Saudi Arabia’s largest mining company, Ma’aden, will make its first international acquisition with the purchase of an African fertilizer distribution company. The publicly-listed Saudi Arabian Mining Co. will acquire an 85 percent stake in the Mauritius-based Meridian Group in an all cash deal that will provide one of the Middle East’s largest phosphate producers with 3,000 staff and a network of operations across southern Africa, from Malawi to Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia.