Valagro SpA, an Italian company focused on the production of biostimulants and specialty nutrients, has acquired a majority stake in Hyderabad, India-based Sri Biotech Laboratories India, Ltd, a diversified ag biotech company, for an undisclosed amount. At the same time, it was announced that Rabo Equity Advisors (Rabo PE) has exited Sri Biotech  through the transaction . The transaction was facilitated by the investment bank, o3 Capital, according to Businessworld.

 

Rabo PE’s India Agri Business Fund originally invested in Sri Biotech, which develops biological and bio-organic pest, weed, and disease control agents for agricultural use, in 2009, paying US$9 million for a minority share in the business. This deal marks the second full exit by Rabo PE, following its full exit from India’s National Collateral Management Services Ltd, through the sale of its share to Fairfax, and its partial exit from Prabhat Dairy at the point of its initial public offering (IPO).

 

The acquisition of this stake in Sri Biotech represents Valagro’s initial entry into the biological pesticide space, and represents the largest transaction undertaken by Valagro to date and one of the most notable Italian investments made in an Indian company.

 

Launched in 1980, Valagro has built a portfolio of over 20 biological products including micronutrients, biostimulants, and water-soluble nutrients, that improve food production and the nutritional profile of crops.

 

“With SriBio, we gain access to new market segments, such as bio-control, and new technologies, such as fermentation, which will allow us to develop new products, enhance existing ones and strengthen our role in the world scenario,” said Guiseppe Natale, Group CEO, Valagro, reports VC Circle. “Besides opening the doors to the Indian market, it also provide us with a production and logistics platform for Asia, enabling us to expand our presence in a strategic geographical area for us.”

 

Sri Biotech has two manufacturing facilities in Guntur and Hyderabad, India, and counts more than 10 million Indian farmers as customers across 13 of the country’s states.