International law firm Bird & Bird LLP has advised Indian agrochemicals client, Safex Chemicals India Limited (Safex), on its EUR 83m acquisition of Briar Chemicals Limited, the leading agrochemicals contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) provider, from the pan-European alternative investment firm AURELIUS Equity Opportunities. Safex is backed by ChrysCapital, one of India’s largest and most successful private equity firms, which owns a significant minority stake in the business.
Briar Chemicals, based in Norwich, is the UK’s leading agrochemicals CDMO solutions provider and serves the world’s most innovative agrochemicals companies. It was formed as a carve-out transaction from Bayer CropScience in 2012. Briar has complex chemistry and CDMO process development capabilities and employs around 250 people. The company operates from a 115-acre well-invested manufacturing site consisting of lab to large scale reactors, with sufficient available space and infrastructure for future expansion.
Safex is one of the fastest growing agrochemicals companies in India, having achieved a growth rate of over 25% in revenue over the last 5 years. They are a leading Indian manufacturer and supplier of advanced crop protection chemicals. Briar Chemicals is Safex’s first overseas acquisition and a step towards becoming a fully integrated crop protection business.
The Bird & Bird team in London was led by Clive Hopewell (partner, Corporate), Andrew Hallgarth (partner, Finance), Dhruv Chhatralia (legal director, Corporate), Fiona McFarlane (legal director, Corporate), Jennifer Bird (legal director, Finance & Financial Regulation), Richie Lamb (associate, Corporate), Tamara Akl (associate, Corporate), Carey Tang (associate, Finance & Financial Regulation) and Alexander Greenwood (associate, Real Estate), with support from Marc Seeger (partner, Corporate) and Stephan Dittrich (associate, Corporate) in our Duesseldorf office and Nipun Gupta, co-head of the India Strategy Group.
Clive Hopewell, Corporate partner at Bird & Bird says: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to advise Safex on its first international acquisition. It is a very exciting time for Safex, and we are glad to be a part of their journey towards global expansion.”
Nipun Gupta, co-head of the India Strategy Group at Bird & Bird remarks: “Bird & Bird has advised many Indian companies on their cross-border M&A activity. We are perfectly placed to assist Indian companies from any of our 31 offices across the UK, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia Pac. We are delighted to partner with Safex.”
Piyush Jindal, Director and CFO of Safex Chemicals India Ltd comments “We very much appreciated the warmth of the team at Bird & Bird from the moment we first met them and their sound guidance throughout the acquisition and financing process. This was Safex’s first venture in international M&A, so we needed a seasoned legal team to advise us through the process. With the Bird & Bird team, we benefitted from both their experience, combined with commercial acumen.”
Charles Barlow, Head of Cross Border Corporate Finance at Investec says: "This transaction is transformational for our client, Safex, and we are delighted for them. Our experience working with Bird & Bird has always been hugely positive and so we had no hesitation in recommending them as legal advisers. Once again they have delivered through their commitment, professionalism, and outstanding technical expertise."
