Piramal Enterprises to demerge healthcare, financial services

Piramal Enterprises Ltd (PEL) has embarked on a plan to demerge its healthcare and financial services business to create separate companies for better clarity in business, focused growth and creation of shareholder value. The company has not set any time frame for the demerger. “PEL is a conglomerate today and hence, may seem to be complex and difficult to understand. We are fully aware of this fact. It is our intent to simplify the structure and create focused businesses, in the process, unlocking value for our shareholders,” Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Enterprises Ltd said, without elaborating on the roadmap. The company has entered into several new businesses in the past five years after it sold its domestic formulations business to Abbott Laboratories for $3.7 billion (then estimated at Rs. 17,300 crore) in 2010, thus needing reorganisation.