Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises is a Baroda-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company which was incorporated in 1977. It is one of the company belonging to the Sarabhai Group. The Group's principal activity is manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical products and bulk drugs. The company's plants are located at Vadodara and Ahmedabad.

History of the company:-

1977: The company was incorporated on June 27, as a private limited company.  It was converted into a public limited company on December 29, 1980. The objects are manufacture of drugs and pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, detergents, toiletries, electronics, engineering products, paper, glass and plastic containers and packaging materials. The company also carries on industrial research and consultancy services.

• The restructuring and reorganization of various Sarabhai Enterprises:

(a) Elscope Private (Elscope) became the owner of the undertaking and business of Sarabhai Chemicals, Sarabhai Machinery and Bakubhai Ambalal; and

(b) Ofisade Private Limited (Ofisade) became the owner of undertakings and business of Sarabhai M Chemicals, Swastik Household and Industrial Products, Systronics, Telerad, ORG Systems and Operations Research Group, Packart, Cotton & Cloth and WIPS, Sarabhai Research Centre and Sarabhai Electronics Research Centre.

As a part of the reorganization, the company also acquired from Shahibag Entrepreneurs Pvt. Ltd, the entire share capital of Himinonic Detergents Industries Pvt. Ltd. (Him ionic) and from Kalindi Investments Pvt. Ltd., the entire share capital of Surac Holdings Pvt. Ltd. (Surac).  There upon Wadi Holdings Pvt.Ltd., the respective subsidiaries of Himionic and Surac, became subsidiaries of the company.

The acquisition of the undertakings from Elscope became effective from 1st July.

1978:

• The acquisition of the undertakings from Ofisade became effective from May 16, but in terms of the sale agreement. the company issued further 11% Non-Convertible bonds of the face value of Rs.166 lakh to the holding companies of Sarabhai Enterprises and their subsidiaries to convert demand liabilities of that amount into deferred credits.

1981:

• The company proposed to undertake various other schemes of expansion, diversification, modernisation, research and development including those of SG Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals. All these schemes were to be implemented during the period.
• Standard Pharmaceuticals Ltd was amalgamated with the company with effect from April 1. Due to this amalgamation, the company derived the advantage of the industrial licences for the bulk manufacture of penicillin, Erythomycin, Ampicillin, Vitamin C, Doxy,doxycycline insulin and other pharmaceutical preparations.

1982:

It was proposed to amalgamate with the company Swastik Household& Industrial Products P. Ltd, Ambernath (Maharashtra), SM Chemicals & Electronics P Ltd. Kandivli, Bombay and WhitcoLtd, with effect from July 1.

1983:

The Scheme of Amalgamation of Swastik Household Industrial Products Pvt. Ltd. (SHIP, Pvt. Ltd) and S.M. Chemicals & Electronics Pvt. Ltd. (SMCEPL) with the company was sanctioned by the Bombay High Court and approval from the Gujarat High Courtwas received on May 12, 1987.

1984:

The company issued 15% secured non-convertible debentures for Rs 10 crore.  The issue was substantially over-subscribe and after obtaining consent to retain the excess upto 50% of the issue debentures of Rs.15 crores were allotted on February 1, 1985.

1985:

In a bid to gain access to the latest innovations in various fields of technological specialisation achieved by world leaders in the field of bulk drugs and pharmaceuticals, electronics and synthetic detergents, a scheme of reorganisation of Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises (ASE) Ltd was evolved. Under this scheme it was proposed to divide with effect from July 1, the existing operations of ASE between ASE and its two subsidiaries to be named Sarabhai Electronics Ltd, and Sarabhai Surfactants,Ltd and give their shares to the existing shareholders of ASE.

1986:

The Scheme of Amalgamation for the merger of ASE, of its subsidiaries Himionic holdings Ltd, Wadi Holdings, Ltd, Surac Holdings, Ltd, Perion Holdings Ltd, Wadi Financiers and Investments Ltd, and Shahibag Investments Ltd with effect from July 1, was sanctioned by the High Courts of Gujarat and Bombay.

