Willowood Group acquires Shreeji Pesticides

Hong Kong-based Willowood Group has acquired Shreeji Pesticides Pvt Ltd, a Vadodara-headquartered contract manufacturer of agrochemicals, for an undisclosed amount.

The group, through its subsidiary, Willowood Chemicals, has picked up 100 per cent equity in the company that had been promoted by Akshay Shah and his family.

Incorporated in 1989, Shreeji Pesticides is involved in toll (contract) manufacturing for multinational companies like Du Pont and Makhteshim Agan and domestic ones like Shriram Fertilisers and Chemicals. The company has its manufacturing facility at Savli, near Vadodara. It has valid registration for 161 products, covering a wide range of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, household insecticides, plant growth regulators and public health insecticides.

 

“It is difficult to get so many product registrations within a limited time period in India and, hence, the acquisition provides a ready base to Willowood Chemicals for selling it products,” said Sanjeev Shah, advisor to the deal.

Willowood has acquired Shreeji to concentrate on production of new molecules and also for toll formulations and special customised formulation, based on customers’ requirements. The installed capacity of Shreeji was not being utilised fully. After the takeover, Willowood would utilise the same capacity for many of the products where it holds registrations in India and to cater to its institutional customers.

Willowood had started operations in India two years earlier, but did not have any manufacturing facility here. “This is our first acquisition in India. This has provided the company a readymade platform for manufacturing agrochemical products. We will also continue the business of contract manufacturing, apart from rolling out new facilities,” said Parikshit Mundhra, director. Willowood has a sales turnover of Rs 150 crore in India.

With this acquisition, the company hopes to increase its total sales to close to Rs 250 crore within the next two years. Apart from Hong Kong and India, Willowood also has offices in USA.