New Delhi, Feb. 23 -- Agro-chemicals maker UPL's restructuring may have been pitched as value unlocking, but the market response has been sceptical. As trading headed to close on Monday, the stock had lost 14%, as brokerages flagged a largely-unresolved debt overhang.

The reorganisation, announced on Friday after market hours, is structurally straightforward but strategically significant. The listed parent will transfer its Indian crop protection business and its global crop protection arm into a new India-listed subsidiary, UPL Global Sustainable Agrisolutions Ltd (UPL GSAL), through a share swap.

Existing shareholders of UPL will receive proportionate shares in the new entity, which will house the core crop protection operations. The ...