latest fi ling.Vedanta also stressed The revision will not impact the and end markets. REGULATORY ACTION
US-FDA restricts imports of some Viatris drugs made
UPL in Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for second at Indore facility

consecutive year Viatris, the US-based generics fi rm company said, without disclosing the for four products, Viatris said. There
formed by the merger of Mylan and specifi cs of the warning. could be potential for additional excep-
UPL Ltd. has announced that it company statement. UPL’s recognition (ESG) performance. The DJSI World Upjohn, said the US Food and Drug tions based on further discussions with
been ranked as the top agrochemi- by DJSI is based on the company’s Index highlights the top 10% of lead- Administration (FDA) has restricted The 11 products will no longer be the FDA. Viatris said its response to the
cals company in the 2024 Dow Jones performance in achieving the highest ing global companies in each indus- imports of 11 products made at the accepted into the US until the warning warning letter and import alert would
Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the scores in the agrochemical sector in try, refl ecting their commitment to fi rm’s facility in India after the regu- letter is lifted, Viatris said in a state- be submitted within the required time
second year running, and achieved the the S&P Global 2024 Corporate Sus- promoting sustainable development. lator’s inspection found it had violated ment. It was not immediately clear periods. The company said it had imme-
fourth highest score globally in the tainability Assessment (CSA). In addition, the DJSI Emerging federal requirements. which products were affected. The diately implemented a remediation plan
chemicals industry. “This marks the Markets Index honours the top 10% of drugmaker said the facility makes oral at the site and that necessary corrective
second consecutive year that UPL has The DJSI is a globally renowned the largest 800 companies in emerging The FDA has issued a warning letter fi nished doses such as tablets and cap- and preventive actions were underway.
been included in both the DJSI World benchmark for evaluating companies’ markets, selected for their outstanding to Viatris related to its manufacturing sules. Due to shortage concerns, the It also engaged independent third-party
and Emerging Markets Indices,” said a Environment, Social, and Governance ESG practices. facility in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, the agency has made conditional exceptions experts to support the remediation plan.

140 Chemical Weekly December 31, 2024 Chemical Weekly December 31, 2024 141

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