Rating Rationale
April 22, 2020 | Mumbai
Suven Life Sciences Limited
Ratings removed from 'Watch Positive'; Ratings withdrawn 
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.108.5 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL A/Stable (Removed from 'Rating Watch with Positive Implications'; Rating Withdrawn)
Short Term Rating CRISIL A1 (Removed from 'Rating Watch with Positive Implications'; Rating Withdrawn)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has removed its ratings on the bank facilities of Suven Life Sciences Limited (SLSL) from 'Rating Watch with Positive Implications' and reaffirmed the ratings at 'CRISIL A/CRISIL A1' and has assigned 'Stable' outlook to the long term-rating. Also subsequently withdrawn the ratings at the company's request and National Company Law Tribunal's order dated January 06, 2020 for demerger of contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) business into a new company, Suven Pharmaceutcials Limited (SPL). The withdrawal is in-line with CRISIL's policy on withdrawal of bank loan ratings.
 
As per the scheme of demerger, which is effective from October 01, 2018, all the assets and liabilities of the CRAMS business are transferred to SPL, while the assets and liabilities pertaining to drug discovery and developmental activities will continue to exist in SLSL.
 
CRISIL had, on October 14, 2019, placed the ratings on 'watch with positive implications' as the company has applied for demerger of the drug discovery and developmental activities and CRAMS business units into two separate companies: SLSL (demerged company) and Suven Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SPL; resulting company) respectively.
 
CRISIL has resolved the watch as company has received approval from NCLT on January 06, 2020 and all the formalities pertaining to demerger have been completed.

Analytical Approach

For arriving at the ratings, CRISIL has combined the business and financial risk profiles of SLSL with its 100% subsidiary, Suven Neurosciences Inc. (Suven USA). This is because these companies, collectively referred to as the Suven group, have a common management team, are in similar lines of business, and have operational linkages and fungible cash flow.

Please refer Annexure - List of entities consolidated, which captures the list of entities considered and their analytical treatment of consolidation.

About the Company

Incorporated in 1989 by Mr. Venkateshwarlu Jasti, SLSL is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in drug discovery and developmental activities in central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
 
The CRAMS business was demerged into a separate legal entity, SPL. As part of the de-merger scheme, the shareholders of SLSL as on the record date of January 22, 2020, were issued one fully paid up equity share of Re 1 of SPL, in addition to their existing shareholding of fully paid up equity share of Re 1 in SLSL.
 
Incorporated in November 2018, Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited (SPL), is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in New Chemical Entity (NCE)-based Contract Research and Manufacturing Services (CRAMS) for global life science companies. It is promoted by Mr. Venkateshwarlu Jasti and is based out of Hyderabad, Telangana. The company currently has around 120 active projects under CRAMS. SPL is listed at Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange since March 09, 2020.
 
Incorporated in 2015, Suven USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of SLSL, which is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. The near-term focus for Suven USA, is to develop NCE SUVN-502, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Key Financial Indicators (Standalone financials of erstwhile Suven Life Sciences Limited)
As on/for the period ended March 31 Unit 2019 2018
Operating income Rs.Crore 663.63 625.49
Reported profit after tax (PAT) Rs.Crore 86.94 123.69
PAT margins % 13.10 19.77
Adjusted debt/adjusted networth Times 0.05 0.04
Interest coverage Times 44.13 44.47

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments. The CRISIL complexity levels are available on www.crisil.com/complexity-levels. Users are advised to refer to the CRISIL complexity levels for instruments that they consider for investment. Users may also call the Customer Service Helpdesk with queries on specific instruments.
Annexure - Details of Instrument(s)
ISIN Name of instrument Date of allotment Coupon
rate (%)
Maturity date Issue size
(Rs.Cr)
Rating assigned with outlook
NA Cash Credit NA NA NA 31.0 Withdrawn
NA Letter of Credit NA NA NA 20.0 Withdrawn
NA Bank Guarantee NA NA NA 2.5 Withdrawn
NA Standby Fund-Based Limits NA NA NA 5.0 Withdrawn
NA Working Capital Facility NA NA NA 50.00 Withdrawn
 
Annexure - List of Entities Consolidated
Names of Entities Consolidated Extent of Consolidation Rationale for Consolidation
Suven Life Sciences Limited Full Same line of business and is a parent company of Suven USA
Suven Neurosciences Inc Full Same line of business and is a subsidiary of SLSL
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2020 (History) 2019  2018  2017  Start of 2017
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  86.00  Withdrawn  27-01-20  CRISIL A/Watch Positive  06-11-19  CRISIL A/Watch Positive          Suspended 
            14-10-19  CRISIL A/Watch Positive           
Non Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  22.50  Withdrawn 27-01-20  CRISIL A1/Watch Positive  06-11-19  CRISIL A1/Watch Positive          Suspended 
            14-10-19  CRISIL A1/Watch Positive           
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Annexure - Details of various bank facilities
Current facilities Previous facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating
Bank Guarantee 2.5 Withdrawn Bank Guarantee 2.5 CRISIL A1/Watch Positive
Cash Credit 31 Withdrawn Cash Credit 31 CRISIL A/Watch Positive
Letter of Credit 20 Withdrawn Letter of Credit 20 CRISIL A1/Watch Positive
Standby Fund-Based Limits 5 Withdrawn Standby Fund-Based Limits 5 CRISIL A/Watch Positive
Working Capital Facility 50 Withdrawn Working Capital Facility 50 CRISIL A/Watch Positive
Total 108.5 -- Total 108.5 --
Links to related criteria
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings - process, scale and default recognition
Rating criteria for manufaturing and service sector companies
Rating Criteria for the Pharmaceutical Industry
CRISILs Approach to Recognising Default
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings
CRISILs Criteria for Consolidation

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