Godrej Agrovet Ltd, the agri-business subsidiary of Godrej Industries Ltd, has bought a majority stake in Israeli bio-tech firm Maxximilk Pvt Ltd, a stock market disclosure showed.
The company said it has picked up 51% stake in Maxximilk, which became its subsidiary as part of the deal.
The financial details of the transaction couldn’t be immediately ascertained.
Maxximilk specialises in in-vitro production of high-quality embryos that aid dairy farmers produce top-quality milk, thus increasing their yield by a significant proportion. The company claims that its embryos are genetically predisposed to withstand hot weather conditions.
Originally established in central Israel in 2008, Maxximilk shifted gears and opened a production facility in Maharashtra last August, after signing a partnership agreement with Godrej Agrovet Ltd.
Godrej Agrovet, which made its public market debut in October 2017, is a diversified, research- and development-focused agri-business of the 120-year-old Godrej Group.
The company, which was incorporated in 1991, produces 1.1 million tonnes of feed and nutritional products for dairy cattle, poultry and aquaculture annually. It also has palm oil plantations and makes hybrid seeds.
Godrej Agrovet ranked fourth among India’s animal compound feed producers in terms of sales volume in the financial year 2015-16, according to a report by ratings agency CRISIL. It is also India’s largest crude palm oil producer by market share.
The company, which is backed by Singapore state investment firm Temasek, had in the past made two acquisitions – Maharashtra-based Astec Life Sciences and Hyderabad-based Creamline Dairy.
The animal feed business vertical accounted for over 52% of its revenue in 2016-17. It reported net profit of Rs 273.53 crore in 2016-17 on total revenue of Rs 4,983.29 crore.
