Zydus Lifesciences shares jump 6% on buyback buzz; co announces $166 mn Assertio acquisition

Shares of Zydus Lifesciences jumped around 6% after the company announced that its board of directors will meet on May 19 (Tuesday) to consider a buyback of shares. The pharma company also announced the acquisition of US-based cancer drug-maker Assertio for $166.4 million.

Zydus Lifesciences shares climbed to an intraday high of Rs 993.80 on Thursday. The stock is up about 8% over the past month and 10% over the past year. Over the longer term, Zydus Lifesciences has delivered a 93% return in three years and nearly 61% over five years.

Zydus Lifesciences share buyback

In an exchange filing released on Wednesday, Zydus Lifesciences announced that its board of directors will meet on May 19 to consider and approve its results for the January-March quarter of the financial year 2026. Along with the earnings, the board will also consider a proposal to buy back fully paid-up equity shares of the company, it further said.

This comes after Zydus Lifesciences’ Rs 600 crore share buyback at a price of Rs 1,005 apiece via the tender route. The buyback price implied a premium of nearly 9% from the level at which the stock was trading on the record date. Before that, the company executed a Rs 750-crore share buyback in 2022.

Zydus Lifesciences announces acquisition of Assertio Holdings

Zydus Lifesciences on Wednesday announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire US-based pharma company Assertio Holdings for $166.40 million. Assertio is focused on speciality and oncology supportive-care therapies.

“Zydus Worldwide DMCC, a subsidiary of the company, has signed a definitive agreement, through its wholly owned acquisition subsidiary Zara Merger Sub Inc, with Assertio Holdings to acquire all outstanding shares of Assertio for $23.50 per share in cash,” according to the statement.

Also read: NLC India shares rally 18% to fresh record high after Q4 net profit skyrockets 189% YoYThis comes after The Economic Times reported that Zydus Lifesciences is close to acquiring a US-based drugmaker. Sources in the investment banking circles told ET that Zydus will get a boost since the target company has its own pipeline of biologic drugs. For several months, Zydus Lifesciences has been looking at ways to grow its pipeline of innovative drugs. It was also seen in discussions with Ardelyx a few months ago, but the talks did not materialise. “Zydus has been in discussions with at least three companies,” the source mentioned.

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