Dilip Shanghvi is an Indian businessman and one of the wealthiest persons in India. He has been the richest Indian as per Forbes real time ranking in 2015, surpassing the long standing richest Indian on the list, Mukesh Ambani. He is the founder and managing director of India"s most valuable drug company, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited. He has most recently been conferred the Padma Shri, India"s fourth highest civilian honour, by the Government of India in 2016, for outstanding achievement in the Trade & Industry domain.
Early Life and Education of Dilip Shanghvi
Dilip Shanghvi was born on October 1, 1955, in a small town, presently the city of Amreli in the Indian state of Gujarat. He attended J. J. Ajmera High School and completed his graduation in Bachelors in Commerce from the University of Calcutta, having studied the graduation course in the Bhawanipur Education Society College in Kolkata, West Bengal. His early career began helping his father in his wholesale generic drugs business in Kolkata. It was while working as a drugs distributor at Kolkata when he thought of manufacturing his own drugs instead of selling products of others.
Career of Dilip Shanghvi
In 1983, 27-year old Dilip Shanghvi borrowed Rs. 10,000 from his father and with that capital, started Sun Pharmaceutical Industries in 1982 at Vapi, Gujarat. He founded Sun Pharmaceuticals in 1983 with 5 psychiatry products. Today, it is India`s largest and most valuable drug making company and Shanghvi in 2015 became the country"s richest man. Appreciation of Sun`s stock led to a 50 per cent surge in the pharma magnate"s personal wealth, amounting to USD 4.7 billion. In August 2014, he had a net worth of USD 17.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire`s Index. He has also been named in the list of Asia"s top ten wealthiest self-made billionaires, according to Wealth-X. Shanghvi is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company and Shantilal Shanghvi Foundation. On February 19, 2015, he surpassed Mukesh Ambani as the richest person of India, as his parent company stock surged.
Dilip Shanghvi"s key to success has been a string of smart acquisitions and a unique management style. A large part of his success is attributed to his acquisition strategy. His first buyout was in the year 1996, when he acquired a drug manufacturing plant of Knoll Pharma in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The same year the company"s sales operations expanded to 24 countries. In 1997, he acquired Caraco Pharma, a loss-making American company, with the aim of expanding Sun`s reach in the United States and turned them around in no time. The US now accounts for 60 per cent of Sun`s revenue. The company has made 19 acquisitions and joint ventures in India and abroad. The most notable of these acquisitions was a controlling stake in the Israeli drug maker Taro Pharmaceuticals Industries, in 2010. This acquisition strengthened Sun Pharma"s position in key markets such as the United States, Israel and Canada. In April 2014, Sun Pharma acquired rival Ranbaxy Industries for USD 4 billion (Rs.25,237 Crores). Shanghvi"s acquisitions are always thoughtful. When he acquired Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals that had its own share of problems with the US regulators, the investors did not dismiss it as a foolish buy. This recent acquisition has made Sun Pharma the country"s largest and the world"s fifth largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company, in addition increasing the company"s stocks by 78 per cent. And this acquisition has also more or less been the primary reason behind Shanghvi beating out Ambani.
As of April 1, 2016 real time Forbes ranking, Dilip Shanghvi stands on the #2 spot in India and #44 spot in the list of the world"s billionaires. His wealth is down by USD 3.3 billion along with a drop in the shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries. The stock took a hit after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to the company about its manufacturing standards at a factory in Gujarat. The company`s profitability has also been impacted owing to merger costs linked with its USD 4 billion acquisition of Ranbaxy. But Sun remains India`s most valuable drug company with the recent market capitalisation of USD 30.5 billion. It has recently launched a generic version of Gleevec, a cancer drug made by Swiss multinational pharma company Novartis, in the United States after securing approval from the US FDA. Shanghvi, who has personally invested in green energy, holds a 23 per cent stake in wind power firm Suzlon Energy Limited, based in Pune, India. He has most recently been conferred the Padma Shri, India"s fourth highest civilian honour by the Government of India in 2016, for excellence in trade and industry.