Biotechnology firm Avesthagen today said it has formed a joint venture, Atash Seeds, with French cooperative group Limagrain and will invest up to $40 million in the next three years.
The new entity would be based in Hyderabad and is going to be headed by a chief executive officer from Limagrain.
Avesthagen founder and promoter Villoo Morawala-Patell would be the chairperson of the new company, the company said in a statement.
Avesthagen expects Atash Seeds to generate at least $100 million per annum in the next five years for which it will need to invest $30-40 million in the next three years, it added.
Atash Seeds and Limagrain have also entered into an exclusive worldwide licencing arrangement for developing and marketing genetically modified seeds for crops such as maize, wheat, barley, rice and sunflower.
Avesthagen would licence its patented technologies to Atash Seeds to develop, produce and market seeds nationally and internationally by leveraging Limagrain’s domain expertise and marketing strengths, the statement said.
The size of Indian seeds market is about Rs 5,000 crore.