Areva, the French nuclear group, agreed on Wednesday to supply India with up to six nuclear reactors in one of the first deals since the subcontinent's nuclear programme was brought into the international fold last year after decades of isolation.
Ranbaxy's shares jumped almost 10 per cent, having long been depressed by escalating investigations from the US Food and Drug Administration, triggering a ban, which is still in place, that stops the US importing or purchasing the company's drugs. Daiichi Sankyo, the Japanese drugmaker, reiterated on Wednesday that it would stick to its June offer to buy Ranbaxy in spite of its recent troubles.
Under the terms of the deal Ranbaxy will drop litigation it initiated in November 2005 and will sell Nexium from May 2014 - the expiry date of the first of a series of patents. Under US law Ranbaxy would be the exclusive generic distributor for the first six months.