1987:

The Gujarat High Court gave its sanction for the Scheme of Amalgamation on December 24.

• SG Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (SG), formerly known as Suhrid Geigy, Ltd, was a company in which Ciba-Geigy Ltd.Basle, Switzerland and its associates held 47 1/2% of the paid up capital. Ciba-Geigy discotinued its technical collaboration with SG with effect from Junuary 1, 1976.
• As per the scheme of arrangement Sarabhai Electronics Ltd.(SEL) in which the electronics division of ASE had been vested, issued 35,82,536 of its equity shares to the shareholders of the company.
• 1,67,400 equity shares were allotted without payment in cash to members of SHIP Pvt. Ltd and SMCPL on their merger.

1988:

The company entered into an understanding with US-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Corporation for technical know-how in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and penicillin.  This was done with a view to takeover as a going concern the existing undertaking of Synbiotics Ltd for the manufacture of bulk drugs because the company had suffered a severe setback due to non-availability of working funds resulting in under utilisation of capacity.

• The company disinvested in entire shareholding of 500 equity shares of Rs1000 each of its wholly owned subsidiary SG Chemicals and Dyes Trading Ltd for a consideration of Rs 200 lakh.

1989:

The company entered into technical collabortion agreements with Avesta (Sweden) and Pannevis (the Netherlands) for the manufacture of special process equipments and screen making equipment.

1996:

The company obtained industrial licences for the manufacture of: (i) fatty acids from minor edible oils, (ii) Sorbitol, and (iii) increcal (cycocel technical) an agrochemical.  Letters of Intent were in hand for the manufacture of (i) chlorine and Its salts and (ii) screen making equipment. Industrial licence for the manufacture of (i) electronic measuring and testing  instrument, (ii) closed cirucuit television systems and (iii sSpecial process equipment including vacuum dryers, sterilisers, evaporators, crystallisers, heat exchangers, etc. were in the process of being endorsed in the name of the company.  The company's application for the manufacture of computer peripheralsand micro-processors was pending with the government.

2007:

Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises Ltd appointed B S Bohra as additional director of the company with effect from April 20, 2007.

The Group operates in two segments: pharmaceuticals and electronics.segements. It further has two divisions - Systronics Division - Systronics Division has been contributing and delivering some of the import substitute products like Double Beam UV - Visible Spectrophotometers, Photo flourimeters, etc. Further, to make the complete range available under one roof, Systronics division has entered in to strategic tie-up with some of the local and foreign manufacturers with co-branding or marketing their products like Gas Chromatographs, HPLC, Atomic Absorption spectrophotometers, FTIR, Amino Acid Analyser.

Telerad Division - The company also has Telerad division, which is one of the oldest representatives of Sony in India promoting broadcast and professional video/audio products for more than three decades. This division has expanded its services through eight  branch offices in different locations of India. Telerad division has also extended its services in the area of design, system supply, installation, integration, training, maintenance and supply of spares. The company exports its products to regions such as Japan, Europe, USA, Africa, and Middle East. Some of its subsidiaries include Synbiotics Ltd., Haryana Containers Ltd., Asence Inc. USA, and Mautik Exim Ltd.

Products Offered:

The company has following products offering

1) Therapeutic, bulk drugs and veterinary segments.

2) ASE`s formulations in the therapeutic segment include anti-infective, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, nutritional, oncological, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and anti diabetic products to name a few.

3) The company`s products in the bulk drug segment include Acenocoumarol, Amphotericine, Ascorbic Acid, Canrenone and Carbamazeine among others. ASE, in the animal health care market, offers a wide range of therapeutic and nutritional formulations for livestock, poultry and pets.

Subsidiaries of the Company:

• Vovantis Lab Pvt Ltd
• Systronics  (India) Ltd
• Synbiotics limited
• Suvik Hitek Pvt Ltd
• Mautik Exim Limited
• Haryana Containers Limited
• Asence  Pharma Pvt.Ltd
• Asence Inc.USA