INDIAN corporation Sun Pharmaceuticals is the new owner of Port Fairy's Glaxo factory following a surprise takeover yesterday.
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The buyout is being talked up as a saving grace for the site's 150 employees, who have been told new contracts will be offered to all workers, with no changes to existing conditions and securing it's long-term future.
The Mumbai-based company, which also has a significant US base, will take control of the Princes Highway site in August.
The estimated multi-million-dollar deal only affects GlaxoSmithKline's opiate division, which includes two factories one near Devonport in Tasmania and Port Fairy.
Sun Pharma also gains the rights to all GSK's raw opiate products and inventory.
Painkillers made from poppy-derived opiate raw materials are produced at the Port Fairy factory and it holds a significant reputation abroad.
Sun Pharma has created an Australian division with chief executive officer Geoff Zipple on site yesterday to meet with staff.
The ink on the sale contracts was "still wet" yesterday as all staff were called in to a meeting in a marquee set up in the factory grounds.
He said the company already has a small Australian footprint, selling finished pharmaceuticals into hospitals.
He said Sun Pharma planned to expand its opiate growth, processing and distribution arm and the GSK businesses fitted those goals perfectly.
"This is a significant and exciting announcement for us," he said yesterday.
"The Port Fairy site lines up perfectly with our growth plans and will integrate vertically with our existing international business.
"The staff here are world experts in what they do. It's a great business and has a significant market share." Port Fairy site director Darby Lee said it was an exciting time for the factory, which has a long history in the town.
He said the signage on the site will change, but the internal operations will remain the same, again stressing all jobs at the Port Fairy site were secure. "The mood in the room was fairly positive, but staff obviously have questions which we will answer as we move through the transition process," Mr Lee said.
"It's exciting for us and for Sun Pharma. From the street, the signage will change but beyond the fenceline, it will be business as usual.
"We haven't been operating 24/7 since last year and at this stage there are no plans to change that for the rest of this year."
In a press release this afternoon, this is how the Mumbai-based business describes themselves:
"Established in 1983, listed since 1994 and headquartered in India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is an international specialty pharmaceutical company with over 75 per cent sales from global markets. It manufactures and markets a large basket of pharmaceutical formulations as branded generics as well as generics in United States, India and several other markets. For the year ending March 2014, overall revenues were at US$2.7 billion, of which US contributed US$1.6 billion. In India, the company is a leader in niche therapy areas of psychiatry, neurology, cardiology, nephrology, gastroenterology, orthopedics and ophthalmology. The company has strong skills in product development, process chemistry, and manufacturing of complex dosage forms."