Delhi-based Crystal Crop Protection Ltd said on Monday it has acquired four insecticide and herbicide brands from US-headquartered diversified chemical company FMC Corporation.
The acquisition of Furadan, Splendour, Metcil and Affinity Force brands will strengthen the agrochemical company’s product portfolio, Crystal Crop said in a press release. It didn't disclose the size of the deal.
"We are open to more such inorganic growth opportunities,” said Ankur Aggarwal, managing director at Crystal Crop.
The deal comes at a time when Crystal Crop is preparing to go public. The company received approval to float an initial public offering (IPO) last month from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Crystal Crop is looking to raise Rs 545 crore by issuing fresh shares in the IPO. The issue also includes a share sale by promoters as well as private equity firm Everstone Capital. The total IPO size is likely to be around Rs 1,000 crore, said people in the know.
Incorporated in 1994, Crystal Crop makes and sells agrochemicals, seeds and farm equipment. The company has five manufacturing units – two each in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, and one in Gujarat.
FMC Corp operates through two divisions – FMC Agricultural Solutions and FMC Lithium. In November 2017, FMC acquired a significant portion of DuPont's crop protection business and sold its health and nutrition division to DuPont.
Crystal Crop has made some acquisitions recently. In April, the company had bought three seed brands from Swiss agribusiness firm Syngenta AG. In January, it acquired a chemicals plant from Cytec India Specialty Chemicals & Materials for Rs 96.7 crore.
Crystal Crop had struck a few acquisitions previously as well. In 2016, it bought a fungicide brand from German chemical maker BASF. In 2012, the company acquired a pesticide brand from Mumbai-based Cheminova India. In 2011, the firm acquired Hyderabad-based companies Rohini Seeds as well as Rohini Bioseeds and Agritech.
