Oaktree Capital acquires majority stake in Cogent Glass

Hyderabad: Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, has acquired majority shares of Cogent Glass Ltd, a packaging company based in Hyderabad.

The US firm has acquired approximately 60 per cent stake of Cogent at an estimated enterprise value of Rs 200 crore.

Cogent, founded by a group of Indian promoters in 2010, commissioned the plant in February. The plant located in Addakal near Hyderabad produces moulded glass and tubular vials and ampoules for the pharmaceutical industry.

The plant is integrated with the automated converting equipment to convert the tube into vials and ampoules.

Oaktree Capital Management is a leading investment firm managing over $80 billion in assets, with a global portfolio of companies with several investments in the packaging sector.

Jean Rollier of Oaktree, who has been appointed non-executive chairman of the board of Cogent Glass, in a statement said: “We are pleased to invest in Cogent, because it provides us an entry into the fast-growing Indian market for pharmaceutical packaging.”

“The investment in Cogent together with our previous investment in SGD, a manufacturer of glass for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, reaffirms our belief that this sector will provide opportunities for growth, globally,” he further said. SGD, a France-based manufacturer of glass packaging with operations in Europe, North and South America and China has simultaneously signed a cooperation agreement with Cogent that provides for technology sharing as well as marketing and management support.

Ashok Sudan, CEO of SDG, and board member of Cogent, based in Paris, told Business Line over phone that both the companies, SDG and Cogent, are now part of the same principal. Cogent will continue to support local companies with its products and explore opportunities to export.