Piramal Enterprises Ltd.'s billionaire chairman, Ajay Piramal, is mulling a sale of the company's contract pharmaceutical business, which could fetch about $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Indian pharmaceutical company is gauging interest in Piramal Pharma Solutions, which provides services such as drug discovery and commercial production to healthcare companies.

The business, which has generated preliminary interest from private equity firms and U.S. companies, generates about $70 million to $80 million in annual EBITDA.

The report added that deliberations are at an early stage, and the Indian pharmaceutical company can still decide against a sale.

In 2010, Piramal sold its branded generic-drug business in India to Abbott Laboratories for about $3.7 billion, the report said.