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Saudi Arabia’s SALIC, Brazil’s Minerva Buy Australian Lamb Company for about $260 Mln

SALIC and Minerva Foods announce the acquisition of the Australian Lamp Company. (SALIC)
SALIC and Minerva Foods announce the acquisition of the Australian Lamp Company. (SALIC)
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Saudi Arabia’s SALIC, Brazil’s Minerva Buy Australian Lamb Company for about $260 Mln

SALIC and Minerva Foods announce the acquisition of the Australian Lamp Company. (SALIC)
SALIC and Minerva Foods announce the acquisition of the Australian Lamp Company. (SALIC)

The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and Brazilian meatpacker Minerva has acquired the Australian Lamb Company (ALC) for 970 million riyals ($258 million), SALIC said in a statement on Friday.

The acquisition was done through Minerva Foods Australia, a joint venture established last year between SALIC and Minerva Foods, SALIC said.

According to a securities filing, following the deal Minerva will hold about 15% of the lamb and sheep market in Australia, where it already owns Shark Lake and Great Eastern Abattoir.

"We believe the consolidation of our operations in Australia, the investments in improving facilities and maximizing operational and commercial structures would bring significant synergies in the coming months," Minerva said.

Australian Lamb Company has a slaughtering capacity of 3.78 million animals per year and owns two processing plants in the state of Victoria, Minerva noted, adding that exports account for 93% of its sales.

"The acquisition of ALC in partnership with Minerva Foods is in-line with SALIC's strategy to contribute to the national food security objectives through global diversified investments in countries with competitive advantage such as Australia," Sulaiman Al Rumaih, CEO of SALIC group said.

The Brazilian company expects the deal to improve its penetration in niche markets and expand its portfolio of products with greater added value.

SALIC, which was formed in 2011 to secure food supplies for the Kingdom through mass production and foreign investments, owns 31% of the share capital of Minerva.

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S&P Reaffirms Sultanate of Oman’s Sovereign Credit Rating at ‘BBB-’

S&P reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ Asharq Al-Awsat
S&P reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ Asharq Al-Awsat
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S&P Reaffirms Sultanate of Oman’s Sovereign Credit Rating at ‘BBB-’

S&P reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ Asharq Al-Awsat
S&P reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ Asharq Al-Awsat

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings (S&P) has reaffirmed the Sultanate of Oman’s long-term sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ with a Stable Outlook, citing the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce public debt and the continued improvement in the State’s fiscal performance.

Last September, S&P had upgraded the country’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings from 'BB+' to 'BBB-'.

The agency confirmed that the Sultanate’s credit rating may witness further improvement over the next two years if the government continues to manage the country’s public finances as planned, including increasing non-oil revenues and improving the efficiency of public spending.

It noted that these measures are expected to continue to boost GDP growth, supported by continued growth in non-oil GDP, in addition to continuing measures aimed at promoting the establishment and growth of companies and projects that support economic diversification activities and operations, in addition to initiatives to develop the capital market sector.

The agency noted in its report that the Sultanate has made significant progress in recent years in addressing the structural challenges it faced, including the large deficit in the state’s general budget and balance of payments.

It expected Oman’s real GDP to grow by 2% in the next three years (2025-2028), while the net public debt is expected to decrease to an average of GDP by 1.5% between 2025-2028.

This is attributed, according to the agency, to the assumption that the average price of Brent crude will reach $70 per barrel over the next two years, compared to $81 per barrel in 2024, in addition to a decline in oil production due to the Sultanate of Oman’s commitment to voluntary cuts under the OPEC+ agreement.

The agency also expects the current account to record a financial surplus averaging 1.3% of GDP during the period 2025-2028, noting that Oman has been able to cover the large deficits.

Standard & Poor’s expected inflation rates to remain at moderate levels, averaging about 1.5% annually during the period 2025-2028, after reaching about 1% in 2024.

The agency said the success of the Sultanate’s efforts to reduce total public debt from 68% of GDP in 2020 to 36% in 2024.

It also expects highly liquid assets to remain close to 40% of GDP during the period 2025-2028.

Also, the agency commended the efforts made to develop the hydrogen production sector, in light of Oman’s intention to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, which will enable the country to become one of the leading hydrogen exporters by 2030.