The transfer was extra evident within the pharma sector, the place the pandemic opened up a plethora of consolidation and fundraising alternatives.
More than a dozen high bankers moved to strategic and M&A roles in pharmaceutical corporations, spearheading mergers and acquisition in addition to fundraising plans. They included Nitin Tandon, who joined as head enterprise growth, Asia Pacific, at Johnson & Johnson from Credit Suisse. Moelis & Co’s Ashish Mukkirwar joined Glenmark to move its technique and M&A workforce, whereas very just lately, a prolific prescription drugs banker at O3 Capital, Gawir Baig, moved to play the position of chief monetary officer at Anthem Biosciences, a drug discovery platform through which True North just lately invested. V Krishnakumar was one other high-profile transfer; he left EY after a lengthy tenure of constant healthcare M&A closures to hitch Eris Life Sciences as its chief working officer.
“Pharma is seeing a lot of M&A and fundraise activity, leading to demand for I-banking talent in these companies,” mentioned Anshul Lodha, regional director at recruitment agency Page Group. “I-bankers are also keen to switch to the corporate side to get more well-rounded exposure than just fundraising. They get actively involved in the operational side of business with corporates which is a great role enhancement for them,” Lodha mentioned.
“At the same time, a lot of bankers don’t see deal making as a long-term sustainable career option due to hectic lifestyle, number pressure, etc. Corporates become a logical long term sustainable career option for them.”
Improving healthcare infrastructure, rising per capita revenue, larger authorities spending and constructive coverage adjustments are anticipated to assist deliver bigger investments into the Indian pharma and healthcare area. Companies with extra money reserves typically pursue M&A as a progress driver.
“Being a part of a corporate M&A team vis-a-vis an M&A banker, there is a lot more business depth and thoughtfulness,” mentioned Rahul Saikia, head of world M&A & technique at Rising Pharmaceuticals, which just lately partnered with personal fund HIG Capital.
Saikia began his profession at Pfizer’s technique & enterprise growth workforce and spent practically twenty years as an funding banker throughout ANZ Investment Bank, SSKI, PwC, Standard Chartered and ENAM earlier than returning to the prescription drugs trade.
“As an internal M&A professional, there is a lot which goes into understanding enough of these disparate parts to be able to put together a sound strategic rationale for the buy case, get the pricing right, structure efficiently, put in the necessary risk allocation framework in the legal documentation process,” he mentioned.
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