“SALIC,” a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, announced today, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, that it has acquired 180 million equity shares of the Brazilian company “BRF”, a global leader in the poultry sector, representing 10.7% of the company’s outstanding shares, at a value of SAR 1.27 billion.
“SALIC” stated that this investment reflects its ongoing expansion to achieve its global and local food security strategic mandates, which stems from the Kingdom’s 2030 vision to support long-term national development and sustain the supply of the targeted essential food commodities. “SALIC” aims, through global alliances and partnerships, to access the source origin of these strategic commodities and leverage the competitive advantages of these investments. “SALIC” added that poultry is a key commodity in the Kingdom considering the rapid population growth and relatively high local consumption rate of this commodity which averaged 43 kg per capita annually, along with the Country’s target to continue increasing the self-sufficiency rate of poultry.
“SALIC” elaborated that the investment in “BRF” also anchors one of its key strategic pillars pertaining to the enablement of the Local Agri Sector by addressing the current challenges across the value chain, leveraging leading international expertise to advance local operational efficiencies, and reducing product supply and price fluctuations in the local market, which aligns with the National Agriculture Strategy.
“SALIC” also added that the investment in poultry further expands its collaboration with global players to gain access to the source origin of animal protein and delivers on its food security mandate in this segment on both local and international levels. This strategic journey started in the year 2016 with a strategic and unique partnership with “Minerva Foods”, a Brazilian company and one of the leading global producers of red meat, followed by the recent acquisition of 42.4% of “Naqua”, a globally leading player in aquaculture.
It’s noteworthy that “BRF”, which started its operations 85 years ago, is the world’s third-largest poultry producer, the second-largest halal products company globally, and Brazil’s leading brand for poultry products. It has an annual production capacity of over five million tons of diversified products and a workforce of 90,000 in 130 countries.
