Ma’aden, Saudi Arabia’s largest mining company, 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.
Ma’aden will secure the remaining 15 percent of Meridian’s equity over four years on agreed terms linked to the performance of the African company, which distributes approximately 500,000 mt/y of fertilizer through its network of granulation and blending plants, warehousing complexes, and port facilities.
“This acquisition marks a very important step in Ma’aden’s strategy to build global distribution channels for our fertilizer products,” said Ma’aden President and CEO Darren Davis. “As we continue to build one of the largest producers and exporters of phosphate fertilizers in the world, ensuring an efficient route to key growth markets is critical to our success.”
“Ma’aden is acquiring unparalleled access to complementary distribution, blending, and product development capabilities in this fast-growth region,” said Ma’aden Senior Vice President for Phosphate Hassan Al-Ali. “This transaction will provide us with logistics advantages in Southeast Africa and greater knowledge of on-the-ground customer requirements, both of which will be instrumental in better serving our customers.”
Ma’aden noted that the Southeast African market, like most of the African continent of 1 billion people, is witnessing increased demand for phosphate fertilizers, with industry estimates of 5 percent annual demand growth over the next decade as both population growth and fertilizer education continue.
The deal is expected to be completed by September for an undisclosed fee, according to parties linked to the deal.