Dhanuka plans to buy seed firm, to double output in FY 12

Agrochemicals and fertilizers company Dhanuka Agritech plans to acquire a seed firm and expand its Sanand facility in Gujarat to double its production capacity by the end of next fiscal, a top company official has said.

"Demand for better seeds and pesticides is rising and we want to tap the opportunity. We are planning to acquire a seed company for around Rs 50-crore within a year," Dhanuka Agritech's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), V K Bansal, told PTI here.

"We plan to expand our Sanand facility in Gujarat and double production there by March 2012. We will invest around Es 30-40 crore for the expansion," he said.

The money has been tied up with a PE firm," he said, without disclosing any further details.

Dhanuka Agritech is engaged in the manufacturing of a range of pesticides and fertilisers and has four pesticides manufacturing units located at Gurgaon and Sohna (Haryana), Sanand (Gujarat) and Udhampur (J&K).

On company's follow-on public issue, Bansal said "We have not yet decided on it. Once we identify the company for acquisition, we will think about an FPO."

The company's gross turnover touched Rs 500-crore in the 2010-11 financial year.