It’s always a tough call for companies to decide on the need—or otherwise—for an acquisitions-led growth strategy. Oftentimes one has seen business owners examining the pros and cons of potential acquisitions and then going back to an organic growth strategy, keeping in mind current compulsions, cash flows and the impact an acquisition could have on the balance sheet. In this context, Lupin Ltd’s recent, and aggressive, acquisitions-driven growth recipe deserves special attention. The company, founded by Desh Bandhu Gupta in the ’60s, is India’s third largest pharma company by sales, and the next generation of the Gupta family—CEO Vinita and MD Nilesh—are currently busy implementing what is arguably one of the more aggressive buyouts-driven growth plans seen in the pharma sector. The target the two have set for themselves is daunting: A $5 billion turnover by FY2018. In rupee terms, it means the company will have to vault from a current turnover level of Rs 12,600 crore to Rs 31,875 crore in three years. And Lupin realises that if this has to happen, acquisitions would have to be an integral part of the company’s plans.
(This story appears in the 04 September, 2015 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)