Rabobank-led fund to buy majority stake in Parijat

Rabo Equity Advisors, the investment advisors for the $200-million India Agri Business Fund-II, has announced around Rs 100-crore investment into Parijat Industries by the fund to acquire a minority stake, a company statement said.

Parijat is an Indian agrochemical player with a presence in 70 countries, six international offices and exclusive distribution networks in India, West Africa, Russia and members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

"Parijat is looking to achieve sales of Rs 15,000 million (Rs 1,500 crore) by 2021 and also expand its domestic distribution network to 10,000 retail points in three years from 4,500 at present, thereby expanding its presence through the country," the statement said.

"Parijat is also recognised in the industry for introducing and promoting new-age molecules."

India Agri Business Fund II is a $200 million private equity fund targeted at expansion and growth of food and agribusiness companies in India across the value chain. It is sponsored by Rabobank along with anchors such as CDC Group and the Asian Development Bank.

This is the second investment by India Agri Business Fund II, close on the heels of the first one announced last week in the food condiments sector.

"We are especially excited at the Company's export forays and new products expected to be launched in the domestic market over the next few years," said Rajesh Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director of Rabo Equity Advisors.

"Our team at Parijat is committed to exponentially growing its domestic presence besides the international footprint," said Keshav Anand, Chairman and Managing Director of Parijat, adding the company hoped to leverage Rabo Equity domain knowledge and global outreach in business.

Rabo Equity Advisors, a subsidiary of Rabobank, currently advises two funds in India. The first fund has a $120 million corpus, that has been invested in 10 companies across sectors like biotechnology, warehousing, edible oils, dairy and basmati rice, the company said.

Some of the existing portfolio companies are Prabhat Dairy, LT Foods, and Vacmet. Rabo Equity has an exclusive knowledge sharing agreement with Rabobank which gives it an unfettered access to the vast knowledge pool and network of Rabobank.

--IANS

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