Torrent Pharmaceutical was in preliminary talks with Apollo Global Management to secure a loan of up to $1 billion to help fund a planned bid for Cipla, two people briefed on the discussions said on Tuesday. 

Torrent was hoping to secure roughly $3 billion to $4 billion in financing for the bid for its much bigger rival, they said. Bernstein analysts have estimated that a deal for about 60 per cent of India’s No. 3 drugmaker could be worth as much as $7 billion, potentially India’s largest pharmaceutical deal to date. 

Torrent had also been in talks with CVC Capital Partners and Bain Capital who might become equity partners in a consortium and contribute as much as a combined $1.5 billion to the deal, sources added. 

Cipla’s founding family is keen to sell its 33.4 per cent holding, sources say, and a bid for that amount would also trigger an open offer for another 26 per cent according to regulations. 

Blackstone is also interested in bidding for Cipla, sources have said. 

Apollo is considering purchasing a small part of the Cipla’s founding family’s stake, but a final decision will depend on how talks progress with Torrent, one of the two people, who declined to be identified as the talks were private, has said.