Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO & MD, Ranbaxy (Pic by Amir Verma)

What is behind your decision to exit Ranbaxy?
This is not an exit. This is a strategic transaction that will completely transform the way business is done. It brings together a generic and innovator company. This is phenomenal. We are headed for a strategic redefinition, and are creating a new business model. It makes perfect sense for the shareholders, and takes the company to a different level. On the financial side, the debt goes to zero, Rs 3,000 crore of cash comes in, the market capitalisation goes to $8billion, the net worth goes up. Our objective is to be No. 1 in generics. Together, we are among the top 15 innovator companies. We are bigger than Teva. And it is a matter of great pride for any Indian to say this.

At what point did you decide to sell your stake entirely? And will you stay on as Chairman and CEO long enough to ensure a smooth integration?
When we were doing the deal, we started by talking alliances, then a joint equity partnership. But they wanted 50.1 per cent, and the only way we could do that was if we sold our stake. I will have no equity holding and I will be Chairman and CEO. We will be a listed company, and we will continue to grow and acquire.

What do the other members of your family feel on the issue?
I think it was not easy to explain it, or for them to understand it. It took time. Eventually, they saw the logic.

Did you speak to any Indian companies or groups before this?
I have spoken to Indian and international players, I have explored mergers and acquisitions. Eventually, I saw the right fit with Daiichi and decided to do this.

How much of your decision to cash out of Ranbaxy is to do with other family businesses, such as hospitals and financial services needing the money?
They are all independent businesses, and make independent decisions.

Why did you not choose to hold on to some of your stake?
What difference does it make? In my mind, I don’t walk into my office as shareholder; I walk in as CEO. I have always kept management and ownership separate. When my father (the late Parvinder Singh) passed away, I moved my way up the ladder. I was then wearing both hats — that of owner and manager. Today, I am not wearing the owner hat, but my dream, my passion, is all there. I am here. This (being Chairman and CEO) is not a stop-gap arrangement.

In some quarters, there is a feeling that this is your call on the generics industry and its future....
That is wrong. Generics will continue to do well; there is a huge opportunity there. Ranbaxy needs to enter Japan and do things there. We have to create opportunities, and I want to drive it and lead it.

How do you want history to view the Ranbaxy-Daiichi Sankyo deal?
I want it to be seen as a transformational deal, a deal that took Ranbaxy to the next orbit. Ranbaxy today, in any case, is more global, more stable, has more lines of business than when I took over, and growth is absolutely strong.

Are you sending a signal out to other Indian promoters in the pharma biz?
Yes. We have changed the business model, and others will follow.

Could you have waited?
When you find the right fit, you just do it.

(Businessworld Issue 17-23 June 2008)