Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the Chennai based pharmaceutical company, has allotted Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCB) to the International Finance Corporation, Washington (IFC) aggregating to USD 20 million. These Bonds will be converted into equity shares of the Company at a price of Rs 220 per share within 18 months. Post-conversion, IFC's share in the equity of the Company will be 13.5 per cent. IFC will also extend an ECB loan of USD 10 million to Orchid.

The funding from IFC would part-finance Orchid's USD 116 million expansion and diversification programme and support Orchid's initiatives to develop the business in differentiated arenas. Apart from a major product-market diversification in the core bulk actives business, focussed on regulated markets and higher end cephalosporin and non-cephalosporin products, Orchid's plan envisages a major thrust in formulations and discovery research. The plan also enables a selective entry into the field of bio-technology.

This investment is the first ever by IFC, in the whole of the South Asian pharmaceutical sector. Orchid considers that this pioneering participation by IFC endorses Orchid's strategic direction and growth aspirations.