Business

Safex Chemicals acquires Briar Chemicals of the United Kingdom for GBP 73 million

Safex is supported by ChrysCapital, one of India's major private equity firms.

First overseas acquisition by Safex Chemicals, a leading Indian agrochemicals company
Briar Chemicals is the UK’s leading agrochemicals CDMO company, based in Norwich

Acquired from Germany-headquartered AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA
Safex Chemicals is backed by ChrysCapital, one of India’s largest private equity firms, which owns a significant minority stake in the business

Briar Chemicals (Briar), the UK’s leading agrochemicals Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO), has been acquired by Safex Chemicals India Limited (Safex), a fast growing Indian agrochemicals company, from the pan-European alternative investment firm AURELIUS Equity Opportunities.

Safex is supported by ChrysCapital, one of India’s major private equity firms, which has a substantial minority share in the company.

Briar Chemicals, situated in Norwich, is the UK’s premier CDMO solutions provider for agrochemicals, serving the world’s most innovative agrochemicals firms. In 2012, it was founded as a carve-out transaction from Bayer CropScience.

Briar employs over 250 employees and has complicated chemical and CDMO process development skills.

The company operates from a 115-acre well-invested production location that includes lab to large size reactors, as well as enough open space and infrastructure for future growth.

Neeraj Jindal, Director of Safex, has joined Briar Chemicals’ Board of Directors and will steer the company’s future growth.

“We are thrilled to be entering the UK by acquiring the country’s pre-eminent independent agrochemical CDMO provider, Briar joining Safex’s crop protection business increases our position in the global agrochemicals industry.”

stated Safex Director Piyush Jindal.

Safex, founded in 1991 in New Delhi, is a renowned Indian manufacturer and provider of cutting-edge crop protection chemicals.

Safex is one of India’s fastest growing agrochemicals companies, with a Combined Annual Growth Rate of more than 25% in revenues over the last five years.

Briar is Safex’s first overseas purchase, and it is part of the company’s global expansion strategy in response to the significant growth of the global agrochemicals market, which is expected to expand in value by more than over 11% from USD 62.3 billion in 2022 to USD 69.4 billion in 2026.
Farmers rely on agrochemicals to enhance production since new agricultural land cannot be produced quickly enough to keep up with world population growth, which is predicted to climb from around 7.6 billion people presently to around 8.8 billion by 2035.
Another long-term macro driver of the agrochemicals business is increased biofuel consumption, which is expected to increase by roughly 30% between 2021 and 2026 as a result of high and rising oil costs.

“By acquiring Briar Chemicals, Safex will move closer to being a fully integrated corporation with a presence in all industrial verticals.” Safex will become a major participant in the global agrochemical business thanks to strong operational synergies and a strategic vision. “This is a wonderful time for our company,”

remarked Mr. SK Chaudhary, Safex’s Founder and Director
Mr R K Jindal, another Safex director, sees the acquisition as proof that the Indian agrochemical business has arrived.

“Briar’s acquisition is crucial, and it will help propel Safex’s expansion in the global agrochemicals market, In addition to contributing equity, ChrysCapital will collaborate with management on the acquisition’s transition and integration.”

said Raghav Ramdev, Managing Director of ChrysCapital.

“With an exceptional pedigree, Briar is a trusted long-term partner to many of the world’s major chemical firms, Since joining the AURELIUS portfolio, Briar has first stabilised and then considerably grown its position.” We appreciate the Briar team’s efforts and participation to this success story, and we wish them continued success as part of Safex’s European business.”

stated Matthias Täubl, CEO of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities.
Safex was advised on the transaction by Investec (Corporate Finance), KPMG (Financial and Tax DD), Bird & Bird (Legal), Bodhi Tree (Debt Advisor), RK & Associates (Commercial DD), and Girish Kshirsagar (Technical DD). R Hariharan (consultant to the agrochemical sector) assisted with market projections, regulatory concerns, and the competitive landscape.
DC Advisory, Deloitte (Financial), Travers Smith (Legal), EY (Tax), NexantECA (Commercial), and Birketts advised AURELIUS on the deal (Property).

About Safex Chemicals

Safex Chemicals, founded in 1991, is a market leader in crop protection product manufacturing and distribution in India. Safex Chemicals is one of India’s fastest growing agrochemical companies, with a 25%+ revenue CAGR over the last five years.
The Company has effectively evolved into a pan-India player with a presence throughout India’s agrochemical value chain. Briar is Safex’s third acquisition in less than a year. The company has six manufacturing plants spread across India.

About ChrysCapital

The ChrysCapital group, founded in 1999, manages $5 billion over nine funds and is one of India’s biggest investment businesses.
ChrysCapital has made around 100 investments since 1999, gaining great knowledge in a variety of sectors that utilise growth and the India cost advantage to build world-class firms.
The ChrysCapital group has a great track record of successful realisations, having delivered over $6.4 billion from 75+ exits. The funds of the ChrysCapital group are ranked in the top decile of worldwide private equity funds of comparable vintage.
This article was shared with Prittle Prattle News as a Press Release.
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