INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - AUGUST (16^th - 31^st) 2007
The Month that was ...

PUNJAB CHEMICALS BUYS DUTCH CO FOR RS 225 CR

Punjab Chemicals and Crop Protection (PCCPL) has sealed a major acquisition deal in the Netherlands by acquiring 100% equity shares of Pegevo Beheer BV (AgriChem) for Rs 225 crore. The acquisition has been done through PCCPL's Belgium subsidiary, SD Agchem, and its step-down subsidiary in the Netherlands, SD Agchem (Netherlands). "We have acquired this company through a leveraged buyout. This acquisition gives us a strong foothold in the European markets," PCCPL's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Vipul Joshi said. This is PCCPL's second acquisition within the last nine months. Earlier, it had acquired an Argentinian company Sintesis Quimica in December last for $10 million. Pegevo is an agro-based formulation company with a strong distribution network in Europe and "fits in well with our forward integration plans," Joshi said. PCCPL, which is a major player in the industrial and agro-chem segments, manufactures, intermediates and supplies to formulators in Europe.