ADIA, Brookfield and TPG to invest in ‘UPL Sustainable Agri Solutions Ltd.’ (UPL SAS)

UPL Ltd. announced that wholly owned subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Brookfield and TPG will together invest INR 1,580 Crore (US$ 200 Mn) for acquiring a combined 9.09% stake in UPL Sustainable Agri Solutions Limited (UPL SAS).

UPL SAS will create India’s largest integrated Agtech platform which will include the India Crop Protection business, SWAL, Adarsh Farm Services and Nurture Digital Platform. It will offer solutions for driving improved farm outcomes enhancing economic resilience of 100+ million farmers in India, a vast majority of which are small holder farmers.

Jai Shroff, Group CEO of UPL, said, ″UPL continues to strengthen its leadership position in India by focusing on farmer resilience and sustainable technologies. UPL provides farmers with not only world-class crop protection and nutrition products but also a whole host of agri and technology services which are delivered digitally through our Nurture platform. ‘UPL SAS’ is a truly differentiated player in the Indian market, offering an end-to-end agri solutions package to millions of farmers along with access to world-class inputs to dealers and retailers. ‘Following this investment from ADIA, Brookfield and TPG’, UPL SAS is now focused on powering its next phase of robust growth through product innovation, increasing retailer network and farmer reach and expanding services portfolio.’

Further, UPL SAS will become asset light resulting in significant improvement in Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and shall provide more impetus to the re-imagine sustainability initiative by encouraging Indian farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices by enabling higher farm yields & incomes and undertaking transformative sustainability projects. Offering targeted and innovative solutions to farmers underscores UPL’s commitment to foster food security in India, expand agri exports and address climate change.’

Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA, said:″The investment aligns well with a number of our key investment themes associated with climate change and related technologies, along with our approach of backing trusted partners. As one of the largest agriculture markets globally, India offers significant growth potential for sustainable and digital offerings. UPL is well placed to continue addressing farmer needs through the differentiated Nurture platform.″

Speaking about the development, Mr. Nawal Saini, MD, Renewable Power & Transition, Brookfield said, ″Brookfield is excited to partner with UPL, a global leader in delivering sustainable agriculture products and services. This transaction is being undertaken as a part of the US$ 15 billion Brookfield Global Transition Fund, our inaugural impact fund focusing on investments that accelerate the global transition to a net-zero carbon economy, with an aim to implement agriculture transition initiatives. We look forward to working with UPL to accelerate their sustainability and decarbonisation goals.

Puneet Bhatia, Co-Managing Partner of TPG Capital Asia, said, ″UPL SAS is uniquely positioned as India’s largest integrated agtech platform. TPG is delighted to advance our partnership with UPL Ltd and become part of UPL SAS’ next chapter as they continue to transform India’s agricultural ecosystem with a wide variety of agchem products and a fast-growing digital network that serve a larger farmer base and drive sustainable agriculture. This transaction is another strong addition to TPG’s investments into the tech-enabled innovations and changes that we have been pursuing in India, Asia and globally.″