Saudi SALIC acquired Mriya Agroholding assets

(from left) Khaled Al-Aboodi, Chairman of SALIC, President Petro Poroshenko and Oleksiy Pavlenko, Chairman of Mriya
Photo by: Facebook

Kyiv, September 12, 2018 — The ceremony for the signing of a contract for the sale of shares of Mriya Agroholding was held between Mriya Farming PLC and Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. (SALIC).

The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko informed about this on his Facebook page.

The agreement was signed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the agricultural holding Oleksiy Pavlenko and the managing director of SALIC Khaled Al-Aboodi.

"This is an unprecedented transaction, a powerful signal for all investors, which will significantly improve the investment climate in Ukraine's agrarian sector. We do not feel this yet, but it is really a huge signal for us, and for banks, and for investors. This means additional jobs, investment in infrastructure, in the PPPs, fertilizers, seeds. This will improve both the yield and the export potential," said Oleksiy Pavlenko, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mriya.

The company informs that the completion of the transaction is subject to approval from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) and other customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the deal, Mriya will continue its operations in Ukraine alongside SALIC's subsidiary, Continental Farmers Group (CFG). The advisors to Mriya in the sale transaction (and to Mriya's creditors in the recent restructuring of Mriya) were Rothschild & Co., in collaboration with ICU and Finpoint as local partners and Hogan Lovells International LLP.

"Our investments in Ukraine confirm our commitment and readiness to vest in the country, the desire to support its development. This is not our first investment in Ukraine, but, as President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko correctly noted, at this level and in this amount this is the first investment of Saudi Arabia into Ukraine. We are interested in continuing this cooperation with your country. The first stage is the contract that we signed with the agricultural holding Mriya. We are determined to continue our activities in the future. This contract is the resumption of activities of this agricultural holding. We are determined to increase the production efficiency of this company. And this is not the last investment in your country," commented Khaled Al-Aboodi, Chairman of SALIC.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko shared on his page in Twitter that the decision of SALIC to acquire Mriya is indeed an extremely important event and demonstrates the readiness of foreign investors to invest in Ukraine, positive changes in the investment climate.

"The agreement between Mriya and SALIC does not mean the purchase of Ukrainian farmland. This means buying Ukrainian assets, increasing the level of investment in agriculture and the level of technology that will help increase yields, exports, create new jobs," he stressed.

Note: SALIC UK (Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, United Kingdom) was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company which is a joint stock company that is owned by the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its statutes state that its activity is in the field of investments in agricultural and livestock production in countries that have a competitive advantage in contributing to the production of selected food goods and their availability for export markets. The SALIC UK strategy focuses on twelve product categories: wheat, barley, corn, soybean, rice, sugar, vegetable oils, green fodder, red meat, milk products, poultry and aquaculture.