Indian Billionaire's Vaccine Maker Hunts for Acquisitions

The chief executive officer of Asia’s largest vaccine maker said he will consider selling a stake to private equity investors as he hunts for acquisitions in preparation for a bout of consolidation to hit the industry over the next few years.

Closely held vaccine maker Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. has the ability to raise as much as $3 billion through a combination of debt and equity, Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said in an interview. He declined to say which companies he expects to come up for sale but added in an e-mail that no other vaccine firm in the developing world would be worth more than $1 billion. He doesn’t foresee having to spend more than that for an acquisition, while leaving open the possibility of doing more than one deal.