PI Industries offers to acquire Plant Health Care plc for £32.8 million in cash

LONDON: PI Industries Ltd. has reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer to acquire entire issued and to be issued share capital of Plant Health Care plc (PHC) at the rate of 9.0 pence in cash per share. The acquisition values ordinary share capital of PHC at approximately £32.8 million.

The recommended offer represents a premium of approximately 57.2 percent to the closing price of 5.7 pence per PHC share on 25 June 2024; and 94.6 percent to 4.6 pence, being the three-month Volume Weighted Average Price to the last practicable date.

PI Industries intends to incorporate a new company as offeror prior to the publication of the scheme document. Any such entity will be a private limited company incorporated in Dubai and will be a wholly owned direct subsidiary of PI.

The cash consideration payable to the Plant Health Care shareholders under the terms of the acquisition will be funded from the existing cash resources of the wider PI Group.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mayank Singhal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of PI, said: “We are very pleased to join forces with Plant Health Care, whose technology solutions perfectly align with our vision for the future of agriculture. This investment underscores our confidence in their technology platform and by joining forces, we can amplify our collective impact and bring groundbreaking solutions to farmers worldwide.”

PI Industries has held a leading position in the agricultural inputs industry for over 60 years and benefits from its presence across the complete value chain from product innovation to process development, and large-scale manufacturing to distribution. It has a strong legacy of market-leading brands that bring value-added offerings to millions of farmers and retailers in India and has a number of global partnerships in the agricultural inputs market.

PHC (AIM: PHC) is a leading peptide company in the agricultural industry, with innovative technology and enhanced manufacturing capabilities. PI acknowledges PHC’s expertise in molecular biology, strain engineering, protein and peptide design, engineering optimisation through fermentation, bioactivity assay, and analytical capabilities. The acquisition of PHC will enable PI to offer a balanced portfolio of chemical and biological solutions.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Jeff Tweedy, Chief Executive Officer of PHC, said: “Plant Health Care has exceptional technology and is building a strong commercial capability around the world. The additional investment from PI will enable the company to accelerate the development of the company. The management team looks forward to working with PI to make this a reality.”

The Board of PI believes the acquisition represents an attractive opportunity to scale up PHC’s existing portfolio of novel biocontrol and biostimulant products and pipeline. It believes that the commercial scale-up of PHC’s products can be expedited by leveraging PI’s ability to scale the commercialisation process through utilising its complementary technologies, expertise and infrastructure. PI would also be able to provide the required financial investment to alleviate PHC’s financial requirements alongside the benefit of its decades of experience to allow PHC’s product portfolio to scale and commercialise fully.

PI (NSE: PIIND) is continuously working on emerging and innovative technologies. The Board of PI believes that its world-class agri-sciences research and manufacturing capabilities, significant market reach in the large agricultural input market, and global partnerships, can be leveraged to enhance PHC’s existing business.

PHC operates in regions such as Brazil and the USA, which are key growth geographies for PI. PHC’s operations will also benefit from PI’s existing presence in India, therefore providing a comprehensive geographic footprint to serve global markets better.