Yara International ASA, the largest supplier of mineral fertilisers, has completed the acquisition of Tata Chemicals’ urea business at Babrala in Uttar Pradesh for ₹2,682 crore. The buyout will enable Yara to increase its turnover in India over eight-fold to $350 million from $40 million.
In August 2016, Yara entered into an agreement with Tata Chemicals’ Babrala plant and distribution business in Uttar Pradesh for $400 million on a debt and cash-free basis, including normalised net working capital.
Yara has operations in 60 countries and sells its products in 160 countries. This has helped the company gain knowledge of crop nutrition under varied soil and climatic conditions. It is operating in India since the 1990s, focussing on premium product sales in the West and South.
“We believe the Indian agricultural sector can become more productive by improving fertiliser application practices. Our experience has shown that working closely with the Indian farmer to ensure that the benefits of balanced crop nutrition are clearly demonstrated, has helped growers improve yields and profitability,” said Terje Knutsen, EVP, Crop Nutrition.
Tata Chemicals’ Babrala plant was commissioned in 1994 and has an annual ammonia production of 0.7 million tonnes and urea output of 1.2 mt. It generated revenues and profit before tax of $296 million and $29 million in fiscal 2017.
The urea produced is allocated for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana and will be marketed under YaraVera.
Narasimha Rao, CEO and President, Yara India, said in addition to urea, farmers in the northern belt will now have access to Yara’s differentiated portfolio of fertiliser products. Yara’s crop nutrition solution includes a comprehensive range of analytical services including soil testing in a world-class laboratory at Babrala. Yara also offers digital tools like Yara CheckIT which enables growers to diagnose nutrient deficiencies in crops, he said