Baker & McKenzie is advising Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Sun Pharma) on its acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)'s Opiates business in Australia.

Partner Ashley Poke and Special Counsel Michael O'Neill led the Baker & McKenzie team.

Sun Pharma and GSK today announced that their respective wholly owned subsidiaries have reached an agreement under which the current GSK Opiates business including related manufacturing sites in Latrobe (Tasmania) and Port Fairy (Victoria) and its portfolio of opiates products along with inventory, will transfer to a subsidiary of Sun Pharma.  The product portfolio consists of poppy-derived opiate raw materials that are primarily used in the manufacture of analgesics for the treatment of moderate to severe pain.

Commenting on the transaction Ashley Poke said: "We are delighted to be assisting our client on this significant transaction and its entry into the Australian market."

The financial terms of the transaction are confidential. The transaction closure is subject to customary closing conditions and requisite regulatory and other approvals, and is expected to close by August 2015.

Sun Pharma was established in 1983 and has been listed since 1994 (Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Reuters: SUN.BO, Bloomberg: SUNP IN, NSE: SUNPHARMA, BSE: 524715). For the year ending March 2014, Sun Pharma reported overall revenues of US$2.7 billion. It is headquartered in India, and is an international specialty pharmaceutical company with over 75% sales from global markets. It manufactures and markets a large basket of pharmaceutical formulations as branded generics as well as generics in the US, India and several other markets across the world. The company has strong skills in product development, process chemistry, and manufacturing of complex dosage forms.