Godrej Agrovet Ltd said on Monday it has scrapped a plan to merge unit Astec Lifesciences Ltd with itself.
The board decided not to pursue the plan at this time after interactions with multiple stakeholders across Astec and the company, Godrej Agrovet said in a stock-exchange filing. Astec submitted a similar filing to stock exchanges.
Godrej Agrovet and Astec had announced the planned merger in September last year. The proposed all-stock transaction was aimed at simplifying the management structure and optimizing the use of resources, they said at the time.
Godrej Agrovet holds a 57.67% stake in Astec LifeSciences, which mainly makes active ingredients and intermediates for agrochemicals. The Godrej Group company had first acquired a stake in Astec in August 2015 and increased its holding later that year.
The promoter shareholding in Godrej Agrovet was 68.95% at the end of March. Singapore state investment firm Temasek, which first backed Godrej Agrovet about six years ago, holds a 12.87% stake in Godrej Agrovet.
Godrej Agrovet, the agri-business subsidiary of Godrej Industries Ltd, has operations across five business verticals. These include animal feed, crop protection, oil palm, dairy, and, poultry and processed foods.
It was listed on stock exchanges in October 2017. In January, it picked up a 51% stake in Israeli bio-tech firm Maxximilk.
