The UK-registered unit of Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) has bought Ukrainian agroholding Mriya, the company reported on Sept. 12. The cost of the deal was not disclosed.
The acquisition of Mriya gives SALIC control over 150,000 hectares of farmland in central and western Ukraine, as well as four grain elevators, two plants, a potato storage area, and equipment.
These assets will be incorporated with another SALIC agrobusiness in Ukraine – Continental Farmers Group which operates 45,000 hectares of land in Lviv and Ternopil Oblasts.
“In the next two years we are planning to invest heavily into new equipment, infrastructure, technology, and consolidation of the farmland, as well as work closely with local managers and regional authorities to take Mriya and Continental Farmers Group to the world level,” CFG general director Mark Laird said in a statement on Sept. 12.
Founded by Scotsman Laird, Continental Farmers Group has been working in Ukraine since 2006. In 2013, it was purchased for $80.2 million by United Farmers Holdings, which is owned by a consortium of three Saudi Arabian entities: Almarai daily company, SALIC, and Saudi Grains and Fodder Holding.
The Saudi Arabian deal comes less than a month after Mriya finished restructuring its $1.1 billion debt in August 2018. The agrocompany defaulted in 2014 after it failed to repay its loans while the previous owners, the Huta family, had reportedly stolen investors’ money and fled Ukraine. Foreign creditors, including banks BNP Paribas SA and Credit Agricole SA, took over the ownership and saved the company from bankruptcy.
“Our subsidiary company has been successfully working in Ukraine since 2006. Considering our positive investment experience into Ukraine, SALIC decided to expand its business,” managing director of SALIC UK Khaled Al-Aboodi said in a statement on Sept. 12.
Mriya’s CEO Simon Chernyavsky called the new global investor focused on agriculture “a perfect choice for the successful future of Mriya.”
