United Phos, Rallis eye $2 bn buy in Japan

Another big-ticket global acquisition by an Indian company is brewing. United Phosphorus and Tata Group enterprise Rallis India are in the race to acquire the world’s largest privately held crop protection and life sciences firm, Arysta LifeScience Corporation, from private equity firm Olympus Capital Holdings.

Sources close to the development said these two Indian companies were among the six contenders for the Tokyo-based firm. The acquisition is expected to cost nearly $2 billion (Rs 8,200 crore), or nearly double Arysta's turnover of 124.1 billion yen (Rs 4,400 crore) last year.

Other bidders include an Israeli firm, Australia’s Nufarm and Blackstone, the global private equity fund.

Olympus has put Arysta on the block and has appointed investment banks Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers for the sale. It had bought 8.7 per cent of Arysta in 2002 for around $80 million (Rs 320 crore). Since then, it has been gradually building up its stake.

Read more in The Business Standard article.

Tatas map realty foray, to develop land of group cos

After big ticket acquisitions in the overseas market, the $22-billion Tata group now wants to expand its presence in one of the fastest growing business spaces in India—real estate. The salt-to-telecom conglomerate plans to develop excess land owned by various group companies through the recently-floated $1-billion real estate fund under the Tata Realty and Infrastructure. The group believes the exercise will help it “unlock intrinsic value” for the benefit of the shareholders of its various group firms.

Bombay House, the group’s headquarters, is learnt to be finalising a blueprint for the new business. The group has hired KPMG to outline the commercial development of land owned the group companies. In the first phase, the group would develop the excess land owned by group companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS),Voltas and Rallis India, said sources close to the development.

TCS, the Tata group’s software company, has around 250 acres of excess land spread across Pune and Hyderabad, while consumer goods company Voltas owns 25 acres in Hyderabad. Rallis India, too, owns 100 acres in the southern city.

Read more in The Economic Times article.