The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed acquisition of a stake in Micro Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. (Meril) by Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust, an investment entity owned and controlled by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

Headquartered in Vapi, Gujarat, Meril is a global medical device company founded by the Bilakhia Group. It focuses on innovation, design, and development of novel, clinically relevant, and state-of-the-art devices.

According to a release from the fair trade regulator, the proposed combination entails acquiring certain equity shares to be issued by Micro Life Sciences as well as buying around 3.06 percent shareholding in the company from Bilakhia Holdings.

Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust, acting through its trustee Platinum Owl C 2018 RSC Ltd., has made previously certain investments in India, but does not carry out any direct business activities or have physical presence in the country.

Gujarat Micro Life Sciences and its subsidiaries are primarily engaged in manufacture and sale of medical devices such as stents, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty catheters, heart valves, orthopaedic implants, and endo-surgery products such as sutures, staplers, meshes and intrauterine devices. They also produce in-vitro diagnostic analyzers, reagents, and self-testing kits, such as COVID self-test kits and pregnancy test kits.

In addition, the company engages in the B2C sale of certain specialised medical devices such as surgical robots and ultrasonic energy devices to hospitals. It also operates research and development facilities focused on in-vitro diagnostics, orthopaedics, endo-surgery, and cardiovascular solutions.