December 18, 2012

Temasek to acquire 20% stake in Godrej's agriculture business unit

Singapore's Temasek will buy 20% stake in the Godrej Industries' agriculture business unit for INR5.72 billion (US$105 million) to fund the unit's expansion plans.

This is according to Godrej Industries on Monday (Dec 17).

This is Temasek's second investment in India's Godrej group this year after it invested US$136 million for a 4.9% stake in Godrej Consumer Products Ltd BSE -0.17% early this year.

The agriculture business unit Godrej Agrovet Ltd generated INR24.6 billion (US$449 million) in sales during the financial year ended March 2012. The company has interests in animal feed, oil palm, agri-inputs and poultry, Godrej Industries said in a statement.

HSBC was the sole adviser to the transaction. Private equity investments in India have fallen 17% this year to about US$3.3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data as lack of returns hampered investment sentiment.

Temasek, which manages about US$198 billion globally, has investments in India's top mobile operator Bharti AirtelBSE -3.69% and No. two Indian lender ICICI BankBSE 0.64%.