FMC to sell India business to Crystal Crop for $252 million
The deal deepens consolidation in India's crop protection market, giving Crystal access to FMC brands, supply agreements and a wider innovation pipeline.
FMC Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to sell its India commercial business to Crystal Crop Protection for US$252 million, in a transaction that adds to consolidation in India's crop protection market. The business being sold is FMC India Private Limited, which handles the company's commercial operations in the country.
The purchase price remains subject to customary adjustments for cash, debt and working capital, and the deal still requires regulatory approvals and the usual closing conditions. FMC said it plans to use the proceeds entirely for debt reduction, making the divestment part of a broader balance-sheet and portfolio strategy rather than a simple asset sale.
The agreement comes nearly a year after FMC announced plans to divest its crop protection commercial business in India. At the time, the company said it wanted to redirect resources toward higher-growth global opportunities while still participating in the Indian market through a revised go-to-market approach. The transaction therefore reshapes FMC's commercial footprint in India without ending its overall presence there.
Crystal Crop Protection will acquire FMC India's commercial crop protection operations, including licences for FMC brands sold in the country. It will also receive a preferred supply agreement covering certain FMC active ingredients and formulated products, as well as preferred access to FMC's pipeline of crop protection products in India. Those terms are strategically important because they combine existing market reach with future product flow.
FMC chairman, chief executive officer and president Pierre Brondeau said Crystal is well positioned to serve Indian farmers with FMC's portfolio of technologies and that FMC looks forward to supporting Crystal's growth through the supply agreement. He also said FMC will continue its global research and development work and manufacturing operations in India even after the divestment closes.
For Crystal, the acquisition is expected to strengthen its role in agrochemicals and expand access to innovative crop protection technologies. Chairman and managing director Ankur Aggarwal said the company wants to accelerate innovation across both chemical and biological crop protection while bringing a talented workforce into the group. BusinessLine noted that Crystal, founded in 1994, operates in agrochemicals and seeds through a pan-India distribution network and has completed about 15 acquisitions in recent years.