Blackstone to pick up 20-25 per cent in NSL Seeds for Rs250-300 crore

30 December 2008

Private equity firm Blackstone will acquire a 20-25 per cent stake in Hyderabad-based hybrid-seed company NSL Seeds, the flagship of the NSL Group, for around Rs250-300 crore ($60 million). The two companies have entered into an agreement to this effect.

Blackstone would initially invest around $50-80 million in NSL and it may go up in the future. The investment is expected to be done in the first week of April, NSL sources said.

Blackstone will have representation on the board of NSL Seeds and the deal would value the seeds company at close to Rs1,000-1,200 crore.

Privately held NSL Seeds, is the  largest hybrid seeds company in India engaged in R&D, production and marketing of seeds and has a market share of 35 per cent

NSL Seeds has leadership in hybrid cotton seeds and a significant presence in other field crops such as corn, rice, sunflower, sorghum, pearl millet, and vegetable crops.

The company has a strong distribution network, with around 25 stocking depots, 1,000 distributors, 20,000 sub-dealers and a 350-strong sales and marketing team.