First Milling Company is the largest among four companies, which are part of planned privatisation programme
The first milling company in Saudi Arabia has been sold in a deal worth $540 million as part of the first phase of the industry’s privatisation.
AlRaha AlSafi Food Co, consisting of Almutlaq Group, AlSafi Holding Co, Abunayyan Trading Co and Essa Al-Ghurair Investment, on Wednesday announced the completion of the First Milling Company (MC-1) deal.
The transaction is a culmination of extensive work carried out with the National Centre for Privatisation (NCP) and the Saudi Grains Organisation (SAGO).
MC-1 is the largest among the four milling companies, which is part of SAGO’s planned privatisation of Saudi flour mills and grain silos, previously owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
“The acquisition represents an attractive opportunity for the private sector to invest in one of the largest flour markets in the Middle East and North Africa with high and appealing growth rates, to further boost private sector productivity and improve product quality,” said Tariq Almutlaq, chairman, AlRaha AlSafi Food.
“The company plans to invest in human resources, technologies and to develop innovative products that address the evolving needs and requirements of our business clients and discerning consumers in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
“We are extremely excited to participate in this critical basic food industry and we look forward to being part of the realisation of Vision 2030 and to accelerate the transformation and growth of the flour milling and feed industry of Saudi Arabia,” said Abdullah Bin Sultan Alkenany, vice chairman AlRaha AlSafi Food.
Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/gcc/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-industries/456894-first-saudi-milling-company-privatised-in-deal-worth-540m