Murugappa Group company Coromandel International is set to acquire 53% stake in agrochemical company NACL Industries (formerly Nagarjuna Agrichem) for ₹820 crore making it emerge as one of the leading Indian crop protection players.
It will acquire the stake at Rs 76.7 per share from the current promoter KLR Products Ltd, Coromandel International on Wednesday said in a release announcing signing of definitive agreements to acquire a controlling stake in NACL Industries.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and likely to be completed over the next few months. Coromandel also proposes to make an open offer to the public to acquire upto 26% of the equity of NACL Industries as required under the SEBI Takeover Regulations. The consolidated turnover of NACL Industries in 2023-24 was ₹1,787 crore.
A crop protection player with technical and formulation plants in Andhra Pradesh, besides a centralised research and development facility near Hyderabad NACL has a strong branded formulation business in domestic markets, exports technicals and boosts of presence in contract manufacturing operations with global multinational agrochemical firms.
NACL’s subsidiary had recently invested in Technical grade facility at Dahej, capable of manufacturing Active Ingredients, Coromandel said.
The acquisition will position Coromandel as one of the leading players in the Indian crop protection industry with a wide range of technicals and pan India presence in domestic formulation business. This will also help in expanding scale, accelerating its entry into contract manufacturing business, fast-tracking new product commercialisation and expanding its product portfolio, it said.
“The decision to acquire NACL Industries is a natural extension of company’s growth vision. By combining our extensive distribution network and deep industry expertise with NACL’s manufacturing capabilities, diversified product portfolio and large formulations presence, we are setting the stage for a significant increase in operational scale. The acquisition not only expands our scale but also enables us to tap into critical customer segments and secure strategic CDMO relationships,” Coromandel’s Executive Chairman Arun Alagappan said.
“With the combined synergies in R&D and manufacturing, we can accelerate our go to market strategy for new products and intermediates, thereby increasing our product offerings in domestic and global markets,” Managing Director and CEO S.Sankarasubramanian said.
An agriculture solutions provider Coromandel operates in two major segments — nutrient and other allied businesses and crop protection. These include fertiliser, crop protection, bio products, specialty nutrients and organic businesses.
Published – March 12, 2025 10:46 pm IST
