The Slovenian pharmaceutical company Krka, dd, Novo mesto is discussing the purchase of a promoter share in Unichem Laboratories from Mumbai, said two people familiar with the situation.

The promoter Prakash Amrut Mody & family owns 50.93% stake in the said entity. The acquisition of this stake will trigger an open offer for an additional 26% of the equity capital.

Unichem has a market capitalization of Rs 2,108 crore, as per the closing share price of Rs 299.40 on BSE on Friday. Talks have been slow due to a steep fall in Unichem’s share price over the past three months – down more than 35% from a 52-week high of Rs 467 in November, when it had a market capitalization of Rs 3,288 crore.

In 2017, Unichem sold its brand in India and Nepal to Torrent Pharmaceuticals for Rs 3,600 crore. The business, which was based on declining sales, comprised Unichem’s best-selling brands — Losar (cardiovascular), Unienzyme (gastrointestinal), Ampoxin (anti-infective), Telsar (anti-hypertensive) and Vizylac (probiotic).

“To date, there have been no developments that require disclosure under listing regulations. The company will disclose information if and when required by listing regulations,” said a Unichem spokesperson.

There was no response to an email sent to Krka until Sunday.

The purchase of Unichem is likely to provide Krka with a strong position in markets such as the USA and Latin America. Internationally, Unichem is present in therapeutic areas such as gastroenterology, cardiology, diabetology, psychiatry, neurology, antibacterials, anti-infectives and pain management. The company has six wholly-owned subsidiaries in the US, UK, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and China.