ChrysCapital invests Rs 360 cr in Safex Chemicals

Private equity major ChrysCapital is investing about Rs 360 crore in Safex Chemicals which manufactures and sells crop protection products.

The transaction involves a combination of secondary sale by BanyanTree Growth Capital along with a primary raise by the company for growth initiatives. Safex manufactures and sells branded agrochemicals that helps enhance the protection and productivity of Indian crops.

"We intend to leverage our strong management capabilities and ChrysCapital's extensive network to drive Safex's growth by bringing innovative products and solutions to the Indian agrochemical industry through M&A and in-licensing opportunities. Together, we are focussed towards creating value for all our stakeholders," said S K Chaudhary, Founder Director of Safex.

As a part of the transaction, Raghav Ramdev, Managing Director of ChrysCapital, and R Hariharan, an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience, will join the board of Safex as nominees of ChrysCapital.

Ramdev said agrochemicals is a large market and Safex has demonstrated a robust historical track record by significantly outperforming the industry growth while maintaining attractive return metrics.

"Going forward, Safex has multiple growth levers in place -- from penetrating deeper in the Indian branded business to entering the technicals segment -- which will further propel the company to become a marquee player in the agrochemical industry."

Safex is also planning to enter the B2B agrochemical and home-care technicals segment.