A South American and Saudi joint venture, Minerva Foods Australia, has acquired privately owned Australian Lamb Company, which has been operating for 30 years, for $400 million.
Minerva Foods Australia (MFA) is 65 per cent owned by South American listed company Minerva S.A. and 35 per cent by the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC). Minerva S.A. is listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange while SALIC is wholly owned by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. SALIC also owns a 30.55 per cent stake in Minerva S.A.
ALC derives its revenue from meat processing and chilling. It has two sites, an integrated lamb processing facility in Colac Victoria and a boning room/admin site in Melbourne.
It is one of the largest employers in Colac. The company can process up to 3.78 million sheep a year, which is roughly 100,000 tonnes of lamb and sheep meat. It exports to around 70 countries.
ALC said the executive management team would remain and operations continue as usual.
Minerva bought two Western Australian abattoirs in 2021, Shark Lake and Great Eastern Abattoir.
In 2018, SALIC bought Merredin Farms, 211,000 hectares of sheep and wheat farmland in Western Australia for $70 million.
SALIC CEO Sulaiman Al-Rumaih said the acquisition was in line with the company’s strategy to contribute to Saudia Arabia’s food security objectives through global diversified investments in countries with competitive advantage such as Australia.
ACL general manager Darren Verrall said the acquisition would expand ACL’s international reach and maximise its commercial opportunities.
“To bring together the wealth of knowledge, experience, and contacts that both businesses possess will be an excellent foundation for growth into the future,” Verrall said.
