Piramal Health says Glaxo, Sanofi acquisition reports unfounded

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian drug maker Piramal Healthcare Ltd (PIRA.BO) said reports about a potential sale of the company to GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L) or Sanofi Aventis SA (SASY.PA) were 'unfounded.'

Glaxo and Sanofi have emerged as bidders for the Indian firm, with a sale price perhaps as high as $1.5 billion, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.

"We would like to clarify that this is totally unfounded," the Indian firm said in a statement issued on Saturday.

"Piramal Healthcare continues to have a strong belief about the significant potential of our core businesses. Accordingly, we have invested in our sales force, built state-of-the-art facilities and continue to pursue acquisitions opportunistically," the company said.

The firm recently acquired select brands of India-based Khandelwal Labs, PlasmaSelect (PSTG.DE), and U.S.-based RxElite Inc (RXEI.PK) and is set to complete the acquisition of U.S.-based Minrad International BUF.A.

Piramal's business includes custom manufacturing, in which it helps formulate and package drugs for other firms on a contract basis, with operations in North America, Europe and Asia.

For the year ended March 2008, Piramal clocked revenue of about $590 million.

($1=48.7 rupees)

(Reporting by Bharghavi Nagaraju)