Piramal Group
The Piramal Group is an Indian multinational diversified global business conglomerate, that has presence across various sectors such as healthcare, life sciences, drug discovery, healthcare information management, financial services and real estate. History. In the early 1980s, Ajay Piramal took over the reins of Piramal Group. In 1984, the group acquired Gujarat Glass Limited, a manufacturer of glass packaging for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, followed by Ceylon Glass in 1999. In 1988, the group bought Nicholas Laboratories, which later flourished and by 2010 reached the highest valuation in the pharmaceutical industry. Over the decade, the company acquired many  business units to strengthen their presence. In 2006, the company bought Pfizer’s UK manufacturing facility in Morpeth. The company also formed the Piramal Foundation, a philanthropic arm of the group. In 1999 Piramal Glass acquired Ceylon Company Limited, Sri Lanka. In 2007, it underwent a deal with Merck Pharmaceuticals for development and discovery of new drugs. In 2008, it signed a second drug development deal with Eli Lilly and Company. The company Nicholas Laboratories was renamed to Piramal Healthcare Ltd. In 2010, the domestic formulations business was sold to Abbott. It was considered to the "most expensive pharma deal  ever" by Forbes India. In the same year, the group formed its own real estate entity, Piramal Realty. 2011 saw Fortune 500 ranking Piramal Healthcare in the top-50 largest corporations across India. Also, UN Conference on Trade and Development’s World Investment Report 2011 ranked Piramal Healthcare as No. 5 in the top 10 pharmaceutical contract manufacturers worldwide. In 2011–12, Piramal bought 11% in Vodafone Essar. In 2014, it sold its 11% Stake in Vodafone India to Prime Metals, an indirect subsidiary of Vodafone Group. In 2012, Piramal Healthcare was renamed to Piramal Enterprises Ltd. BST-CarGel, Piramal's innovative  bio-orthopaedic product for cartilage repair, received European CE mark approval. Piramal's Decision Resources Group acquired Abacus International, a UK based company. Piramal Enterprises acquired the brand Caladryl in India. Caladryl is an anti-pruritic solution known for dermatosis application for minor skin irritations and itching. This acquisition enabled Piramal Enterprises to widen its consumer products portfolio in the skin care segment. Piramal Imaging entered into a Strategic Partnership and Exclusive Licensing Agreement with Ci-Co Healthcare for Commercialization of florbetaben F18. European Union’s CHMP recommends EU approval of Piramal Imaging’s radiopharmaceutical NeuraCeq (florbetaben 18F). In December  2020, the group announced that Piramal Glass was to sell its entire stake of 536,331,880 shares (56.45%) in Piramal Glass Ceylon for 5.16 billion. Company profile. The Piramal Group comprises 3 key companies: Piramal Enterprises Ltd, Piramal Realty and Piramal Foundation. Piramal Enterprises. Piramal Enterprises Limited formerly known as Piramal Healthcare Ltd, is the largest company of Piramal Group, and is active in business verticals including Healthcare, Life sciences, Information management, and financial services. Piramal Enterprises is listed at both Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. Fortune 500 ranked Piramal Healthcare in the top-50 largest corporations across India. The  UN Conference on Trade and Development’s World Investment Report 2011 ranked the group among the top 5 pharmaceutical contract manufacturers in the world. Piramal Enterprises said its total loan book grew 20 per cent year-on-year to 56,605 crore. The housing finance loan book, which constitutes 11 per cent of the company’s overall loan book, grew four times to 6,110 crore from the year-ago period. Piramal Realty. Piramal Realty is a fully owned real estate venture of Piramal Group. The company is planning to develop about 30 million square feet through land acquisitions from its own  sources. The group developed a mall in, Cross Roads, at South Mumbai. Piramal Foundation. The Piramal Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in 2006. Piramal Foundation has undertaken projects like Piramal Swasthya (a health information help line service called Arogya Vani in the state of Karnataka), Sarvajal (provides clean water in India through solar powered water ATMs), source for change (rural BPO for rural youth in Bagar, Rajasthan), Pratham (delivers education to under privileged children), Piramal foundation for education leadership (Piramal Fellowship and Principal Leadership Development program (PLDP) are the two programs undertaken) and Piramal Prize (recognizes emerging ventures  and established organizations). Manhattan Research. In 2012, Piramal acquired Decision Resources Group, which operates Manhattan Research, a market research company that covers the physician market.