Crystal Crop Protection acquires pesticide Luphos-36

Co eying to promote the brand in major states including Punjab, Haryana, AP, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, TN, Karnataka, MP, Assam and WB

Agro-chemicals maker Crystal Crop Protection today said it has acquired the pesticide Luphos-36 from Mumbai-based Cheminova India.

"The present acquisition shall help the company move up the value chain in the agro-chemical space and offer the farming community the best solutions," Crystal said in a statement.

The company, however, did not reveal financial details.

ICICI Securities acted as lead for the acquisition of this particular brand, it added.

Luphos-36 is an insecticide that is effective on sucking pest of cotton, paddy, caster, cardamom, tea, coffee, coconut, mango, sugarcane and some caterpillars on pulses.

"The company is eying to promote the brand in major states including Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, MP, Assam and West Bengal," Crystal Group Managing Director Ankur Aggrawal said.

The Indian agrochemicals market is currently poised at over Rs 16,000 crore and it is likely to cross Rs 25,000 crore mark by 2015, he added.

This is Crystal's second acquisition after it acquired Hyderabad-based Rohini Seeds in December last year to strengthen its footprint in the agriculture inputs market.

Crystal engages in the manufacturing, formulation and marketing of agrochemical products like insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators and micro nutrients.

Cheminova India, a wholly owned subsidiary Denmark-based Cheminova A/S, provides crop protection solutions through manufacturing and marketing of agrochemicals and its intermediates.