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The Competition Commission of India approves the acquisition of up to 78.98 percent of the voting share capital of NACL Industries Limited by Coromandel International Limited under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002. The transaction includes three share purchase agreements and a mandatory open offer for up to 26 percent of public shares. The Commission decides that the combination does not create an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India because the companies hold modest combined market shares and face low entry barriers alongside many alternative competitors in horizontal and vertical segments.
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COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA Combination Registration No. C-2025/04/1269
1st July 2025
Notice under Section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 given by Coromandel International Limited
CORAM:
Ms. Ravneet Kaur Chairperson
Mr. Anil Agrawal Member
Ms. Sweta Kakkad Member
Mr. Deepak Anurag Member
Order under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002
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(‘ALSC’) [‘ALSC SPA’], each dated 12th March 2025 [Hereinafter, CIL and NACL are collectively referred to as the ‘Parties’].
[Hereinafter, steps envisaged at (i) to (iv) are collectively referred to as the ‘Proposed Combination’]
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CIL is a public listed company and an agri-solutions provider, offering diverse products and services across the farming value chain. The holding company of CIL is E.I.D. Parry (India) Limited (‘EID Parry’), which holds 56.16% equity shareholding in CIL. As of March 2025, the promoter/ promoter group hold 58.39% shareholding in EID Parry. Within promoter/promoter group of EID Parry, Ambadi Investments Limited (‘AIL’) holds 38.28% equity shareholding in EID Parry and ~94.72% of AIL’s shareholding is held by its promoter / promoter group comprising individuals, HUFs and trusts belonging to or related to the Murugappa Family.
As such, CIL, EID Parry and AIL belongs to the Murugappa group of companies (‘Murugappa Group’), which is a conglomerate of companies with business presence in India and abroad, with AIL being its ultimate parent entity. The key business verticals of the Murugappa Group are: (i) agriculture; (ii) engineering; (iii) financial services. Additionally, the Murugappa Group also has business presence in certain other sectors such as tea, rubber, construction, polymer fabrics, textiles, and travel solutions.
CIL offers customized farm solutions and advisory services. It is primarily engaged in the manufacturing and/or sale of products and services in the following business verticals:
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Further, CIL exports its crop protection solutions, including bio-pesticides and crop nutrition products. It is also engaged in the mining of rock phosphate through its subsidiary company, Boabab Mining and Chemicals Corporation (‘BMCC’) and in the manufacturing of phosphoric acid through its joint venture entities in Foskor, South Africa and TIFERT, Tunisia.
NACL, a public listed company, operates in the agrochemical sector. KLR Products Limited is the holding company of NACL. Further, Krishi Rasayan and ALSC are shareholders of NACL, which on a combined basis constitutes 15.68% of the share capital of NACL.
NACL manufactures and supplies both CPPs (i.e., formulations) and AIs (used to manufacture the CPP). As part of its crop protection business, NACL primarily manufactures and supplies products such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and plant growth regulators and nematicides. NACL also exports AIs and formulations to other countries.
Competition Assessment
Based on the information provided in the Notice, both CIL and NACL operate in the agrochemical sector. Within the agrochemical sector, CIL and NACL exhibit horizontal overlaps in the: (a) manufacture and supply of various types of CPPs; and (b) manufacture and supply of AIs, which are the key chemicals/ raw materials that are used as an input in the manufacture of CPPs. Both NACL and CIL are primarily generic manufacturers, which means that the products manufactured and sold by them are primarily ‘off patent’ products.
CPPs can be primarily classified into the following five types:
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unwanted plants, without any harm to the crop, whereas non-selective herbicides kill all the plants.
