Emergent Genetics of Boulder, CO and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst of Dallas, TX announced that they have acquired a majority stake in Paras Extra Growth Seeds, Ltd (PEGSL) following the acquisition of Hindustan Lever Limited’s seeds business by PEGSL. Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) is a subsidiary of Unilever PLC and the largest consumer brand company in India.

HLL’s India seeds business, established in 1984, has a strong presence in the hybrid seeds market with high quality and high performance seeds, extensive distribution network and brand equity.

This is Emergent’s second acquisition in India, following its acquisition of Mahendra Hybrid Seeds Company in December 1999. Mahendra is a technology-driven seed company, offering high quality, value-added research products and services to increase the productivity and profitability of Indian farmers, improve quality of food, and bring stability in farming systems with specific focus on resource poor marginal farmers and thus support India in its efforts towards achieving sustainable agriculture. Emergent, with PEGSL and Mahendra in its portfolio, will form the largest private sector seed group in India with strong positions in cotton, pearl millet, corn and sorghum.

"Emergent Genetics was founded on the principle that biotechnology would benefit seed companies and farmers in emerging markets," said Mark W. Wong, Managing Director of Emergent Genetics. "Our acquisition of PEGSL and the Indian Government’s regulatory approval of Bt in cotton give us the potential to provide new and improved products to India’s farmers."

Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (HMTF) is one of the world’s leading private investment firms. Since its formation in 1989, HMTF has successfully completed over $50 billion of transactions involving corporate assets. Emergent Genetics is HMTF’s management affiliate for transactions in the seed and biotech industries. The acquisition of PEGS is HMTF's seventh in the seed industry, all in partnership with Emergent Genetics. Headquartered in Dallas, the Firm also has offices in New York, London and Buenos Aires.

Emergent Genetics (EG) is a private equity investment firm focusing exclusively on seed and related biotechnology. The principals of EG, together with its management team, have extensive experience in seed operations and biotechnology industry relationships. This experience stems from longstanding involvement in technology development and cross licensing relations with multinational trait providers as well as many years of experience developing and operating over a dozen agricultural biotechnology ventures. The Company was founded in 1998 in affiliation with Hicks Muse Tate & Furst. EG's current portfolio includes investments in the United States, India, South America and Europe.