Dilip Shanghvi is moving ahead with what could become his biggest deal yet, with a binding offer of nearly $13 billion submitted for US-based Organon & Co, an Economic Times report said on Friday. The proposed acquisition is part of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' broader push to evolve from an Indian generics leader into a global branded and innovation-driven drugmaker.

Sun Pharma, India's largest drugmaker by revenue and market value, is said to be competing with Swedish private equity firm EQT and German pharmaceutical company Gruenthal in the race for Organon, ET said. Gruenthal is known for its focus on pain management therapies.

Organon's shares had earlier fallen more than 19?ter briefly rallying in January when news of Sun Pharma's interest first surfaced. The company's market capitalisation currently stands at about $2.4 billion on the NYSE, ET noted.

Sun Pharma ended Thursday with a market valuation of around ?4.03 lakh crore ($42.8 billion). ET noted that recent excitement around Organon's stock has shifted investor attention away from concerns such as debt levels and slower growth, and instead toward the value of its product portfolio, cash generation potential and possible carve-out opportunities.

ET had first reported on January 19 that Sun Pharma was evaluating Organon, a debt-laden US drugmaker focused on women's health that was spun off from MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) in 2021. Later, on April 10, ET said Sun Pharma was preparing a final bid, a development that triggered a 29% rally in Organon's stock in the next trading session.

Sun Pharma and Organon did not respond to ET's queries, while EQT and Gruenthal declined to comment.

Any buyer of Organon would need to address the debt burden inherited from MSD. Organon ended 2025 with debt of $8.64 billion and has guided for 2026 revenue of $6.1 billion to $6.3 billion, compared with $6.4 billion reported in 2025, ET said.

ET added that Sun Pharma's financing plan is largely centred on assuming Organon's debt. The Mumbai-based company also has net cash of about $3.2 billion (Rs 26,000 crore), which it may deploy toward purchasing Organon's equity. The total valuation would include the target's equity value, premium and debt obligations.

In recent months, Shanghvi has emphasised the need for Indian pharmaceutical companies to invest in innovative research while retaining their strength in generics, and to consider acquisitions where necessary to build scale, ET said.

During FY26, Sun Pharma posted sales of around Rs 52,000 crore, with the US and India each contributing roughly 31% to 33% of revenue. The remainder came from other international markets and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), ET reported.

Organon's portfolio is viewed as attractive because of its presence in women's health segments such as breast cancer, contraception, osteoporosis and menopause, along with its biosimilars business.

"Organon's longer-term positioning remains strong, as women's health growth rebounds and biosimilars become a more meaningful growth driver with recent portfolio expansion. The company also has a solid asset in VTAMA (skin medicine)," said Navann Ty, analyst at BNP Paribas, as quoted by ET. "A potential deal with Sun Pharma could be positive. On the other hand, we view a potential deal as negative for Sun Pharma, as it could be perceived as imprudent capital allocation, diverting focus from the specialty India business while adding leverage."

ET said Organon has been viewed as a takeover candidate since late last year after it agreed to sell its JADA post-partum haemorrhage treatment system to Laborie Medical for up to $465 million, a move seen as a strategic shift from women's health devices toward biopharmaceuticals.

EQT is among Europe's biggest investors in life sciences and pharmaceuticals. Earlier this year, it had opened talks with Oxford BioMedica regarding a possible acquisition but later withdrew, ET reported.

Gruenthal, which operates in 28 countries and has a presence in around 100 markets, reported revenue of €1.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA of €500 million in 2025. ET said the company has completed five acquisitions in five years across men's health, pain therapies and branded medicines.

"The company has historically bought cash-generating specialty pharma assets or done bolt on acquisitions," said a London-based M&A adviser tracking the transaction, as quoted by ET. "It's surprising that they are going for a one-off transaction so big and complex."

Since 2017, Gruenthal has spent more than $2 billion on acquisitions. Two of its largest transactions include the €550 million purchase of Nebido from Bayer and a $250 million deal for Valinor in the US, moves that marked a strategic expansion, ET added.