Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co Ltd, an Indian business group, has entered an agreement to buy out Group Development Ltd, a tea and macadamia production company in Malawi. Based on a stock market disclosure, the purchase also included the three crop-producing subsidiaries of Group Development, wrote VC Circle.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the report added.

Gillanders is a diversified business group that was established in 1935 by FM Gillanders and GC Arbuthnot. The company is currently involved in the textile, chemical, trading, property, tea, and engineering sectors, the report detailed.

In the third fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2013, Gillanders posted a 30% improvement in its net profit. From INR11.5 crore in the previous year, the firm's net profit climbed to INR14.96 in the said period. In addition, the firm's net sales jumped 24% from INR208 crore to INR264 crore, the report said.

There were other transactions which involved Indian firms acquiring Malawi-based agricultural firms. In 2012, Makandi Tea and Coffee Estates Ltd was purchased from Global Tea and Commodity Ltd by Dhunseri Petrochem for an undisclosed sum, VC Circle reported.