The Singapore-based agribusiness giant Olam Group has confirmed that it received an offer from the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) to buy out the remaining stake in Olam Agri. SALIC, a state-owned entity, currently holds a 35.4% stake in Olam Agri, having acquired it in 2022 as part of a Strategic Supply & Cooperation Agreement between the two parties. The announcement came after Bloomberg, an America-based media company, reported that a potential deal was being negotiated.
That,perhaps, may be what Mr. Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy (CME), was hinting at when last December 29 he told President Bola Tinubu in Ikoyi, Lagos, that “what we have brought back is investment. What we have brought back is foreign exchange. What we have brought back is jobs for Nigerians.” The minister’s statement came after the high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia, to follow up on President Tinubu’s earlier engagements with His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister in Riyadh, on November 10, 2023, on the sidelines of the Saudi-African Summit and again in Riyadh, on November 12, 2024, on the sidelines of the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit, where the two sides reviewed ways of cooperation. They also talked about plans and ideas for strategic agriculture investments, among other items on the summit’s agenda.
In a statement released to the Singapore Exchange (SGX), Olam Group confirmed receiving a non-binding indicative offer from SALIC. The statement added that Olam is currently exploring the offer with the help of its appointed advisers, evaluating the possible sale of the remaining stake in its agribusiness division.
“While the company is reviewing and in discussions regarding a potential sale of its stake in the Olam Agri business, the company would like to stress that no definitive terms or formal legal documentation has been agreed upon between the parties to date,” the statement said. “There is no certainty that a sale of the company’s stake in the Olam Agri business will proceed or will materialize.”
Olam Agri, one of the two key divisions of Olam Group alongside Olam Food Ingredients, handles a diverse portfolio, including managing the Queensland Cotton business, as well as multiple warehousing facilities across Queensland and New South Wales. It also manages a pulse packing and trading operation.
