Agritech venture capital firm Omnivore has announced its exit from Barrix Agro Sciences. Omnivore has signed a definitive agreement to sell its stake to Sumitomo Chemical India Limited (SCIL), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical in Japan. This is Omnivore's third exit in just over one year. In August 2022, Omnivore exited Eruvaka to Netherlands-based Nutreco, and earlier this year, Omnivore exited MITRA to Mahindra.
Founded in 2011 by Lokesh Makam, Bangalore-based Barrix was an early innovator of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and integrated Plant Nutrition Management (IPNM) products. Barrix’s cutting-edge R&D has supported launches of several eco-friendly crop protection and nutrition products, including pheromone dispersion technologies to monitor and trap agricultural pests.
Barrix was one of the earliest entrants in India’s then-nascent agritech startup ecosystem. Omnivore, which pioneered agritech investing in India, became Barrix’s first institutional investor in 2013 alongside IIM Ahmedabad’s CIIE. For this exit, EY was the exclusive financial advisor to Barrix and its shareholders.
Jinesh Shah, Managing Partner at Omnivore, said, “Before Barrix, Indian farmers had limited access to effective, affordable, and eco-friendly crop protection products. Over the years, the startup has proven the efficacy of their innovations in minimising crop damage and labor costs. We are very proud to have been an early believer in Barrix. Sumitomo’s stake in the company ensures that farmers across the globe will have access to these sustainable solutions.”
Lokesh Makam, Managing Director, Barrix Agro Sciences, shared: “We are very pleased and excited to join forces with SCIL. Our journey to this point has been exciting, and I am thankful for Omnivore's support through the early years.”
Chetan Shah, Managing Director of SCIL stated, “Together, with SCIL’s vast network and Barrix’s proven innovative products, we can serve the farmers through the complete value chain with traditional and additional complementary solutions to crop protection. The acquisition shall create greater synergies, deliver maximum value for our shareholders and a wider product portfolio for our customers.”