hyderabad citybased aurobindo pharma on thursday said it has inked an agreement to acquire the dermatology and oral solids businesses of sandoz a novartis division in an upfront allcash deal pegged at 900 million nearly rs 6500 crore that will make it the secondlargest generic player in the us by number of prescriptionsthe acquisition which will be made through its wholly owned subsidiary aurobindo pharma usa also includes three manufacturing facilities dermatological product units in hicksville and melville in new york and an oral solids facility at wilson north carolina the purchase will also include a 100 per cent stake in eon labs a fully owned subsidiary of sandoz aurobindo informed the boursesaurobindo said the allcash transaction that is expected to conclude in 2019 following the completion of customary closing conditions including clearance from the us federal trade commission usftc will be financed through a fully committed debt facilitythe company said the buyout will add 300 products that include projects in development as well as commercial and manufacturing capabilities in the us this will complement and expand the groups portfolio and pipeline the pharma major saidthe acquisition consists of products in dermatology cns alimentary tractmetabolic womens health antiinfectives and systemic hormones among others as part of the transaction aurobindo will also take on 750 sandoz employeesthe acquisition enhances aurobindos marketleading pipeline of abbreviated new drug application anda filings with additional pipeline projects including andas that have already been filed products under development and firsttofile opportunities that have the potential to be exclusive the company saidcommenting on the transaction aurobindo pharma md n govindarajan said the acquisition is in line with our strategy to grow and diversify our business in the us acquiring these businesses from sandoz will allow us to further expand our product offering and become a leading player in the generic dermatology market overall the transaction will position aurobindo as the secondlargest dermatology player and the secondlargest generics company in the us by prescriptions