What Is the Morepen Laboratories Deal?

In April 2021, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India announced that Corinth Investment Holdings AG had been approved for a 9.31% equity stake in Morepen Laboratories Ltd, a pharmaceutical and FMCG company listed on both Indian exchanges. The deal generated significant business media coverage in India. [Source: BSE/NSE corporate announcements, Business Standard, April 2021]

The Announcement

Media reports described the investment as being made by "Corinth Investment Holdings AG, a global private investment Group based in Switzerland." The reported investment was valued at approximately $100 million (equivalent). The SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) approved the share acquisition, and a preferential allotment of shares was processed through the registrar. This was the largest publicly verifiable transaction associated with any Corinth Group entity. [Source: BSE corporate announcements, Business Standard]

Current Status

However, Corinth Investment Holdings AG does not appear in Morepen's December 2025 shareholding pattern. The shares were initially processed at the registrar level, but the entity's name is absent from the current substantial shareholding disclosures. This discrepancy between the announced and approved investment and the current shareholding position raises questions about what happened to the approved shares. [Source: Morepen Laboratories annual reports 2023–2025, BSE shareholding patterns]

Pinfold Overseas Limited

A company called Pinfold Overseas Limited appears as a 7.03% shareholder in more recent Morepen filings. Whether Pinfold Overseas is connected to the Corinth Group network, and whether the Corinth-approved shares were transferred to this entity, are open questions requiring further investigation. [Source: Morepen shareholding disclosures]

Significance for the Investigation

The Morepen deal is significant because it provided the most substantial publicly visible evidence of legitimate investment activity by a Corinth entity. Media coverage of the deal was used on the cgoch.com website to present Corinth as a credible institutional investor. Multiple complainants describe a pattern where such publicly announced deals serve to create an appearance of legitimacy that is then leveraged when soliciting advance fees from prospective investors. Whether the Morepen deal was completed as announced, partially completed, or subsequently unwound is a factual question that can be investigated through Indian regulatory filings. [Source: cgoch.com, BSE/NSE, third-party complainant statements]

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