Israeli plastic drip irrigation equipment maker Rivulis Pte. Ltd. announced June 21 that it's buying the international operations of competitor Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd., creating a combined entity with 25 factories and 3,300 employees globally.
Rivulis, which is based in Kfar Saba, Israel, has 16 factories and 2,000 employees globally.
The deal includes international operations for the Jalgaon, India-based Jain, including its Jain USA unit, two micro irrigation dealers in the United States, AVI and IDC, and its NaanDanJain unit, created when it bought Israeli drip equipment maker NaanDan in 2007.
Jain will own a 22 percent stake in the combined company, with the remaining 78 percent owned by Temasek, an investment firm controlled by the government of Singapore. Temasek, with a portfolio value of $381 billion, bought a majority stake in Rivulis in 2020 and acquired full ownership earlier this year.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
The current Rivulis CEO, Richard Klapholz, will lead the combined company. It will have dual headquarters in Israel and Singapore.
"We are thrilled to have both companies join forces to better serve the growing needs of irrigation markets around the world," said Klapholz, calling the merger a way of "cementing our role as a market consolidator and leader across the globe and creating a single company with a much stronger financial foundation."
Both companies specialize in making micro irrigation equipment designed to precisely deliver small amounts of water to crops, reducing water consumption in agriculture.
"We anticipate that the merger with Rivulis will create a world leading player ideally placed to serve its global customer base thanks to its geographic footprint, breadth of offering as well as from technological depth and expertise in micro irrigation," said Anil Jain, managing director of Jain Irrigation, in a statement.
The companies said the merger would also help them offer digital farming services and better assist farmers and customers in reducing their carbon emissions and increase their carbon sequestration.
Newspapers in India quoted Jain executives as saying that most of the sale proceeds would go to paying down debt from its international operations.
Including its India operations, Jain has more than 10,000 employees and 30 manufacturing plants worldwide, with annual sales of about $1 billion.
The companies said Jain's factories in India would also supply drip equipment to the merged company's operations outside India.