• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy
• Books

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

Mumbai, Dec. 23 Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia on Tuesday announced an investment of Rs 182 crore in Mumbai-based castor oil and derivatives manufacturer Biotor Industries Ltd for a minority stake in the company.

“This is the first investment by Morgan Stanley Private Equity in India, the deployment has come from Morgan Stanley’s $1.5 billion dedicated fund for Asia raised last year,” said a joint release issued by the two companies.

Biotor is the world’s largest manufacturer of castor oil and castor derivatives. Biotor’s manufacturing plants are located in Baroda.

Gujarat produces 60 per cent of the castor seed in India.

“India produces over 75 per cent of the global castor crop and, thus, has a unique competitive advantage, which has benefited us. We are investing heavily in R&D, bio-fuels, new derivatives and developing hybrid seeds in order to take advantage of these opportunities,” said Mr Rajesh Kapadia, MD, Biotor Industries Ltd.

“This investment in Biotor represents Morgan Stanley’s strategy to invest in companies with unique competitive advantages,” said Mr Chin Chou, Managing Director and Head, Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia.

Castor oil is used in broad range of industries such as lubricants, biofuels, pharmaceuticals and paints.

More recently, global efforts to replace oil-based chemicals with green, renewable, natural, biodegradable and sustainable chemicals have been driving strong demand for castor oil and its derivatives.

More Stories on : Venture Capital | Derivatives Markets

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line