Beximco Pharmaceuticals has completed acquiring 85.22 percent of shares of Nuvista Pharma, which is a leading manufacturer of hormonal drugs and steroids in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government currently holds 12.92 percent of the stakes in Nuvista.

"The completion of Nuvista acquisition will serve as a strong foundation for sustainable growth in the future through strengthening our position in hormones and steroids," said Nazmul Hassan MP, managing director of Beximco Pharma.

Nuvista generated Tk 171 crore in revenue, Tk 11.8 crore in profit before tax and had Tk 54.8 crore worth net assets in the year ending on June 30, 2017. Formerly Organon (Bangladesh) Ltd, it was a subsidiary of the Netherlands based Organon International and sold to the current Bangladeshi management in 2006.

The two companies entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (Moll) for the proposed acquisition on October 5,2017 which was mutually agreed upon and finalised on January 18.

A brief ceremony was organised at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden on Monday in presence of Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu.

Beximco Group's Vice Chairman Salman F Rahman and Nuvista Pharma's Managing Director Akhter Matin Chaudhury spoke on the occasion.

Listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Beximco Pharma's share price declined nearly 1 percent to Tk 106 yesterday.

STOCKS CLOSE LOWER

Price corrections forced stocks to close lower yesterday on the DSE as investors booked profits in most sectors.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the premier bourse, declined 37.23 points or 0.63 percent, finishing the day at 5,790.28 points.

Turnover, another important indicator of the market, declined 7.41 percent to Tk 555.22 crore, with 16.95 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the DSE.

Of the traded issues, 91 advanced, 218 declined and 27 closed unchanged on the premier bourse.

Beximco dominated the turnover chart with 55.78 lakh shares worth Tk

15.01 crore changing hands, followed by IFAD Autos, Beximco Pharma, City Bank and LafargeHolcim Bangladesh.

The banking sector was the hardest hit declining 1.31 percent in market capitalisation, followed by general insurance that fell 1.01 percent, pharmaceuticals 0.51 percent, and textile 0.50 percent.

Conversely, the engineering sector rose 0.59 percent and financial institutions 0.22 percent in market capitalisation.

Monno Jute Stafflers was the day's best performer with 7.49 percent in gains followed by Prime Islami Life Insurance and GPH Ispat.

Nitol Insurance was the worst loser, shedding 8.36 percent followed by Takaful Insurance and ICB Islami Bank.

Chittagong stocks fell with the bourse's benchmark index, the CSCX, declining 80.58 points or 0.74 percent to finish the day at 10,788.40 points.

Losers beat gainers as 143 declined and 75 advanced, while 17 finished unchanged at Chittagong Stock Exchange.

The port city bourse traded 1.10 crore shares and mutual fund units worth Tk29.88 crore in turnover.