BDA Advises Flex and Escientia Life Sciences on Sale of Escientia to Deccan

Fine Chemicals

New York, NY, November 24, 2020 --(PR.com)-- BDA Partners is pleased to announce that its clients,
Flex Ltd. and Escientia Life Sciences, have sold a controlling stake in Escientia to Deccan Fine
Chemicals, a specialty chemicals manufacturer, based in Hyderabad, India. Terms of the transaction were
not disclosed.

Escientia has operations in both the US and India. Escientia is a fast-growing pharmaceutical CDMO
(contract development & manufacturing organization) for leading life sciences companies. Escientia
focuses on developing and making complex APIs (active pharma ingredients) for human and animal
health applications. Founded in 2007 by senior executives from large, innovative American pharma
companies, with experience across drug discovery, development, and commercialization, Escientia has
been a key partner in 120 drug development/manufacturing projects, many of which have become
commercialized therapeutics.

The selling shareholder is Flex, a provider of technology, manufacturing, and supply chain solutions,
which partnered with Escientia on the design and construction of Escientia’s state-of-the-art
manufacturing facility in Visakhapatnam, India and R&D labs in Hyderabad, India. Flex has been a
strong partner to Escientia for eight years. BDA Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Flex
and Escientia on the transaction.

Deccan Fine Chemicals, based in Hyderabad, is a leading manufacturer of active ingredients and
advanced intermediates for agchem, fine and specialty chemicals. Deccan will bring synergies to
Escientia, providing key starting intermediates and combining R&D and sourcing. Escientia will enable
Deccan to become a significant player in the pharma sector.

GS Raju, Managing Director, Deccan said: “We’re excited to be partnering with Escientia and believe
that our combined offering of cGMP and Pre-GMP manufacturing coupled with our process development
competence and technology toolbox, will establish us as a leading partner for the pharma industry.
Deccan has been actively looking at participating in the pharma CMO space. We’re very happy that we
found Escientia, whose focus on innovator customers and ultra-modern manufacturing matches our
business model.”

Euan Rellie, Senior Managing Director, BDA said: “We’re proud to have worked for Flex and the Pendri
family, and to have secured the optimal partner for Escientia going forward. This is a timely transaction.
COVID-19 has created considerable opportunities for the US and Indian pharma supply chains.”

Andrew Huntley, Senior Managing Director and Head of Healthcare, BDA, said: “This important CDMO
transaction builds on BDA’s strong record in the outsourced life science services space. It’s a fragmented
sector which is seeing significant growth in Asia, with both corporates and sponsor-backed players
chasing consolidation opportunities.”

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BDA Deal Team
Euan Rellie, Senior Managing Director, New York
Andrew Huntley, Senior Managing Director, Ho Chi Minh City / London
Kumar Mahtani, Managing Director, Mumbai
Peter Moreno, VP, New York
Zac Chartier, Associate, New York
Stephen Etna, Associate, New York
Aditya Jaju, Associate, Mumbai

About Flex Ltd.

Flex, formerly known as Flextronics, was founded in 1969 in Silicon Valley, California, and has since
expanded its operations through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. Now headquartered in
Singapore and listed on NASDAQ, Flex is a globally-recognized provider of “sketch-to-scale” services to
design, build, ship and manage complete consumer and enterprise products for customers in a range of
end-markets. In the fiscal year ended March 2020, the company reported sales of over US$24bn.
www.flex.com

About Escientia Life Sciences

Founded in 2007 by senior executives with experience working in blue-chip, US pharma companies,
Escientia Life Sciences is a contract developer and manufacturer of active pharma ingredients.
Headquartered in South Windsor, CT, with additional locations in India, including a state-of-the art,
FDA-approved manufacturing facility in Visakhapatnam, Escientia provides end-to-end services to a mix
of clients, from global pharma majors to innovative biopharma companies. www.escientia.com

About Deccan Fine Chemicals

Deccan Fine Chemicals is a privately-owned manufacturer of active ingredients and advanced
intermediates for the agrochemical, fine and specialty chemical sectors. Based in Hyderabad, India,
Deccan offers fully-integrated contract development and manufacturing services, from product
development to commercial scale. Deccan is a preferred supplier of value-added services and products to
a global customer base. Deccan is jointly owned by its founders, with strategic investment from
Mitsubishi Corp, Japan. www.deccanchemicals.com

About BDA Partners

BDA Partners is the global investment banking advisor for Asia. We are a premium provider of
Asia-related advice to sophisticated clients globally, with over 20 years’ experience advising on
cross-border M&A, capital raising, and financial restructuring. We provide global reach with our teams in
New York and London, and true regional depth through our seven Asian offices in Mumbai, Singapore,
Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. BDA has deep expertise in the Chemicals,
Consumer & Retail, Health, Industrials, Services and Technology sectors. We work relentlessly to earn
our clients’ trust by delivering insightful advice and outstanding outcomes.

BDA Partners has strategic partnerships with William Blair, a premier global investment banking
business, and with DBJ (Development Bank of Japan), a Japanese government-owned bank with

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US$150bn of assets. www.bdapartners.com

US securities transactions are performed by BDA Partners’ affiliate, BDA Advisors Inc., a broker-dealer
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). BDA Advisors Inc. is a member of the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and SIPC. In the UK, BDA Partners is authorized and
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In Hong Kong, BDA Partners (HK) Ltd. is licensed
and regulated by the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) to conduct Type 1 and Type 4 regulated
activities to professional investors.

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Contact Information:
BDA Partners
Euan Rellie
212-265-5300
Contact via Email
www.bdapartners.com

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/826074

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